E46: Which one for me, or would something else be better?

[Clivey]

Evening all,

I'm currently looking to replace one of our cars with something for around £4,500 - I have relocated to within 3 miles from my workplace and the car will otherwise be used for leisure (countryside hoons) therefore MPG isn't a concern - my partner commutes further and so she will be using my diesel Citroen C4, which will also be used to do the shopping etc.

I like to keep my cars immaculate and so don't want something with moon mileage and/or a scruffy interior - I'd like something I can keep for a while without it becoming a shed. My preferences are cars with RWD, a decently powerful petrol engine and a manual gearbox. I can't fit in a Mk1/2 MX-5 (I'm too tall and my feet are too big for the pedal box) and need to be able to fit a couple of large desktop computers in the boot (which rules out an MR2) so my options are limited. The Lexus IS200 and Mercedes C-Class aren't exactly renowned drivers' cars and so unless I've overlooked something that effectively leaves the 3'er.

My first choice would be a coupé, but I'd accept a saloon with the right spec. I've noticed that for my money, I could squeeze into a pre-facelift 330i, but if I wanted a post-facelift, I'd have to settle for a 325i.

My questions are:

1: Is there anything more suitable for me than an E46?
2: If not, which E46 would suit me best - Pre-facelift 330i or post-facelift 325i?
3: Approximately at what age / mileage do these cars begin to produce big bills?

Thanks for taking the time to read and any help would be greatly appreciated.

[forsure]

Something worth knowing (given your luggage space requirements): all e46 coupes have split fold down rear seats. It was a very rare option on the saloons.

[Clivey]

forsure said:

Something worth knowing (given your luggage space requirements): all e46 coupes have split fold down rear seats. It was a very rare option on the saloons.

Thanks, that's handy to know.

Just for clarification: Do you mean that the saloons usually have single-piece folding seats or do they usually not fold at all?

[forsure]

They don't fold at all.

ETA: The facelift brought worthwhile dynamic changes, but the coupes did not get the new 'face' (grilles/front wings/front lights) until a couple of years later.

Edited by forsure on Sunday 15th January 05:48

[Clivey]

forsure said:

They don't fold at all.

ETA: The facelift brought worthwhile dynamic changes, but the coupes did not get the new 'face' (grilles/front wings/front lights) until a couple of years later.

Edited by forsure on Sunday 15th January 05:48

Thank-you. I had a good look around yesterday and have put a deposit on a facelift 320i Sport saloon. The condition sold it to me - 62k miles with only a couple of insignificant marks on the exterior. The interior is immaculate - the seats (alcantara) look and feel as new, as do all plastics and trim pieces.

I know the 320i isn't going to set the world on fire, but it's not "slow" (8.3 to 60 is still quicker than 90% of cars on the road, fine for overtaking dawdling kiddie carriers), it's still got the 6-cylinder soundtrack and IMO that makes it better than the four bangers or equivalent 2.0-litre Mondeos etc.

The added bonus with this one is that it's an unusual colour:



- It's not the standard shade of blue (it looks purple under forecourt lights) unless I'm mistaken? The salesman didn't know the name of the colour so that's my next task!

Edited by Clivey on Monday 16th January 10:17

[forsure]

The colour is written on the chassis plate (in German), somewhere under the bonnet (it's on the nsf inner wing near the suspension top mount on my e39).

Nice looking car; the 2.2 may not be the most powerful, but it's incredibly smooth and sweet.

[Clivey]

forsure said:

The colour is written on the chassis plate (in German), somewhere under the bonnet (it's on the nsf inner wing near the suspension top mount on my e39).

Yes, that's something I thought I'd check later. - As you can imagine, I was concentrating on making sure the car was as honest as it looked!

forsure said:

Nice looking car; the 2.2 may not be the most powerful, but it's incredibly smooth and sweet.

That's exactly what I'm looking for. After all, even it'd been a 330 there are faster cars for the money. I'd rather be able to use the car on real roads without risking prison! Having said that, hopefully I can put the annual insurance saving into the "TVR fund" for later on!

[Luca Brasi]

Enjoy! They are great cars.

[Exige77]

I have a 330ci sport in that blue.

I've had it from new and done 140,000 + miles in it.

It's been a great car.

Still drives like new and does about 30mpg.

Can't recomend it enough.

Ex77