BMW E46 330i Sport Manual Touring
Discussion
Hello all,
It's been almost 3 years since I sold my last E46, an Estoril Blue 320d Sport bought from none other than Sir_Dave on here. I loved that car, and always said I would own another E46, though I did expect it to be an M3. I came close to buying an M3 last year, viewed a few and found a few that I liked, however just getting off the phone arranging to view a lovely Techno Violet example, I was told I would be losing my job, so that plan went out of the window.
This was the old one, which some of you may remember:
Quick Pic by DanielJames., on Flickr
066.jpg by DanielJames., on Flickr
After that I've had a few different cars. Two Integra DC2s, of which I still own one of them. An E36 328i Sport, a Seat Ibiza Cupra, a Audi A4 Avant, an Integra DC5, and a Civic EP3 (which I also still own, but are selling, if anyone is interested). I've been playing the "what is the ultimate daily" card for a while Something happened last week however which made me think that something with comfortable heated seats, cruise control, sat nav, and an engine that could comfortably tow my DC2 track car to events was needed asap. This happened when I took my car to track for the first time on a trailer. The benefits are exceptional, but I didn't want to buy an excellent towing car and end up with a s
tty road car that I would hate. I thought about buying a Disco 3, excellent to tow with, but how long until I'd get bored of it, or bored of fixing it? I considered getting another A4 PD130 Avant, a brilliant car no doubt, and very sensible, but I don't need sensible. Sensible lasted a couple of months the last time I tried it, and petrol is probably the cheapest it will ever be at the moment. When I was thinking about the Audi I started to think about E46s again, notably the 330d. Power, torque to tow with, and an excellent chassis with half decent fuel economy? No brainer surely? Then I remembered about the time my mates HPFP died on his E46 330d, and remembered the bill it came to. So why not a 330i?
To start with, they're properly rare to get, and to get in a good spec, even harder. One of my CS FB friends suggested speaking to a guy on here about one he may be selling, but unfortunately we didn't agree on the value. It wasn't the perfect spec anyway, so not to worry. Then on Friday morning I was tagged into a post on FB, from a man selling a 330i Manual Touring Sport, with under 100k and every option I could have wanted. Xenons, Sat Nav, Heated Leather Seats, H+K, Auto lights/wipers, Digital TV tuner, I think the only thing it doesn't have is electric seats and a sunroof. I could live with that. Best of all, it had a manual gearbox, and a 6 speed one at that. I got on the phone to the guy straight away, it was down in Stevenage which is close to 3 hours from me. No biggie, I've travelled further. Once I got talking to the guy though, I knew the car had to be mine. He'd owned it for 8 years, and best of all, he was a BMW Master Technician. This meant the car had full dealer service history, last serviced 3k ago. It had proper tyres fitted, Michelins up front and Bridgestone Potenzas on the rear. It meant the services had been done properly, things that most cars of this age are overlooked on like brake fluid and coolant had been changed. The leather seats had no signs of wear, no sags, no shine. It meant the Sat Nav disc was up to date, it meant that only genuine BMW parts had been used with the proper oil etc. I could go on, but knowing stuff like this gave me great confidence in the car and the seller, and made me quickly realise I had to own it. I made an offer on the phone, with the promise that if accepted I would take the car that night. He accepted, so after sorting a lift, off I set!
Upon arrival of the car I was greeted by not only one M car also in the household, but two. An M6 and an E46 M3 sat on the drive of the house. You know when you just get that feeling that things are going well? Anyway the car drove great, was exactly as advertised, and even had a few things thrown in that I didn't expect like a bluetooth car kit and a iPod link fitted in the glovebox.
I haven't yet taken any good quality pictures of the car, as I started my shift at work the next day. Here it is in the petrol station on the way home:
(Average MPG on the way home was 34.5mpg, with cruise set at 72mph all the way.)
I'll get some better pictures of it this week if anyone is interested. Hopefully it'll be my tow car to Spa/Ring in April as I don't really want to risk driving the DC2/drive the DC2 that distance in its current build. I need to get a towbar fitted and do my trailer test before then. I've got Cadwell on the 9th of March so going to try and get it done before then.
The interior is fantastic.
This is easily the best car I have owned to date. It might not be an M3, it might be in a slightly dull colour compared to my other BMWs of the past, but I absolutely love it.
Quick picture with my EP3 in the background.
I'll update the thread with some proper pictures later in the week. I just had to let the new car excitement out
Cheers,
Dan
It's been almost 3 years since I sold my last E46, an Estoril Blue 320d Sport bought from none other than Sir_Dave on here. I loved that car, and always said I would own another E46, though I did expect it to be an M3. I came close to buying an M3 last year, viewed a few and found a few that I liked, however just getting off the phone arranging to view a lovely Techno Violet example, I was told I would be losing my job, so that plan went out of the window.
This was the old one, which some of you may remember:
Quick Pic by DanielJames., on Flickr066.jpg by DanielJames., on FlickrAfter that I've had a few different cars. Two Integra DC2s, of which I still own one of them. An E36 328i Sport, a Seat Ibiza Cupra, a Audi A4 Avant, an Integra DC5, and a Civic EP3 (which I also still own, but are selling, if anyone is interested). I've been playing the "what is the ultimate daily" card for a while Something happened last week however which made me think that something with comfortable heated seats, cruise control, sat nav, and an engine that could comfortably tow my DC2 track car to events was needed asap. This happened when I took my car to track for the first time on a trailer. The benefits are exceptional, but I didn't want to buy an excellent towing car and end up with a s
tty road car that I would hate. I thought about buying a Disco 3, excellent to tow with, but how long until I'd get bored of it, or bored of fixing it? I considered getting another A4 PD130 Avant, a brilliant car no doubt, and very sensible, but I don't need sensible. Sensible lasted a couple of months the last time I tried it, and petrol is probably the cheapest it will ever be at the moment. When I was thinking about the Audi I started to think about E46s again, notably the 330d. Power, torque to tow with, and an excellent chassis with half decent fuel economy? No brainer surely? Then I remembered about the time my mates HPFP died on his E46 330d, and remembered the bill it came to. So why not a 330i? To start with, they're properly rare to get, and to get in a good spec, even harder. One of my CS FB friends suggested speaking to a guy on here about one he may be selling, but unfortunately we didn't agree on the value. It wasn't the perfect spec anyway, so not to worry. Then on Friday morning I was tagged into a post on FB, from a man selling a 330i Manual Touring Sport, with under 100k and every option I could have wanted. Xenons, Sat Nav, Heated Leather Seats, H+K, Auto lights/wipers, Digital TV tuner, I think the only thing it doesn't have is electric seats and a sunroof. I could live with that. Best of all, it had a manual gearbox, and a 6 speed one at that. I got on the phone to the guy straight away, it was down in Stevenage which is close to 3 hours from me. No biggie, I've travelled further. Once I got talking to the guy though, I knew the car had to be mine. He'd owned it for 8 years, and best of all, he was a BMW Master Technician. This meant the car had full dealer service history, last serviced 3k ago. It had proper tyres fitted, Michelins up front and Bridgestone Potenzas on the rear. It meant the services had been done properly, things that most cars of this age are overlooked on like brake fluid and coolant had been changed. The leather seats had no signs of wear, no sags, no shine. It meant the Sat Nav disc was up to date, it meant that only genuine BMW parts had been used with the proper oil etc. I could go on, but knowing stuff like this gave me great confidence in the car and the seller, and made me quickly realise I had to own it. I made an offer on the phone, with the promise that if accepted I would take the car that night. He accepted, so after sorting a lift, off I set!
Upon arrival of the car I was greeted by not only one M car also in the household, but two. An M6 and an E46 M3 sat on the drive of the house. You know when you just get that feeling that things are going well? Anyway the car drove great, was exactly as advertised, and even had a few things thrown in that I didn't expect like a bluetooth car kit and a iPod link fitted in the glovebox.
I haven't yet taken any good quality pictures of the car, as I started my shift at work the next day. Here it is in the petrol station on the way home:
(Average MPG on the way home was 34.5mpg, with cruise set at 72mph all the way.)
I'll get some better pictures of it this week if anyone is interested. Hopefully it'll be my tow car to Spa/Ring in April as I don't really want to risk driving the DC2/drive the DC2 that distance in its current build. I need to get a towbar fitted and do my trailer test before then. I've got Cadwell on the 9th of March so going to try and get it done before then.
The interior is fantastic.
This is easily the best car I have owned to date. It might not be an M3, it might be in a slightly dull colour compared to my other BMWs of the past, but I absolutely love it.
Quick picture with my EP3 in the background.
I'll update the thread with some proper pictures later in the week. I just had to let the new car excitement out
Cheers,
Dan
LankyLegoHead said:
4/10 not as good as mine m9.
Seriously though what's it like suddenly having torque? I imagine terrifying. Hopefully see you at a track day soon so I can laugh at how northern you are.
Torque smorque, my DC2 would still rinse it! Seriously though what's it like suddenly having torque? I imagine terrifying. Hopefully see you at a track day soon so I can laugh at how northern you are.
That said, I'm pretty sure this isn't running right. Spent all night trying to get INPA working to see if there are any errors but had some right trouble with it.
justanother5tar said:
That is lovely. So was your old one too!
It's exactly what I'm looking for myself atm, either as a tourer or a saloon.
Where did you see it advertised? i can't recall seeing that one anywhere I've looked?
Can I also be slightly nosey and ask how much you paid for it?
It wasn't advertised anywhere, the guy put it up on Facebook and tagged his entire friendslist lol, and I was tagged in it as one of our mutual friends knew I was looking for one. It's exactly what I'm looking for myself atm, either as a tourer or a saloon.
Where did you see it advertised? i can't recall seeing that one anywhere I've looked?
Can I also be slightly nosey and ask how much you paid for it?
The price was very good, good enough that I went straight for it no questions asked that day.
Got some better pics at last,
DSC_0638 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0639 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0637 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0636 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0632 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0623 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0620 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0618 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0614 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0629 by DanielJames., on Flickr
and to mimic my other E46:
DSC_0609 by DanielJames., on Flickr
DSC_0607 by DanielJames., on Flickr
Unfortunately, I'm getting a bit of hesitation from the engine. With the help of [USER=20326]@f0xy[/USER] I've spent most of the evening trying to get INPA on to scan for errors but we couldn't get it working. It's possibly my cable or a problem with XP so I'll try it again on the Windows 7 image when I can.
I unplugged the MAF out of curiousity and it did seem to get better, but as its an intermittent issue I'm getting I can't really pinpoint it without reading the codes.
DSC_0638 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0639 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0637 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0636 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0632 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0623 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0620 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0618 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0614 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0629 by DanielJames., on Flickrand to mimic my other E46:
DSC_0609 by DanielJames., on FlickrDSC_0607 by DanielJames., on FlickrUnfortunately, I'm getting a bit of hesitation from the engine. With the help of [USER=20326]@f0xy[/USER] I've spent most of the evening trying to get INPA on to scan for errors but we couldn't get it working. It's possibly my cable or a problem with XP so I'll try it again on the Windows 7 image when I can.
I unplugged the MAF out of curiousity and it did seem to get better, but as its an intermittent issue I'm getting I can't really pinpoint it without reading the codes.
Great car and extremely rare in that spec (I gave up looking for a manual 330Ci coupé with bi-xenons, HK audio & heated leather). The only thing I'm not keen on is the colour. Due to it's age, there will no doubt be a couple of bits that need refreshing but if it's been looked-after, it should be capable of daily driver duties for a long while yet.
We've ended-up with a Mini JCW for the moment (bought in September) but I still can't stop looking at straight six BMWs in the classifieds...
We've ended-up with a Mini JCW for the moment (bought in September) but I still can't stop looking at straight six BMWs in the classifieds...
Yeah I agree about the colour. Silver grey is lovely though, very subtle. I nearly bought an M3 the same colour but with the cinnamon interior, in the unlikely event that heated cinnamon interior comes up I'll grab it!
Hugh, we'll get the cars together soon mate and see who's going to keep theirs the longest
Finally got INPA working tonight, none of the codes were showing an obvious cause, but the "rough" test showed cylinder 3 wasn't running all that well. Most likely it will need an ignition coil, Bosch ones are £21 from ECP so not too bad.
Hugh, we'll get the cars together soon mate and see who's going to keep theirs the longest
Finally got INPA working tonight, none of the codes were showing an obvious cause, but the "rough" test showed cylinder 3 wasn't running all that well. Most likely it will need an ignition coil, Bosch ones are £21 from ECP so not too bad.
Lovely car, especially with that spec.
Hope you get it sorted easily.
Straight 6 E46's are just wnoderful!
But I may be biased as I bought a 325ti Sport Compact last December so am also still in that honeymoon period, but I plan for it to be a keeper.
So much better than the 320td Compact I had years ago, but thankfully I have kicked the disease habit!
Hope you get it sorted easily.
Straight 6 E46's are just wnoderful!
But I may be biased as I bought a 325ti Sport Compact last December so am also still in that honeymoon period, but I plan for it to be a keeper.
So much better than the 320td Compact I had years ago, but thankfully I have kicked the disease habit!
Lovely cars these, I've recently got one as well (See: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... ))
Though seems i got the short straw, you've got satnav, heated seats and the 6 speed box.. mine doesn't have these, just regular leather (Not complaining, I don't like leather heated seats!) and a non functioning Disc changer.
Though seems i got the short straw, you've got satnav, heated seats and the 6 speed box.. mine doesn't have these, just regular leather (Not complaining, I don't like leather heated seats!) and a non functioning Disc changer.
DanielJames said:
It wasn't advertised anywhere, the guy put it up on Facebook and tagged his entire friendslist lol, and I was tagged in it as one of our mutual friends knew I was looking for one.
The price was very good, good enough that I went straight for it no questions asked that day.
Lucky bThe price was very good, good enough that I went straight for it no questions asked that day.
d. 
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