BMW 330d Sport Coupe 2004 Scarce Manual
Discussion
E90_M3Ross said:
SS427 Camaro said:
helix403 said:
It shouldn’t have run flats. No E46 should have run flats.
Says who ? The o / side front Bridgestone has been fine, good wet road grip, stable under braking, steering etc. I ran one of the first Cooper S on run flats for 14,000 miles, no problem at all. 
a340driver said:
These E46 coupes were so nice! I had a 330Ci which I bought at 20k, sold at 150k and the only real problem was the front wings dissolving. The guy that bought it replaced them at about £100 each already painted!
I saw a bubble and touched it with my foot, then this happened!
My my old M3s front arches were getting that bad when I sold it ! It’s caused by the arch liner rubbing against the inner archI saw a bubble and touched it with my foot, then this happened!
Long story short but £125 saw the alloy straightened & freshly powder coated and £108 via Black Circles for a new Bridgestone plus £15 to fit the tire and balance and this is the result. I still need to locate a new set of centre caps, plus the tiny “ M “ decals.
The new rear discs, pads and a new rear calliper have also just been fitted, still waiting for the labour and parts bill, gulp ! Next step is an Mot.
scottos said:
I had one of these years ago when i had a 90 mile a day commute, it was fantastic! Rust set in at one point though and a nice P/X opportunity came up so it went the journey, i still remember it fondly though!
Any photos ? They are a bloody scarce car. Largely due to them being £35k in 2004 ! I bought some M stickers for my wheels for £2.99 on Ebay and since 2021 I've only lost one so I figure I'm still well ahead compared to buying genuine BMW ones!
Did the same with the centre caps for the same reason.
E46s really are good looking cars, but are prone to rust which is one of the reasons I sold my 325ti in 2014. My E90 will be 20 this year and has no body rust - it just isn't as good looking although it is a bit more powerful so that and the lack of rust I can live with the looks!
Did the same with the centre caps for the same reason.
E46s really are good looking cars, but are prone to rust which is one of the reasons I sold my 325ti in 2014. My E90 will be 20 this year and has no body rust - it just isn't as good looking although it is a bit more powerful so that and the lack of rust I can live with the looks!
Mr Tidy said:
I bought some M stickers for my wheels for £2.99 on Ebay and since 2021 I've only lost one so I figure I'm still well ahead compared to buying genuine BMW ones!
Did the same with the centre caps for the same reason.
E46s really are good looking cars, but are prone to rust which is one of the reasons I sold my 325ti in 2014. My E90 will be 20 this year and has no body rust - it just isn't as good looking although it is a bit more powerful so that and the lack of rust I can live with the looks!
E46 is, in my opinion, the best looking 3 series. They do rust badly, unfortunately. Mine seems to be fairly OK, although it has a few minor issues, structurally it seems good. E9x generation cars do not appear to rust on the bodies at all. Subframes will be the death of the non-M3 cars...whilst the subframes are significantly cheaper than M3 subframes, the labour involved to change it will write them off eventually I think. There are stories of some chassis rusting from underneath under the heat shields where you can't see them, but I think this is usually pretty minor and I think the E9x cars will generally last longer than E46s have done, for sure.Did the same with the centre caps for the same reason.
E46s really are good looking cars, but are prone to rust which is one of the reasons I sold my 325ti in 2014. My E90 will be 20 this year and has no body rust - it just isn't as good looking although it is a bit more powerful so that and the lack of rust I can live with the looks!
E90_M3Ross said:
E9x generation cars do not appear to rust on the bodies at all. Subframes will be the death of the non-M3 cars...whilst the subframes are significantly cheaper than M3 subframes, the labour involved to change it will write them off eventually I think. There are stories of some chassis rusting from underneath under the heat shields where you can't see them, but I think this is usually pretty minor and I think the E9x cars will generally last longer than E46s have done, for sure.
Funny you should say that as last September at MOT time my E90 got it's first advisory for a rusty subframe. 
Mr Tidy said:
E90_M3Ross said:
E9x generation cars do not appear to rust on the bodies at all. Subframes will be the death of the non-M3 cars...whilst the subframes are significantly cheaper than M3 subframes, the labour involved to change it will write them off eventually I think. There are stories of some chassis rusting from underneath under the heat shields where you can't see them, but I think this is usually pretty minor and I think the E9x cars will generally last longer than E46s have done, for sure.
Funny you should say that as last September at MOT time my E90 got it's first advisory for a rusty subframe. E90_M3Ross said:
Mr Tidy said:
E90_M3Ross said:
E9x generation cars do not appear to rust on the bodies at all. Subframes will be the death of the non-M3 cars...whilst the subframes are significantly cheaper than M3 subframes, the labour involved to change it will write them off eventually I think. There are stories of some chassis rusting from underneath under the heat shields where you can't see them, but I think this is usually pretty minor and I think the E9x cars will generally last longer than E46s have done, for sure.
Funny you should say that as last September at MOT time my E90 got it's first advisory for a rusty subframe. My current plan is to get under it when the weather is better, attack it with wire brushes, etc. and put some Hammerite on it then cross my fingers!
Mr Tidy said:
It's now into Shed territory so not really worth investing in a new subframe, but I'd like to keep it going if possible because it just does everything I want.
My current plan is to get under it when the weather is better, attack it with wire brushes, etc. and put some Hammerite on it then cross my fingers!
Brush a decent rust killer onto it first. TBH, Hamerite is not good, far better metal paints out there. My current plan is to get under it when the weather is better, attack it with wire brushes, etc. and put some Hammerite on it then cross my fingers!
SS427 Camaro said:
Brush a decent rust killer onto it first. TBH, Hamerite is not good, far better metal paints out there.
Thanks, looks like I need to do some research first. My nephew had a manual 2004 325i Sport Touring with front arches that were getting a bit crusty, then in 2018 it needed a new one after a bump so he got a pair of pattern wings on Ebay for sensible money.
Rear arches weren't great, but they're much more involved and by 2021 it was throwing up other issues fairly regularly and as it was a Cat S after the 2018 incident he just couldn't justify throwing more money at it.
Mr Tidy said:
Thanks, looks like I need to do some research first.
My nephew had a manual 2004 325i Sport Touring with front arches that were getting a bit crusty, then in 2018 it needed a new one after a bump so he got a pair of pattern wings on Ebay for sensible money.
Rear arches weren't great, but they're much more involved and by 2021 it was throwing up other issues fairly regularly and as it was a Cat S after the 2018 incident he just couldn't justify throwing more money at it.
Rear arches are a bit of a faff to repair, will need to do some remedial work on this one in the future. My nephew had a manual 2004 325i Sport Touring with front arches that were getting a bit crusty, then in 2018 it needed a new one after a bump so he got a pair of pattern wings on Ebay for sensible money.
Rear arches weren't great, but they're much more involved and by 2021 it was throwing up other issues fairly regularly and as it was a Cat S after the 2018 incident he just couldn't justify throwing more money at it.
Refurbed rim complete with a new Bridgestone tire fitted. Via e bay I got a set of new pattern wheel centre caps and the small little M Sport decals for circa £12 the lot.
Via BMW Park Lane, I bought a new left A post interior trim panel @ just under £60, but disappointed to see that it didn’t come with its centre section, so I need to chase that up. We also need the right hand trim panel as well.
I havnt yet driven it since it’s rear brake re fresh and new tire, but my son has been using it as his station car and seems happy with it.
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