Talk to me about E46 coupes

[Chris71]

Tempted to have a look at this one. It's bloody miles away, but it's a nice colour...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Any thoughts? MOT history shows a previous advisory for rusty rear springs a few years ago - should I be worried (more than averagely) worried about rust on those grounds?

[Chris71]

It's another auto, but newer, higher spec and closer to home. What do you reckon?

https://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw/bmw-330ci-m-sport/12...

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

Why does he consider part ex if he's traveling is that weird
if close enough, always worth taking a look

That is a good point, although I guess he might be open to downsizing to a basic runaround plus some cash towards the trip...

It's not local enough for a speculative look, but I might be heading down that way soon.

[Chris71]

If I did head down there's this one nearby to check out too.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/bmw...

I presume that front end means it's the SE? (Sports have the lip extensions on the front bumper, I believe?)

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

@Funk, how did you run reg,to get VIN, I used to do it on BMW warranty site but i read here they stopped that

I was wondering that! Tried that repeatedly with another car I was looking at and I could find sites that would do it from the VIN, but couldn't find anywhere that would give you the VIN from the registration? Even the trick where you search through the source code seemed to have been blocked.

[Chris71]

Funk said:

I'm reticent to post it publicly lest it gets hammered and they pull it... Took me ages to find it!

Fair dos. I might drop you a PM if any others pop up.

On a random note, how easy is it to get an auxilary input into the standard hifi?

[Chris71]

Still not having much luck here. Maybe I should just go E36?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

I think these have LSDs?

I believe that's just the early cars before they introduced traction control.

It was only a half-serious suggestion.

Wondering if I should give up on the coupe and consider an offer on the saloon I looked at the other week...

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Chris71]

Interesting-looking black 330 CI just appeared in the PH classifieds. Wouldn't be my first choice of colour, but looks well cared for.

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

Chris71 said:

Interesting-looking black 330 CI just appeared in the PH classifieds. Wouldn't be my first choice of colour, but looks well cared for.

Rims look scuffed around the edges, as he says.
Pics are poor, seem a little distant for a sale, plus not much effort to clean interior.
Missing service history, although they're every 15k on average so what does he think's missing 60-80k?
3250£ seems a lot.
Currently SORN, why?

True. Past oil leaks on the MOT history and the current one expires in December. Also, it's a pre-facelift five-speed with a fairly typical options list for a Sport, so no obvious reason to command a premium. That said, it's the first time in ages I've seen an ad for an E46 where someone actually takes the time to list what's been done and explain the background of the car, plus it's on an enthusiast's site, so it sounds like the owner has some knowledge of what makes these cars tick. Most of the usual Autotrader ads seem to be written by people who have no concept of preventative maintenance.

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

Is the 5 speed that much of a disadvantage ? I can't see it having a massive impact on mpg on these. And I still think a 5 speed manual does better than the auto.

Dunno. On a practical level, I do a lot of motorway driving, so I can see the appeal of having all the normal ratios to blat around with plus an overdrive top for relaxed cruising. I meant more in reference to the price, though. Rightly or wrongly, people do seem to attach a premium to facelift models and those with the six-speed 'box, so for upwards of £3k I'd prefer to see those. And xenons, although maybe I'm just getting greedy now.

Paying serious consideration to getting back in touch with the owner of the saloon I viewed a while back. That's not my ideal spec either - too many doors, for a start - but it's barely two thirds of the price.

ETA Random question. Were 'angel eye' headlights offered by the factory? Always thought of them as a rather boy racer addition.

Edited by Chris71 on Sunday 8th October 10:07

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

Saloon auto seems too much of a compromise, no?

Perhaps, yes. It's just different strengths, though. A saloon could actually double as family transport, and while I'd prefer a manual for the fun roads I'd prefer an auto for the inevitable stop-start traffic.

Got quite excited about this one initially, then noticed the angel eyes and the stuck-on M badge! https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Chris71]

Time for another one!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Had a look at the spec - doesn't have the H&K stereo upgrade or the xenons that I would prefer, but it's manual and not a million miles away to go and see. What do you reckon?

[Chris71]

iSore said:

Don't know if you seen this or if it's been posted, but if it's as good as it looks, it'd be nice for £3500.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330Ci-e46-2002-/1729...

I think you need to crack on now - 90% of these cars are money pit bangers and good ones are thinning out.

Oooh, now that does look tempting. Thanks for the heads up.

ETA Is that a Sport?

Edited by Chris71 on Monday 16th October 11:43

[Chris71]

iSore said:

Don't know if you seen this or if it's been posted, but if it's as good as it looks, it'd be nice for £3500.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-330Ci-e46-2002-/1729...

I think you need to crack on now - 90% of these cars are money pit bangers and good ones are thinning out.

Really taken with that one, but the seller has yet to reply to my message. Don't mind taking a punt and bidding on it without a test drive, but reluctant to do that without anything to back up the mileage or history.

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

Chepstow is not too far away from where I live ; should this turn out a prospect and I can be of any help , feel free to give me a shout.
Also it's near my trusted Indy garage , should you wish an inspection.
But I agree, you want registration plate and VIN and service book asap.

Much appreciated. I guess it's the whole 'bid to buy not to view thing', though.

I'm sure it is legit - the seller may well be unable to answer emails at work or something - but I can't quite bring myself to bid without evidence of the mileage and MOT history. Also, the link to the inspection report doesn't work either. If I'd seen the car in the flesh or had the time to drive over in the next, oh, 43 minutes and 12 seconds I wouldn't have any qualms. As it is...

Just noticed it's gone up £400 since I started writing. Someone's obviously confident it's worth that.

[Chris71]

I appear to be the owner of an E46!

The seller had indeed been at work and got back to me with 20 minutes to spare. No nasties in the MOT history and it went through a full HPI check.

I am slightly annoyed at myself for significantly exceeding my original budget on a car I've not even seen so far, but I figured a smart, manual 330 Ci Sport is likely to retain enough value to justify spending a bit of money. Plus, I need a car. I know from previous experience I could go on like this for months. Eventually you have to take a chance. :

Since spoken to the owner at more length and he seems like just the sort of person you'd want to buy from. Maybe I have lucked in for a change.

Edited by Chris71 on Monday 16th October 19:54

[Chris71]

Smuler said:

Congrats , Chris
There are some great driving roads in the seller's county , so don't rush home and enjoy yourself instead

Cheers.

Yep. One of the best drives I've ever had was on the Usk to Chepstow road in my previous TVR. I'm normally pretty restrained on the road, but I tagged along with a couple of enthusiastically ridden superbikes. It was many minutes before my mate in his Panda 100 HP eventually caught up...

And thanks also to iSore for pointing this one out.

[Chris71]

We may have a slight issue...

Apparently, the car developed a traction control warning light last night that now won't go off. The seller seems very genuine, so I've taken him up on the offer to sit tight while he gets it checked out. Nothing, it seems, is ever straightforward.

[Chris71]

I think the plan is to get a main dealer to check it out, fix it and then proceed as intended.

I don't particularly want to get into knocking money off to take the car as-is - I think one party or the other will always get a bad deal doing that. But if it did come to that ... what sort of price reduction do you think I'd need to cover any likely cause of this fault if I wanted to get an independent garage to sort it?