What condition e46 can i get for 5k
Discussion
[quote=HugoFastmann]
Very true. Much better to get a 325/330 and spend a little money on it making some subtle improvements (coilovers, wheels, a bit of detailing and maybe an exhaust system) and you'll have a really nice car really quickly. You could easily do that for under £5k. If you're in the market for a 330Ci with sub-100k miles you could find a tidy example for £3k-3.5k, giving you some spending money for coilovers and wheels
No, don't do it-encourage people to ruin E46s with coilovers and exhausts! (Very expensive coilovers and Alpina exhausts are ok).
Very true. Much better to get a 325/330 and spend a little money on it making some subtle improvements (coilovers, wheels, a bit of detailing and maybe an exhaust system) and you'll have a really nice car really quickly. You could easily do that for under £5k. If you're in the market for a 330Ci with sub-100k miles you could find a tidy example for £3k-3.5k, giving you some spending money for coilovers and wheels
No, don't do it-encourage people to ruin E46s with coilovers and exhausts! (Very expensive coilovers and Alpina exhausts are ok).
helix402 said:
No, don't do it-encourage people to ruin E46s with coilovers and exhausts! (Very expensive coilovers and Alpina exhausts are ok).
If it's done properly there's nothing wrong with coilovers and an aftermarket exhaust on an E46. Doesn't have to be "very expensive" but has to be done right. I'm not saying buy cheap crap because then you're quids in, I'm saying spend good money on good components and you'll have a great car. 
HugoFastmann said:
If it's done properly there's nothing wrong with coilovers and an aftermarket exhaust on an E46. Doesn't have to be "very expensive" but has to be done right. I'm not saying buy cheap crap because then you're quids in, I'm saying spend good money on good components and you'll have a great car.
Well i'm thinking i want to do something to the exhaust, however i dont want it sounding like a chav-van, any suggestions of what i should be looking at in the department?CaveyH said:
Well i'm thinking i want to do something to the exhaust, however i dont want it sounding like a chav-van, any suggestions of what i should be looking at in the department?
Milltek do a really nice system that's not very loud at all but releases a good deal of power. A friend with a Z4 3.0 has one. HugoFastmann said:
Milltek do a really nice system that's not very loud at all but releases a good deal of power. A friend with a Z4 3.0 has one.
I will give it a look, obviously you want a bit of noise but I dont think these cars suit a really loud system. Do you know the price for these?
CaveyH said:
so not all 330 e46 M54 engine?
That's from an Alpina B3.3 (which was a bored-out 3.3L S52 engine, originally the 3.2L in the E36 M3). The E46 330 is a 3.0L M54 engine. That exhaust would need some modifying at the manifold, and probably around the back box to fit properly. Edited by HugoFastmann on Tuesday 25th April 14:59
HugoFastmann said:
That's from an Alpina B3.3 (which was a 3.3L M52 engine). The E46 330 is a 3.0L M54 engine. That exhaust would need some modifying at the manifold, and probably around the back box to fit properly.
Oh okay, i get you. So would it be "better" for me to find an exhaust that would fits the car?CaveyH said:
Oh okay, i get you. So would it be "better" for me to find an exhaust that would fits the car?
Two ways to approach it:1. Buy a cheaper "bigger engine exhaust" which needs modifying to fit properly. You can often pick up unwanted exhausts from people who have fitted an aftermarket exhaust and they'll either fit straight away or you'll need to modify them to fit. If they're from a car with much bigger power, generally they'll be a bigger exhaust and release a bit of power restriction from your factory exhaust system. Only downside is the modifications might prove costly, depending on what needs to be done.
2. Buy an aftermarket exhaust purpose-built for your engine/manifold. More expensive up front, but less unknowns.
Then there's the full custom build approach...
CaveyH said:
I will give it a look, obviously you want a bit of noise but I dont think these cars suit a really loud system.
Do you know the price for these?
I always thought this exhaust in this video, not sure what the exact mod was, sounded a bit off ; from the comments I'm not alone. I thought stock exhaust was decent, no?Do you know the price for these?
https://youtu.be/epyVvCUiT0I
Smuler said:
I always thought this exhaust in this video, not sure what the exact mod was, sounded a bit off ; from the comments I'm not alone. I thought stock exhaust was decent, no?
https://youtu.be/epyVvCUiT0I
It is quite throaty. I've kept the exhaust on my 325 stock so far, but plans for a custom build in the pipeline. https://youtu.be/epyVvCUiT0I
The exhaust in that video sounds pretty raspy...
HugoFastmann said:
Two ways to approach it:
1. Buy a cheaper "bigger engine exhaust" which needs modifying to fit properly. You can often pick up unwanted exhausts from people who have fitted an aftermarket exhaust and they'll either fit straight away or you'll need to modify them to fit. If they're from a car with much bigger power, generally they'll be a bigger exhaust and release a bit of power restriction from your factory exhaust system. Only downside is the modifications might prove costly, depending on what needs to be done.
2. Buy an aftermarket exhaust purpose-built for your engine/manifold. More expensive up front, but less unknowns.
Then there's the full custom build approach...
cheers, well depending if my mate, who is a mechanic can do it at his garage, will depend on which i will go for1. Buy a cheaper "bigger engine exhaust" which needs modifying to fit properly. You can often pick up unwanted exhausts from people who have fitted an aftermarket exhaust and they'll either fit straight away or you'll need to modify them to fit. If they're from a car with much bigger power, generally they'll be a bigger exhaust and release a bit of power restriction from your factory exhaust system. Only downside is the modifications might prove costly, depending on what needs to be done.
2. Buy an aftermarket exhaust purpose-built for your engine/manifold. More expensive up front, but less unknowns.
Then there's the full custom build approach...
CaveyH said:
How much you looking at for a custom build? $$$
£7-800 at Leadfoot Racing in Andover. Mine's getting set for track days though, so it's probably going to end up quite loud. I'm contemplating having them build a custom exhaust manifold as well, so might end up more like £1k. You should be able to get a very nice one indeed for that much money. Although, it will depreciate quite a bit still. But, one shouldn't underestimate the benefits of looking for a 3k one that's nearly as good and spending the difference on refreshing all the bits that can make it awesome again i.e. bushes, springs & shocks etc etc.
vsonix said:
You should be able to get a very nice one indeed for that much money. Although, it will depreciate quite a bit still. But, one shouldn't underestimate the benefits of looking for a 3k one that's nearly as good and spending the difference on refreshing all the bits that can make it awesome again i.e. bushes, springs & shocks etc etc.
Really? I would have thought the e46 would have pretty much have reached rock bottom price by now?CaveyH said:
vsonix said:
You should be able to get a very nice one indeed for that much money. Although, it will depreciate quite a bit still. But, one shouldn't underestimate the benefits of looking for a 3k one that's nearly as good and spending the difference on refreshing all the bits that can make it awesome again i.e. bushes, springs & shocks etc etc.
Really? I would have thought the e46 would have pretty much have reached rock bottom price by now?Edited by vsonix on Tuesday 25th April 16:20
vsonix said:
There's still quite a bit of range in price. 4 cylinder 4 doors then yes absolutely. Late model, well specified coupes and cabrios with a 6-cyl either petrol or derv are still commanding a few grand although as with the E36 the 20i remains unloved and the medium size 6cyls will generally be passed over until the 3 litres start to get scarce. Tourings tend to be worth more than sedans but less than the 'exotic' 2-doors. 330i Club Sport coupe probably the one to invest in other than the M3 which is already increasing in value again. Compacts even less popular than the E36 Compact due to horrible front end although cognoscenti like the 325ti and the value of those will remain stable and eventually increase once they get on more people's radar.
Agreed. Don't bother with a 318/20/25, but a 330Ci is a good call. Clubsports are great, but very rare. I had to Google "cognoscenti". Learn something new every day!
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