BMW 330d Sport Coupe 2004 Scarce Manual
Discussion
In 2022, my youngest son is on the hunt for his second car. He wants an E46 M3, but £ prices have gone crazy since I sold my 179,000 miles 53 plate Facelift manual M3 for just £5,995 in June 17…..
He then spots a low miles grey ( arguably the best colour ) face lift Manual box 330d Sport coupe for sale on Autotrader @ a very reasonable price.
It’s the Only manual one he can find, they seem to be a very rare car.
We hot foot it up to Suffolk to meet car and seller, a really nice guy who after spending ££ and lots of time, on it, wants a change and after a long test drive, with me in the back & Wilkinson & Sub Focus pounding out of the huge speakers in the boot, the deal is done. The seller freely explains that the car is down on power, despite a new Turbo and lots more.
The drive home brings memories of my old M3 flooding back….
We put the car into my pals garage for new front discs, callipers and brake pads, a radiator a service and a few other bits.
My son then used it to commute to Yorkshire to see his then g/f every other weekend, up until last summer when they broke up. A new job sees him move to central London late last year, so the 330 is parked up. I went up a month ago and gave it a run, but it’s obvious that the old warrior is in need of some tlc. So this morning I went up and fetched it back for a week.
He then spots a low miles grey ( arguably the best colour ) face lift Manual box 330d Sport coupe for sale on Autotrader @ a very reasonable price.
It’s the Only manual one he can find, they seem to be a very rare car.
We hot foot it up to Suffolk to meet car and seller, a really nice guy who after spending ££ and lots of time, on it, wants a change and after a long test drive, with me in the back & Wilkinson & Sub Focus pounding out of the huge speakers in the boot, the deal is done. The seller freely explains that the car is down on power, despite a new Turbo and lots more.
The drive home brings memories of my old M3 flooding back….
We put the car into my pals garage for new front discs, callipers and brake pads, a radiator a service and a few other bits.
My son then used it to commute to Yorkshire to see his then g/f every other weekend, up until last summer when they broke up. A new job sees him move to central London late last year, so the 330 is parked up. I went up a month ago and gave it a run, but it’s obvious that the old warrior is in need of some tlc. So this morning I went up and fetched it back for a week.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Saturday 23 March 00:49
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Saturday 23 March 00:49
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Saturday 23 March 00:50
Mad Maximus said:
Nice reasonable prices e46 are getting a little thin now. That looks really nice for a second car.
Thanks Max, you are right as I just don’t see many E46s anymore, they are disappearing rapidly. Weird coincidence yesterday, as I took a wrong turning on the way home. I pulled over to turn around and saw 2 guys waving frantically at me. Wound the window down and one them said “ That’s my old car !! “
It was Jake the lovely guy we bought it from !
Had a great chat and he said that “ I should never have sold it, so I went out & bought an auto ( as I could not find an manual ) and had it converted to a manual “ !
We have a new pair of Monroe shocks to fit to the rear and Jake is keen to fit them, as I’m so short of time ATM.
The drive home did really bring home just how much weight is over the front end, it’s really noticeable. Throwing it into a corner the weight transfer is really evident.
The bonnet is steel and is like a boat anchor, I’m pretty sure the M3s is alloy ? ( And the M3s boot lid ) So we may source an M3 bonnet for it.
Long list of other jobs, inc a new front right inner arch liner, change the front fogs, replace the non original badges, the front bumper has some damage, one of the number plate lights is stuck on, weather stripping at the base of the rear 1/4 windows is badly cracked ( £100 each side i believe ) sort the alloys out & fit new centre caps. CSL reps would really set the car off, as I don’t care for the OE alloys.
Sadly it’s Service book is missing, but it came with a ring binder stuffed full of receipts, it’s been a very well looked after car in the past
Just found out that it was sold new by Sytner of Tring Hertfordshire.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Wednesday 27th March 18:18
My dad had a 2003 330d with a 6 speed manual and the later engine, like this one. It was, I think, an April 2003 car so would have been one of the earliest cars with the 6 speed manual.
I have fond memories in that car, it was a good car. The 6 speed manuals are incredibly rare these days. I'd happily have one as a second car.
I have fond memories in that car, it was a good car. The 6 speed manuals are incredibly rare these days. I'd happily have one as a second car.
E90_M3Ross said:
My dad had a 2003 330d with a 6 speed manual and the later engine, like this one. It was, I think, an April 2003 car so would have been one of the earliest cars with the 6 speed manual.
I have fond memories in that car, it was a good car. The 6 speed manuals are incredibly rare these days. I'd happily have one as a second car.
Hello Ross, any photos of it ?I have fond memories in that car, it was a good car. The 6 speed manuals are incredibly rare these days. I'd happily have one as a second car.
I’m guessing the earliest / later engined cars are 53 plate ?
Jhonno said:
6 speed manuals are rare old things these days.
Love an E46. M57 must weigh more than an M54, you don't notice nose weight with one of those. I've never looked at the weights tbh.
I’ve not been able to find a weight for a six speed manual coupe, guessing it will be in a sales brochure though. Love an E46. M57 must weigh more than an M54, you don't notice nose weight with one of those. I've never looked at the weights tbh.
SS427 Camaro said:
E90_M3Ross said:
My dad had a 2003 330d with a 6 speed manual and the later engine, like this one. It was, I think, an April 2003 car so would have been one of the earliest cars with the 6 speed manual.
I have fond memories in that car, it was a good car. The 6 speed manuals are incredibly rare these days. I'd happily have one as a second car.
Hello Ross, any photos of it ?I have fond memories in that car, it was a good car. The 6 speed manuals are incredibly rare these days. I'd happily have one as a second car.
I’m guessing the earliest / later engined cars are 53 plate ?
Ianbe46m3 said:
Did these get the headlights that turn with the steering or was that only an option on the facelift cars?
How are the rear subframe mounting points holding up?
I don't believe the adaptive headlights were standard on these. I had a 54 plate 330 CDM sport with halogens and they were just normal headlights. How are the rear subframe mounting points holding up?
The manuals were very rare I waited ages for one to come up for sale and bought a 3 year old one in 2007 and kept it until it died a couple of years ago, great car, the first performance diesel engined car to market I think. Turbo failed catastrophically unfortunately and killed the engine, a replacement turbo and engine rebuild or replacement engine would have cost more that the car was worth sadly, but the order books opened for the Toyota GR86 a few days later so it was written in the stars for me.
Ianbe46m3 said:
Did these get the headlights that turn with the steering or was that only an option on the facelift cars?
How are the rear subframe mounting points holding up?
Did any E46 have adaptive xenons? Not sure. Xenons were definitely an option though, and not standard.How are the rear subframe mounting points holding up?
The E46 330d holds a place in my heart as I spent many miles as a passenger in one when I was young. A late E46 is one of BMWs most handsome designs. Genuinely I'd happily have one as a second car, they're lovely old things.
If it feels oddly nose-heavy have you looked at the front suspension? I think more than half of the engine is behind the front wheels, but getting the right springs can be a nightmare, and if they've just been replaced with generic E46 ones they're likely to be too soft for the heavier diesels (and the heavier verts, which is how I know this). There's a thoroughly confusing colour-coding system for the genuine ones, and I couldn't find aftermarket ones specifically for the convertible, so ended up going to BMW.
E90_M3Ross said:
Did any E46 have adaptive xenons? Not sure. Xenons were definitely an option though, and not standard.
The E46 330d holds a place in my heart as I spent many miles as a passenger in one when I was young. A late E46 is one of BMWs most handsome designs. Genuinely I'd happily have one as a second car, they're lovely old things.
I am pretty certain I have seen facelift coupes with adaptive headlights.The E46 330d holds a place in my heart as I spent many miles as a passenger in one when I was young. A late E46 is one of BMWs most handsome designs. Genuinely I'd happily have one as a second car, they're lovely old things.
The facelift e46 coupes with xenons were adaptive apparently from what I've recently found. Always thought they just had bi xenons.
This looks a great little project. Remember the M57 was sensitive to vacuum leaks so a check with a smoke tester could highlight any.
I bought a club sport as a winter car that I'm struggling to part with.
This looks a great little project. Remember the M57 was sensitive to vacuum leaks so a check with a smoke tester could highlight any.
I bought a club sport as a winter car that I'm struggling to part with.
Edited by therusterman on Saturday 30th March 08:56
Another member on here kindly gave me me some details of road test features ( very few tests were done on the 330D ) one of which was in EVO issue 71. So going though the 4 box loads of EVOs that someone on here very kindly gave me back in 2019 and there it was !
We were staggered to read that this red test car with “ Extras ) was £20 shy of £35,000 ( £60,000 in todays money ) back in summer 2004, just £5 grand less than an M3. No wonder so few 330D Sport coupes were sold !
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