E46 330i Touring

[smn159]

Having beed inspired by the 'Oddjob' thread on here I spotted this while idly browsing eBay a couple of weeks ago. A really well written ad, with no block capitals, good grammar and all of the words in the same colour piqued my interest; the car also appeared to had the common trouble spots sorted with a new cooling system, vanos and disa valve refurbished by specialists and assorted new bushes fitted. Buy it now was £1950, so a click of the mouse and it was mine!

Buying a car unseen is always a risk, but in this case I'm delighted with what I've ended up with - really nice seller who threw in some spare parts as well. Drives really well and will be pressed into daily duties for a while to see what's what.

Only issue so far is some bubbling on the N/S/F arch, which I may rub down, treat and paint for now but will probably get a replacement wing as the pattern ones seem cheap enough. I also fancy DAB in the car as my Volvo had it and I miss 6 Music, so looking at options there too.

[C70R]

smn159 said:

will probably get a replacement wing as the pattern ones seem cheap enough

You get what you pay for.

The one I bought (from eBay) was a pig to fit, and the silver colour match was poor.

[Mr Tidy]

If I remember right that was on AutoTrader a few days ago!

If I hadn't bought an E90 330i the week before I'd have been all over it - still I'm glad it's sound! Enjoy.

[smn159]

Hole drilled in the roof and a DAB antenna fitted. Still haven't finally decided on a head unit, so the wires are coiled up in the footwell for now.

Also had a new battery fitted to one of the keys for £30 (key needs to be cut open and the battery soldered in apparently), so full remote locking functionality has been restored! Will get the spare sorted at some point as well.

[Sf_Manta]

Holy crap, it's my car's twin brother! and didn't realize i'd inspired more people to go rescue E46 tourings. They really are useful and still retain that 'GT' feeling.

Is it manual or auto? and more pictures please

[JamesRR]

Lovely, quite a few E46 Tourings appearing on here in the last lot of weeks, must be something of a resurgence starting. Glad to see it too, I’ve always wanted an E46 myself, I think in terms of styling they were pretty much peak 3 series. Health to drive, OP.

[smn159]

Sf_Manta said:

Holy crap, it's my car's twin brother! and didn't realize i'd inspired more people to go rescue E46 tourings. They really are useful and still retain that 'GT' feeling.

Is it manual or auto? and more pictures please

Ha! I've been following your thread for a while and admiring what you've done with your car, so when my Volvo added a wheel bearing to its growing list of issues and this one came up on eBay for a good price it was a bit of a no-brainer.

It's a manual - here are some pics from the ad...









I'm stupidly pleased with it for the money - we had an E46 330 convertible a few years back which was great, but this one feels better

[DailyHack]

Forever timeless the E46 estate, I run a E91 and feel these now/eventually have that the timeless feel compared to the new F'series..I dismissed a F31 and went older for the E91 on a 12 plate just felt more oldskool.

|https://thumbsnap.com/aeMzhLTc[/url]

The old interior on your E46 looks factory fresh, amazed how it's stood the test of time so well, looks so ergonomic and clean! Great car mate!

Edited by DailyHack on Sunday 28th April 17:32

[Escort3500]

Wish I’d got the 330i rather than a 320d , and yours looks great.

As said above, avoid pattern wings; they’re not a good fit! You’ll also find that the front wings are prone to rust fairly quickly. The arch liner conveniently rubs away at the inner lip of the arch, removes the galvanising and then rust takes hold. My replacement wings are already bubbling after 3 years

[d_a_n1979]

Lovely looking motor

Best engine too






























What's that puddin' stick in the middle up front? haha

[helix402]

I’ve had no problems with pattern E46 wings. Had them fit well on my last three E46s. Paint the back well and they don’t rust.

Afraid I think the best E46 engine is the M57 (S54 isn’t bad too!).

[Sf_Manta]

When i had mine repainted, the wings were salvageable thankfully with some rust repair.
They got covered in Raptor bed paint from Upol, which should last some time longer.

Fingers crossed and we'll have to figure out what pistonheads meet to bring them all to and have them all lined up

[Escort3500]

Sf_Manta said:

When i had mine repainted, the wings were salvageable thankfully with some rust repair.
They got covered in Raptor bed paint from Upol, which should last some time longer.

Fingers crossed and we'll have to figure out what pistonheads meet to bring them all to and have them all lined up

Might have to try that Raptor paint as, despite thoroughly painting the inside of my replacement (factory) wings and giving them a liberal dose of Waxoyl, they’re beginning to bubble through

[smn159]

Following on from the DAB antenna install last weekend I fitted a double din radio today. Went for a Sony XAV-AX3005 as it has DAB and supports Apple Car Play as well as whatever the Android version is called. All went well and now have improved audio quality as a nice bonus.

[Billyb1234]

Lovely car! Ive just got an e46 330d as a runabout and doing a similar refresh / build thread on here. Didnt expect to become as attached as I have! They get under your skin thats for sure. Just out of interest where did you get the keyfob batteries replaced? Im dubious of some places on eBay, and it will go wrong if I do it myself. Also how easy was it to drop the climate control panel down? The double din touchscreen freshens the interior up no end!

[Countdown]

I think you got yourself a bargain there OP and the DIN Unit looks really good - enjoy

[smn159]

I used these people for the key battery;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FSAZPJI/ref...

Really quick service and no visual evidence that the key has been opened - recommended.

I've just kind of wedged the climate control into the gap left by the now removed sunglasses bin. Not too bad but not ideal. I may see if I can pick up a used relocation panel from eBay, since a new one is now £160 from BMW! Simple to relocate though, the unit just pops out once the radio is out.

I didn't use a Dynavin, but I found this useful when pulling the dash apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9Eg7ZXez0c

[smn159]

Countdown said:

I think you got yourself a bargain there OP and the DIN Unit looks really good - enjoy

Thanks - I'm absolutely chuffed with it