How good is an E46 323 CI?

[SD1992]

I have recently developed a recent soft spot for the above car.

It is cheap to insure, looks good on paper, seems a nice upgrade from my 2002 1.8 Mondeo LX, and looks very smart! Plus it has a 2.5 straight 6 and RWD...

I would be buying a cheap early one, probably £3k at an absolute limit.

It would have to be a manual, and I would not be doing many miles in it.

My plan would be to keep it for a year or two, then swap it for something like a 330?

Has anyone any experience of these cars? Or would I be better off going to look at the E36?

[dooosuk]

The general answer seems to be that running costs etc are the same as a 330ci so you may as well just buy a 330ci in the first place.

There's plenty of threads if you search for them.

[SD1992]

I would love a 330i, but the insurance is just silly on them.

Having looked through the common faults on the Honest John website, I am leaning towards an E36 instead as it looks like the older E46s have a lot of expensive things that can go wrong!

[eg Watermelon]

If you're worried about costs make damn sure everything works, such as the the air-con and heater fan running properly. Also watch temp gauge on test drive and coolant problems are quite common watch for leaks. I found my example (a 328Ci owned a few years ago) had dodgy electrics too. There is also expensive suspension problems too to watch out for! It may sound like i'm trying to scare you but the E46 model does have it's fair share of problems, problems that both age and a smallish budget like yours means you need to look out for. Just take time to look over each car thoroughly.

Alternatively as you mention an E36 this may be a better bet you could get a well sorted example compared to the newer E46. Plus it argubly handles better/more fun.

[adam85]

I am perfectly happy with mine, managed to get a very tidy 49,000 mile 1999 example for just over £3k.
Responds well to a remap also with 186 bhp and a useful amount of torque!

If you check for the usual E46 faults, bushes, water pump etc etc you should be fine!

[SD1992]

Hmm, do you think it is possible to find a nice one for my budget? There are a few ones that look good on Autotrader for just over £2k...

adam85, just had a look at your profile - your one looks really nice! Tempting me more and more...

I think my problem is that I am expecting quite a lot. I would want one with FSH, the sport seats, nice alloys (MV1 or MV2 in an ideal world), leather (at least part), and a front center armrest.

[dooosuk]

If you don't look you'll never know...a good one may come up.

I recently bought a 52plate silver 330Ci Sport with 107k and leather electric memory seats for £3300...so decent cars at good money are out there...you just have to look and maybe wait a while till one comes up.

[a_bread]

eg Watermelon said:

. There is also expensive suspension problems too to watch out for! It may sound like i'm trying to scare you but the E46 model does have it's fair share of problems, problems that both age and a smallish budget like yours means you need to look out for. Just take time to look over each car thoroughly.

Alternatively as you mention an E36 this may be a better bet you could get a well sorted example compared to the newer E46. Plus it argubly handles better/more fun.

I've spent years with an e46 330ci sport and a friend has spent even longer with an e36 323 coupe. Regarding handling I really could not disagree more. The older car is less taut, has slower less precise steering and less grip. In fact there is no department on which the 323i is better, whether it's interior, handling, build quality, performance...(ok an unfair comparison with the 330 having nearly 40% more power). Maybe I've been lucky and he's been unlucky, but he's had higher maintenance costs. Also although the mileages are similar the feel of the two cars would imply that the e36 has twice as many miles.

The old 323 is still a good car and the advantage over the later 323 is a small saving on weight and a small saving on purchase price, but the latter saving is such a marginal difference now that it could be dwarfed by whether you get a good example or not. Early e46s are very cheap these days without any significant step change as you move into e36s. The only way I can explain this is that the e46 is currently the hate figure which right now captures the timeless disdain for over-ubiquitous BMWs. In earlier eras the e30 and e36 took their turn to be the resented over-common symbol of affordable social climbing. It happens when the model is too old to be expensive but not yet old enough to be the subject of misty eyed rose-tinted reverence and "classic" status. The e90 will pass through this process too, given enough years.

[a_bread]

To be fair, the way the e36 could be described as more fun is that the limits are lower and hides its speed less well but this is usually what happens when manufacturers bring out successive versions of non-specialist cars.

[Gunk]

I test drove a 323 Ci convertible about 6 years ago as I was thinking of buying one for Mrs Gunk, at the time I had a 330i touring, I thought the 323 was terrible. really breathless and unpleasant to drive, I would always suggest that you go for a for a post 2001 325i instead, the engine is in a different league and the equipment level was improved for the 2001 MY with rear parking sensors, clear indicators and multi-funtion steering wheel which you find missing from many 323 Ci's.