330i Realistic Market Value Opinions Please?

[dr_gn]

So this is the kind of thing I'm considering (links to Autotrader hopefully):

http://preview.tinyurl.com/5senh6k

Question is, what are people's opinions of market value for an example like this?

My budget is £4k.

Cheers!

Edited by dr_gn on Monday 4th July 13:02

[a_bread]

Seems very cheap, but that's because it's a saloon not a coupe, and an SE not a Sport.

[Pole84]

Decent price, but why anyone would spec a 330i without leather is beyond me....

[dr_gn]

Pole84 said:

Decent price, but why anyone would spec a 330i without leather is beyond me....

Actually - I hate leather! Got three cars with it, all different grades and it's always red hot in summer and freezing cold in winter.

I'm looking for a car with cloth seats!

ETA I'm hoping this will work in my favour when it comes to price...

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 23 July 13:26

[Jw Vw]

dr_gn said:

Pole84 said:

Decent price, but why anyone would spec a 330i without leather is beyond me....

Actually - I hate leather! Got three cars with it, all different grades and it's always red hot in summer and freezing cold in winter.

I'm looking for a car with cloth seats!

ETA I'm hoping this will work in my favour when it comes to price...

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 23 July 13:26

If you did buy that car it may be hard to shift come selling time as it does not have leather. Even if you prefer not to have it, most people wanting to buy a 330i will. That M-Power badge does it no favours either. Get rid of that and it's a good, low mileage end of the line E46 at a reasonable price.

[a_bread]

dr_gn said:

So this is the kind of thing I'm considering (links to Autotrader hopefully):

That's the kind of thing you want, but what other stuff might you consider?

[dr_gn]

Jw Vw said:

dr_gn said:

Pole84 said:

Decent price, but why anyone would spec a 330i without leather is beyond me....

Actually - I hate leather! Got three cars with it, all different grades and it's always red hot in summer and freezing cold in winter.

I'm looking for a car with cloth seats!

ETA I'm hoping this will work in my favour when it comes to price...

Edited by dr_gn on Saturday 23 July 13:26

If you did buy that car it may be hard to shift come selling time as it does not have leather. Even if you prefer not to have it, most people wanting to buy a 330i will. That M-Power badge does it no favours either. Get rid of that and it's a good, low mileage end of the line E46 at a reasonable price.

Thanks for the comments, but I've got another one in mind now. I tend to keep cars a long time, so resale value will probably be zilch anyway.

[dr_gn]

a_bread said:

dr_gn said:

So this is the kind of thing I'm considering (links to Autotrader hopefully):

That's the kind of thing you want, but what other stuff might you consider?

Having driven a couple since writing that post, what I want is an 330i SE, cloth seats, manual gearbox.

I drove a sport model and the ride was harsh (the roads up north are terrible), plus the cost of the low profile tyres was multiples of the cost of standard tyres. The Sport version doesn't give any discernable real-world performance difference as far as I can tell, plus the manual 'box would probably regain any small performance loss of a Sport auto (plus better economy). I'm thinking there might be a small acceleration gain - or at least a more responsive feel with the stiffer suspension and tyres? That steptronic box is hopeless for a car with 'sport' associated with it IMO - unless of course the one I drove was particularly slow to react.

Might be a crazy spec, but that's what I'm after.

[Fox-]

There is nil performance difference between a 330i SE and 330i Sport. All Sport changes are cosmetic (ie seats, bodykit) or suspension related.

[dr_gn]

Fox- said:

There is nil performance difference between a 330i SE and 330i Sport. All Sport changes are cosmetic (ie seats, bodykit) or suspension related.

That's what I thought - cosmetic plus more expensive tyres and a harsh ride.

Do you have any figures for the 330i manual vs. auto 'boxes in terms of acceleration times and fuel economy? I've seen some figures on Autotrader and other websites, but they are not consistent.

[roofer]

Thats a nice car, i had a manual 330. Thought the Sport and SE ran the same suspension though. Badge on the boot does indicate it was previously owned by a dhead mind.

[Fox-]

It is the Coupe which has M Sport suspension regardless of spec.

[roofer]

Fox- said:

It is the Coupe which has M Sport suspension regardless of spec.

Apologies, just to clarify, all 330 petrol use Sport setup.

[dr_gn]

roofer said:

Fox- said:

It is the Coupe which has M Sport suspension regardless of spec.

Apologies, just to clarify, all 330 petrol use Sport setup.

Only from some point in 2001 - according to the E46 Wiki.

[roofer]

dr_gn said:

roofer said:

Fox- said:

It is the Coupe which has M Sport suspension regardless of spec.

Apologies, just to clarify, all 330 petrol use Sport setup.

Only from some point in 2001 - according to the E46 Wiki.

April.

[dr_gn]

I can see it's going to be like Russian Roulette finding the right one of these things.