Whats the highest mileage E46 330 petrol people have seen?
Discussion
That's good going, Mark. Didn't manage to sell it, then?
My dad's X5 with the M54 is over 250,000 too. He's had it from new. It feels it's age, but at over a quarter mil, that's expected. It's like a family member now, where said family member is a slightly whiffy old Golden retriever. Mainly because the car is beige on beige.
My dad's X5 with the M54 is over 250,000 too. He's had it from new. It feels it's age, but at over a quarter mil, that's expected. It's like a family member now, where said family member is a slightly whiffy old Golden retriever. Mainly because the car is beige on beige.
dhutch said:
Proper milestone.
Really does show that it isn't miles that kill a car, not a supprise in a way, but doing half a mile to shops and half a mile again all while cold and with stop start junctions and pot holes etc is a lot harder in the car than an extra mile on a motorway while already warm. Not just engine and transmission, but the whole running gear, and also the seat bolsters for handles the lot.
Extend that principal, and you can easily see how a 250+ mile car that's been used almost exclusively for motorway driving can be silky smooth and factory fresh, while there are also absolute dogs around on not even half but a quarter of of the miles. The high mile cars will also be more likely to get good regaular millage based servicing, where low mileage cars can run into issues with not having regaular enough services.
That said, a car which has done 100k motorway miles nicely spaced around its life and been dry stored in-between will also likely be tighter than one that's been the moon and back.
Plus with our cars we're well into the age were rubber components and the like are failing purely down to age.
Daniel
Very true in regards to rubber bits, whilst not a E46 my 164k Alfa v6 is going strong mechanically but the hard rubber around light bar seems to have perished and let water in. It's easier to get engine parts than replacement rubber these days.Really does show that it isn't miles that kill a car, not a supprise in a way, but doing half a mile to shops and half a mile again all while cold and with stop start junctions and pot holes etc is a lot harder in the car than an extra mile on a motorway while already warm. Not just engine and transmission, but the whole running gear, and also the seat bolsters for handles the lot.
Extend that principal, and you can easily see how a 250+ mile car that's been used almost exclusively for motorway driving can be silky smooth and factory fresh, while there are also absolute dogs around on not even half but a quarter of of the miles. The high mile cars will also be more likely to get good regaular millage based servicing, where low mileage cars can run into issues with not having regaular enough services.
That said, a car which has done 100k motorway miles nicely spaced around its life and been dry stored in-between will also likely be tighter than one that's been the moon and back.
Plus with our cars we're well into the age were rubber components and the like are failing purely down to age.
Daniel
Nice to read 6 cylinder engines handling the miles well.
V6todayEVmanana said:
Very true in regards to rubber bits, whilst not a E46 my 164k Alfa v6 is going strong mechanically but the hard rubber around light bar seems to have perished and let water in. It's easier to get engine parts than replacement rubber these days.
Nice to read 6 cylinder engines handling the miles well.
Yeah, the plastic/rubber parts are a challenge for any classic car owner, but can also be some of the first this to go from stock even for newer cars. Nice to read 6 cylinder engines handling the miles well.
I've just bought a pair the rubber seals that clip around the headlights for £40, genuine bmw via eBay, total indulgence and didn't even check Cotswold for pricing, but have also done all the coolant hoses having has two split, oil filter housing and rocker gasket, prop shaft bearing last week bearing was fine but the rubber surround largely absent.
E36 had the air intake boot go which took a week's kangarooing around to find. Each time you accelerated, the engine moved slightly, opened a huge tare in the under side of the ribbed boot, sucked in a huge load of air that hadn't been through the MAF sensor, rocked forward again and sealed the split, repeat!
Daniel
(yes the trip was deliberate 
Bought it in 2004 at 34 k & sold today at 250k. Mixed emotions. Part of me thinks could cost me lots of money tomorrow & other part of me thinks why the **** did you sell it. Was running well, just had inspection 2 & with almost full mot.
Anyone like to hazard a guess as to the selling price?
Anyone like to hazard a guess as to the selling price?
daver1184 said:
2005 E90 330i N52 manual. 216k so far. Goes well.
Passed it's MOT on Friday with just rusty rear flexi hose joints..
That's good going!Passed it's MOT on Friday with just rusty rear flexi hose joints..
My pals 335i has just hit 205k miles with zero issues; all standard maintenance and a 'sensible' remap. His wife's E46 330i Clubsport is up to 193k miles and apart from the rear subframe issues and the usual rear wing rusty spots (all sorted by his local bodyshop) again, no issues and just standard servicing and MOTs etc
Bit of a thread bump. My ‘02 330i manual (daily driver) is just under 164,000 miles and - touch wood - still going strong. It’s had some new sills and the usual mechanical maintenance. I bought it at about 70,000 miles in 2012. I’ve always used Castrol oil, and BMW or Bosch filters, and these days the mechanical work done on it is split roughly 50/50 between me and my local trusted Indy.
Here it is at the most northerly point of the UK road network (Skaw), during our holiday this July - a 997 mile round trip to Shetland. Never missed a beat, and got 33.4 mpg average on Shell V-Power:
I bought it to replace my Honda Prelude, I wanted similar performance but with 4 seats. Never thought much of it (as in, it’s just another car), but its looks have grown on me. I’ve also started getting an increasing number of “nice E46” comments from people (even young people), which I’m surprised about. I’m actually getting to be quite proud of it. Maybe if I keep it long enough it will become what some people call a classic car?
I’m assuming that the Achilles heel of the rear subframe mounts cracking will probably finish it, although clearly that issue doesn’t apply to all cars. I’ve got it booked in for a proper inspection in that area next week to investigate a creak; I’ve had a good look and can’t see any cracks at all, so fingers crossed.
Here it is at the most northerly point of the UK road network (Skaw), during our holiday this July - a 997 mile round trip to Shetland. Never missed a beat, and got 33.4 mpg average on Shell V-Power:
I bought it to replace my Honda Prelude, I wanted similar performance but with 4 seats. Never thought much of it (as in, it’s just another car), but its looks have grown on me. I’ve also started getting an increasing number of “nice E46” comments from people (even young people), which I’m surprised about. I’m actually getting to be quite proud of it. Maybe if I keep it long enough it will become what some people call a classic car?
I’m assuming that the Achilles heel of the rear subframe mounts cracking will probably finish it, although clearly that issue doesn’t apply to all cars. I’ve got it booked in for a proper inspection in that area next week to investigate a creak; I’ve had a good look and can’t see any cracks at all, so fingers crossed.
dr_gn said:
Bit of a thread bump. My ‘02 330i manual (daily driver) is just under 164,000 miles and - touch wood - still going strong. It’s had some new sills and the usual mechanical maintenance. I bought it at about 70,000 miles in 2012. I’ve always used Castrol oil, and BMW or Bosch filters, and these days the mechanical work done on it is split roughly 50/50 between me and my local trusted Indy.
Here it is at the most northerly point of the UK road network (Skaw), during our holiday this July - a 997 mile round trip to Shetland. Never missed a beat, and got 33.4 mpg average on Shell V-Power:
I bought it to replace my Honda Prelude, I wanted similar performance but with 4 seats. Never thought much of it (as in, it’s just another car), but its looks have grown on me. I’ve also started getting an increasing number of “nice E46” comments from people (even young people), which I’m surprised about. I’m actually getting to be quite proud of it. Maybe if I keep it long enough it will become what some people call a classic car?
I’m assuming that the Achilles heel of the rear subframe mounts cracking will probably finish it, although clearly that issue doesn’t apply to all cars. I’ve got it booked in for a proper inspection in that area next week to investigate a creak; I’ve had a good look and can’t see any cracks at all, so fingers crossed.
Rust and dead auto boxes kill E46s. At least you’ve only got rust to worry about!Here it is at the most northerly point of the UK road network (Skaw), during our holiday this July - a 997 mile round trip to Shetland. Never missed a beat, and got 33.4 mpg average on Shell V-Power:
I bought it to replace my Honda Prelude, I wanted similar performance but with 4 seats. Never thought much of it (as in, it’s just another car), but its looks have grown on me. I’ve also started getting an increasing number of “nice E46” comments from people (even young people), which I’m surprised about. I’m actually getting to be quite proud of it. Maybe if I keep it long enough it will become what some people call a classic car?
I’m assuming that the Achilles heel of the rear subframe mounts cracking will probably finish it, although clearly that issue doesn’t apply to all cars. I’ve got it booked in for a proper inspection in that area next week to investigate a creak; I’ve had a good look and can’t see any cracks at all, so fingers crossed.
helix402 said:
dr_gn said:
Bit of a thread bump. My ‘02 330i manual (daily driver) is just under 164,000 miles and - touch wood - still going strong. It’s had some new sills and the usual mechanical maintenance. I bought it at about 70,000 miles in 2012. I’ve always used Castrol oil, and BMW or Bosch filters, and these days the mechanical work done on it is split roughly 50/50 between me and my local trusted Indy.
Here it is at the most northerly point of the UK road network (Skaw), during our holiday this July - a 997 mile round trip to Shetland. Never missed a beat, and got 33.4 mpg average on Shell V-Power:
I bought it to replace my Honda Prelude, I wanted similar performance but with 4 seats. Never thought much of it (as in, it’s just another car), but its looks have grown on me. I’ve also started getting an increasing number of “nice E46” comments from people (even young people), which I’m surprised about. I’m actually getting to be quite proud of it. Maybe if I keep it long enough it will become what some people call a classic car?
I’m assuming that the Achilles heel of the rear subframe mounts cracking will probably finish it, although clearly that issue doesn’t apply to all cars. I’ve got it booked in for a proper inspection in that area next week to investigate a creak; I’ve had a good look and can’t see any cracks at all, so fingers crossed.
Rust and dead auto boxes kill E46s. At least you’ve only got rust to worry about!Here it is at the most northerly point of the UK road network (Skaw), during our holiday this July - a 997 mile round trip to Shetland. Never missed a beat, and got 33.4 mpg average on Shell V-Power:
I bought it to replace my Honda Prelude, I wanted similar performance but with 4 seats. Never thought much of it (as in, it’s just another car), but its looks have grown on me. I’ve also started getting an increasing number of “nice E46” comments from people (even young people), which I’m surprised about. I’m actually getting to be quite proud of it. Maybe if I keep it long enough it will become what some people call a classic car?
I’m assuming that the Achilles heel of the rear subframe mounts cracking will probably finish it, although clearly that issue doesn’t apply to all cars. I’ve got it booked in for a proper inspection in that area next week to investigate a creak; I’ve had a good look and can’t see any cracks at all, so fingers crossed.
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