E46 330i Touring
Discussion
Lovely car, keep it tidy and up to snuff on maintenance and keep the rust under control.
They're quite rare cars these days, especially the 330i versions with a manual as most came with autos.
Last time i checked with the BMW club, a GOOD condition 330i Touring was going for about £3000 back in 2018 if i recall. They're now gettting to that age where all the rough ones are now being parted out and the good ones are now increasing in value.
They're quite rare cars these days, especially the 330i versions with a manual as most came with autos.
Last time i checked with the BMW club, a GOOD condition 330i Touring was going for about £3000 back in 2018 if i recall. They're now gettting to that age where all the rough ones are now being parted out and the good ones are now increasing in value.
alistair267 said:
Lovely car, and I had a near-identical 6 speed manual version which I still miss, some 4.5 years after selling it. I'm now in an E61 550i, which is a fantastic car but I miss hustling the 330 along.
Pic of mine:
Nice!! Could be the same car.. Yeah, my E61 530d was fun, but not as fun as this! Pic of mine:
Court_S said:
Yeah, fast estates are cool. I’ve always wished that BMW had made an M3 touring (I know one is due but it’ll have those ugly grilles though).
Yeah, an E46 M3 Touring is cool looking thing (imaginations of that have been made).. A mate owns an E46 M3 Touring, but it is just the running gear/electrics, not the bodywork.Sf_Manta said:
Lovely car, keep it tidy and up to snuff on maintenance and keep the rust under control.
They're quite rare cars these days, especially the 330i versions with a manual as most came with autos.
Last time i checked with the BMW club, a GOOD condition 330i Touring was going for about £3000 back in 2018 if i recall. They're now gettting to that age where all the rough ones are now being parted out and the good ones are now increasing in value.
Yeah, as we looked earlier, possibly about 55-60 M-Sport 6 speeds left.. I can tell you I paid more than that for this one, and I was the head of a long queue by shooting a deposit over.They're quite rare cars these days, especially the 330i versions with a manual as most came with autos.
Last time i checked with the BMW club, a GOOD condition 330i Touring was going for about £3000 back in 2018 if i recall. They're now gettting to that age where all the rough ones are now being parted out and the good ones are now increasing in value.
Just adding to the E46 love-in.
I've got a 330i 6-speed manual touring, in SE flavour but with factory M-Sport seats and suspension. I bought it in September last year for the princely sum of £1000. It has 190k on it, admittedly, but it also has 46 pages of receipts from the fastidious former owner.
Planning to do a few bits of tidying here and there over the next year and thensell for a big profit let someone else enjoy it 
I've got a 330i 6-speed manual touring, in SE flavour but with factory M-Sport seats and suspension. I bought it in September last year for the princely sum of £1000. It has 190k on it, admittedly, but it also has 46 pages of receipts from the fastidious former owner.
Planning to do a few bits of tidying here and there over the next year and then
Little update.. A house move and various other projects meant the 330i has been quiet.
I was donated an set of M3 ARBs.. I know the rear one doesn't fit, but I was lead to believe the front did.. So thought I'd give it a go! Another mate had some leftover M3 ARB Polybushes too, so potentially a free upgrade, and a chance to play with my new impact gun...
Cleaned up a bit of rust on the rollbar, some rust killer and a quick coat of random black paint to tidy up..
M3 (bottom) vs. 330i (top) - Different shape.. Hmm.. (2mm difference in diameter)
Removal of the old ARB created the first issue.. The driver's droplink top nut just spun on removal (damaged threads).. So ended up removing the old bar, fitting the new in place and having to leave it sat whilst the new Meyle HD droplinks arrived.
The sign of trouble.. Grinder out!
Perfect cut!
New droplinks fitted, steering lock checked and sure enough, the ARB fits.
Quick trip down the road and it feels tighter and like it uses the front end more.
Then we had the old ABS lights up on the dash.. Guessed (educated) at a rear sensor, so sensor ordered and fitted and sure enough. ABS all working again.
A driver's door rattle also solved with a new doorcard clip!
No "exciting" pics for these though..
Done a few longer trips in it recently and it has been brilliant tbh. Giving mid/high 30's mpg. Not bad for an old 3L 6 banger!
Decided to treat it to some LED side lights and boot lights, a bluetooth adapter and a wash. My new place is on a borehole with filtered water, which it transpires is superb for washing cars! Not a mark/smear in sight!
Longer term, I am looking to refresh all the suspension, a stereo upgrade and some new wheels! However, a few other projects need attention before then..
I was donated an set of M3 ARBs.. I know the rear one doesn't fit, but I was lead to believe the front did.. So thought I'd give it a go! Another mate had some leftover M3 ARB Polybushes too, so potentially a free upgrade, and a chance to play with my new impact gun...
Cleaned up a bit of rust on the rollbar, some rust killer and a quick coat of random black paint to tidy up..
M3 (bottom) vs. 330i (top) - Different shape.. Hmm.. (2mm difference in diameter)
Removal of the old ARB created the first issue.. The driver's droplink top nut just spun on removal (damaged threads).. So ended up removing the old bar, fitting the new in place and having to leave it sat whilst the new Meyle HD droplinks arrived.
The sign of trouble.. Grinder out!
Perfect cut!
New droplinks fitted, steering lock checked and sure enough, the ARB fits.
Quick trip down the road and it feels tighter and like it uses the front end more.
Then we had the old ABS lights up on the dash.. Guessed (educated) at a rear sensor, so sensor ordered and fitted and sure enough. ABS all working again.
A driver's door rattle also solved with a new doorcard clip!
No "exciting" pics for these though..
Done a few longer trips in it recently and it has been brilliant tbh. Giving mid/high 30's mpg. Not bad for an old 3L 6 banger!
Decided to treat it to some LED side lights and boot lights, a bluetooth adapter and a wash. My new place is on a borehole with filtered water, which it transpires is superb for washing cars! Not a mark/smear in sight!
Longer term, I am looking to refresh all the suspension, a stereo upgrade and some new wheels! However, a few other projects need attention before then..
helix402 said:
Jhonno said:
Does the rear bar fit a non M3 also? I have that one sat on the shelf..
The rear M3 bar doesn’t fit the non M3. Eibach make a 20mm rear bar. I preferred the non M3 Conv one.(You’d have to double check the rear bar sizes, I think I remember correctly)
Because no one has ever seen a side by side of a halogen and LED bulb before..
Much brighter in the dark!
New sidelights aren't much brighter, but I wasn't after them being really.. They are only sidelights and I never use them by themselves.
All finished pic.. Much cleaner look. Looks great with the LED fogs too.
Needs a new bonnet badge really, but not keen on the £40 odd for a new BMW one atm, and wary of cheaper knock offs quality and longevity.
Much brighter in the dark!
New sidelights aren't much brighter, but I wasn't after them being really.. They are only sidelights and I never use them by themselves.
All finished pic.. Much cleaner look. Looks great with the LED fogs too.
Needs a new bonnet badge really, but not keen on the £40 odd for a new BMW one atm, and wary of cheaper knock offs quality and longevity.
Jhonno said:
Because no one has ever seen a side by side of a halogen and LED bulb before..
Much brighter in the dark!
New sidelights aren't much brighter, but I wasn't after them being really.. They are only sidelights and I never use them by themselves.
All finished pic.. Much cleaner look. Looks great with the LED fogs too.
Needs a new bonnet badge really, but not keen on the £40 odd for a new BMW one atm, and wary of cheaper knock offs quality and longevity.
I’ve got a top condition badge from my E91. Pretty sure it’s the same. Drop me a pm if you’re interested.Much brighter in the dark!
New sidelights aren't much brighter, but I wasn't after them being really.. They are only sidelights and I never use them by themselves.
All finished pic.. Much cleaner look. Looks great with the LED fogs too.
Needs a new bonnet badge really, but not keen on the £40 odd for a new BMW one atm, and wary of cheaper knock offs quality and longevity.
Silly little update thanks to helix402..
New bonnet badge!
Old
Quick clean up and "interesting" to note newer BMW badges are composite
Done! Much better..
I also bought a £15 bluetooth adapter harness from eBay.. It didn't work with my Business Tape headunit, so I grabbed the old Business CD unit I had kept from my old 320d years ago and it worked. However, the concept is nice, the reality is spawned by a psychopath. There is little to no room behind the headunit for the extra loom, 4hrs, skin, blood, tears and raised blood pressure, and many swear words has been spent repeatedly pulling the headunit in and out and retucking the loom so far with no success.. I didn't want to cut into the OE loom to do it, but I think I might junk the adapter loom and take an ignition switched power and earth from the existing loom. It is only suppose to be a temporary improvement until I am in a position to improve the OE stereo/headunit.
New bonnet badge!
Old
Quick clean up and "interesting" to note newer BMW badges are composite
Done! Much better..
I also bought a £15 bluetooth adapter harness from eBay.. It didn't work with my Business Tape headunit, so I grabbed the old Business CD unit I had kept from my old 320d years ago and it worked. However, the concept is nice, the reality is spawned by a psychopath. There is little to no room behind the headunit for the extra loom, 4hrs, skin, blood, tears and raised blood pressure, and many swear words has been spent repeatedly pulling the headunit in and out and retucking the loom so far with no success.. I didn't want to cut into the OE loom to do it, but I think I might junk the adapter loom and take an ignition switched power and earth from the existing loom. It is only suppose to be a temporary improvement until I am in a position to improve the OE stereo/headunit.
Court_S said:
Car looks great. The E46 is a very pretty thing.
It’s a amazing how much of a difference little details like badges can make.
Thanks.. It is! does freshen the front end nicely! It’s a amazing how much of a difference little details like badges can make.
helix402 said:
Looking good! I fitted an aux lead to the back of my E46 stereo. Plugged a Bluetooth receiver into it and then had hands free and Bluetooth music streaming.
Thanks again! Yeah, I could have done it that way in retrospect.. I could also have chopped the adapter up and hard wired it. I managed to finally fit it last night, just. My hands are torn up, and all I can see are the marks the headunit has made on the climate panel (I hadn't realised it was doing it).. So that will be replaced. It does work though, and sounds decent enough, clean sound. The standard system does lack punch though. To be addressed down the line. 
The photo seems to have made the scratches look worse than reality (I think because of it being low light), and highlighted I need to wipe the dash over after fitting the adapter..
Blood sweat and tears.. Hardly a life threatening injury but sore and in a place you keep knocking!
Would I do it again? Probably not, I'd just stick the CD unit in and go old skool until I can sort an Android headunit.
There’s not I much room behind the head units is there? I’ve had my fair share of battles in the last year or so trying to find room for the extra wiring for screens.
BMW sound systems have been crap for so long now. Luckily my last few cars have had the HK upgrade or the BMW Hi-Fi which is alright.
BMW sound systems have been crap for so long now. Luckily my last few cars have had the HK upgrade or the BMW Hi-Fi which is alright.
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