The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread
Discussion
danp said:
Interested if you guys have any recommendations for indies (to work on my 325ti) in the Winchester/ Hants area please? (perhaps even furthur afield)
Hi there, no experiences myself as I do all the maintenance on the cars - my e91 came with a load of receipts from Chris Plummer Automobiles who is a indie specialist.danp said:
Interested if you guys have any recommendations for indies (to work on my 325ti) in the Winchester/ Hants area please? (perhaps even furthur afield)
If Hook, Hants would be doable I'd recommend Ross at RBM Hampshire - link here:- https://www.rbmhampshire.co.uk/After 15 years at Sytner he set up his business in late 2019. I've had quite a few jobs on my Z4M Coupe done there including an Inspection 2 and replacement rod bearings shells plus a service and new rear shocks on my E90 and the service has always been excellent with sensible costs.
No affiliation by the way just a very satisfied customer - and he does have a courtesy car now if that might make life easier!
I can recommend Hogwood Garage, Finchampstead, not far from Wokingham.
https://www.hogwoodgarage.co.uk/
While not a BMW specialist they are the most straightforward, honest and fair garage that I have used, and I've used them for probably 15 years. It's a family owned and run business and they do seem to know enough about BMWs to help when I need them.
They work on the premise of asking what needs doing to the car, rather than how much can they charge. Their pricing has always been fair and I've never had to question their MOTs as over critical.
Shelley the receptionist is really friendly.
https://www.hogwoodgarage.co.uk/
While not a BMW specialist they are the most straightforward, honest and fair garage that I have used, and I've used them for probably 15 years. It's a family owned and run business and they do seem to know enough about BMWs to help when I need them.
They work on the premise of asking what needs doing to the car, rather than how much can they charge. Their pricing has always been fair and I've never had to question their MOTs as over critical.
Shelley the receptionist is really friendly.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294729449794?hash=item4...
Very low mileage (~30k), manual 325Ti on eBay at the moment, for a high (but not outrageous) price...
Very low mileage (~30k), manual 325Ti on eBay at the moment, for a high (but not outrageous) price...
Well it got through the MOT with just a couple of advisories, back tyres are getting low and the passenger side mirror glass is missing, the latter having just dropped off one day when opening the mirrors out. I'll get another mirror glass now and since it does less than a couple of thousand miles a year the tyres will be fine for a while.
Still enjoying driving it so it is going in for a good check over and service tomorrow. I know there are some vanos faults and the steering sensor, but as it is only used for local journeys now I'll leave those alone unless thay actually cause a problem. Hate me if you like for running it as a shed.
Still enjoying driving it so it is going in for a good check over and service tomorrow. I know there are some vanos faults and the steering sensor, but as it is only used for local journeys now I'll leave those alone unless thay actually cause a problem. Hate me if you like for running it as a shed.
It's a Car & Classic auction and also a Cat S. I still like it, even with the grey interior!
£4.5k seems very high for a previous cat S (the S standing for Structural, although insurance companies still apply this purely on a cost basis, so the damage may still be minor). I've had a few cat C,D,N,S cars and if repaired well they are fine, but if you later need to make an insurance claim you will find the valuation coming out lower due to the category.
Interested to see where the auction ends up?
£4.5k seems very high for a previous cat S (the S standing for Structural, although insurance companies still apply this purely on a cost basis, so the damage may still be minor). I've had a few cat C,D,N,S cars and if repaired well they are fine, but if you later need to make an insurance claim you will find the valuation coming out lower due to the category.
Interested to see where the auction ends up?
Toltec said:
...the latter having just dropped off one day when opening the mirrors out.
Typical!Toltec said:
Still enjoying driving it so it is going in for a good check over and service tomorrow. I know there are some vanos faults and the steering sensor, but as it is only used for local journeys now I'll leave those alone unless thay actually cause a problem. Hate me if you like for running it as a shed.
Apologies if I touched a nerve - viewing it as £4.5k fixed price I hadn't noticed it was up for auction.The steering angle sensor is a bugger of a job btw, although it might be a bit easier on a car that's done so few miles.
Krikkit said:
Toltec said:
...the latter having just dropped off one day when opening the mirrors out.
Typical!Toltec said:
Still enjoying driving it so it is going in for a good check over and service tomorrow. I know there are some vanos faults and the steering sensor, but as it is only used for local journeys now I'll leave those alone unless thay actually cause a problem. Hate me if you like for running it as a shed.
Apologies if I touched a nerve - viewing it as £4.5k fixed price I hadn't noticed it was up for auction.The steering angle sensor is a bugger of a job btw, although it might be a bit easier on a car that's done so few miles.
As this thread was responsible for the purchase, to save me reading 160 pages...
I've bought an 325Ti Sport with 105k whilst it has it's good points on a quick test drive I've found the following:
The gear lever seems to have more play than I would expect
The drivers seat has to be raised too high to get it nearly flat - can you lower the front or raise the back relative to each other, other than the lever ?
The throttle has no feel and a very long travel
It seems quite long geared (admittedly I've been driving a Swift Sport)
The steering doesn't have much feel
It's too quiet - is there a common box delete or performance exhaust used
I've bought an 325Ti Sport with 105k whilst it has it's good points on a quick test drive I've found the following:
The gear lever seems to have more play than I would expect
The drivers seat has to be raised too high to get it nearly flat - can you lower the front or raise the back relative to each other, other than the lever ?
The throttle has no feel and a very long travel
It seems quite long geared (admittedly I've been driving a Swift Sport)
The steering doesn't have much feel
It's too quiet - is there a common box delete or performance exhaust used
1) Search E60 shifter mod E46 and replace as many parts as you can
2) There should be another lever at the front to raise and lower the front of the seat, or maybe I'm thinking of E39's
3) Its drive by wire, can't really be anything wrong with it?
4) My five speed was doing at least 3k at 80mph, I think, so I would say short geared?
5) It Should be good, as they are 'purple tag' racks but maybe change the fluid and reservoir (built-in filter, I think)
6) It should have a sound pipe between the airbox and cabin. Some say its filled with foam, and this can be removed to increase noise.
2) There should be another lever at the front to raise and lower the front of the seat, or maybe I'm thinking of E39's
3) Its drive by wire, can't really be anything wrong with it?
4) My five speed was doing at least 3k at 80mph, I think, so I would say short geared?
5) It Should be good, as they are 'purple tag' racks but maybe change the fluid and reservoir (built-in filter, I think)
6) It should have a sound pipe between the airbox and cabin. Some say its filled with foam, and this can be removed to increase noise.
re: steering feel, what tyres does it have on them, and what pressure?
If they are chinese ditchfinders, that might reduce feel somewhat!
You might just need to 'recalibrate' your steering senses after coming from a buzzy hot hatch, although I would say that the E36 I drove once (many years ago) was not (IIRC) that feelsome compared to the hot hatches I have nearly always had.
You could try polybushing to remove some 'squidge' factor?
If they are chinese ditchfinders, that might reduce feel somewhat!
You might just need to 'recalibrate' your steering senses after coming from a buzzy hot hatch, although I would say that the E36 I drove once (many years ago) was not (IIRC) that feelsome compared to the hot hatches I have nearly always had.
You could try polybushing to remove some 'squidge' factor?
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff