My BMW E46 330i Sport
Discussion
Just got my first car worthy of putting on here, it also happens to be my first proper car too, seeing as I shared my old Skoda with my Mum. Had it a few days now, still have to keep pinching myself that it's not a dream. Have been working hard for about a year to get it and pay the insurance, my own policy too.
Before you all look at my profile and ask, yes I am 19 and no the bank of Mum and Dad did not need visiting. It's such a satisfying feeling to have had a goal, worked hard and achieved it. It's been a long process, deliberating over how much to spend, what to get, what I can afford to run. But I couldn't be happier with the decision I've made.
Thanks for all the advice from people here and elsewhere too with regards to getting the right car.
So here it is. My 2003 BMW E46 330i Sport Manual.
Went out yesterday and took the photos, pretty pleased with what I've got, but my mates a cracking photographer so when he has edited his I'll pop a few up. Haven't got any interior shots but its all black inside with the Alcantara sports seats and the carbon effect trim inserts. Has some nice factory options: the MV2 wheels, fully electric front seats with driver memory, and the Professional radio with the Harman/Kardon surround system which besides the horrifically expensive B&O systems is the best factory sound system I've listened to. Not that it needs one with that fantastic straight-6 roar. Such a pleasure to drive, and not as bad on fuel as I had thought. Averaging high 20s with a good mix of driving. Could not be happier with it. Picked it up with 70,500 on the clock so barely run in either. Hoping for many years of happy and enjoyable motoring in my Bavarian Beast.
Before you all look at my profile and ask, yes I am 19 and no the bank of Mum and Dad did not need visiting. It's such a satisfying feeling to have had a goal, worked hard and achieved it. It's been a long process, deliberating over how much to spend, what to get, what I can afford to run. But I couldn't be happier with the decision I've made.
Thanks for all the advice from people here and elsewhere too with regards to getting the right car.
So here it is. My 2003 BMW E46 330i Sport Manual.
Went out yesterday and took the photos, pretty pleased with what I've got, but my mates a cracking photographer so when he has edited his I'll pop a few up. Haven't got any interior shots but its all black inside with the Alcantara sports seats and the carbon effect trim inserts. Has some nice factory options: the MV2 wheels, fully electric front seats with driver memory, and the Professional radio with the Harman/Kardon surround system which besides the horrifically expensive B&O systems is the best factory sound system I've listened to. Not that it needs one with that fantastic straight-6 roar. Such a pleasure to drive, and not as bad on fuel as I had thought. Averaging high 20s with a good mix of driving. Could not be happier with it. Picked it up with 70,500 on the clock so barely run in either. Hoping for many years of happy and enjoyable motoring in my Bavarian Beast.
Cheers guys, as for why I went for it. I just love BMWs and I wanted a more grown up car, but one that was good at cruising about whisper quiet sometimes and then go like the clappers when you want it to. This does just that. I wanted something with the modern safety features on such as DSC, especially seeing as it is my first RWD car. Also wanted something that looked good and was reliable. This ticked all the boxes. Look at my post history, I've test driven lots of things,TTs, XJ8s, RX-8s, S4s I've thought about old Volvos, MX-5s but the BMW just stood out to me. For a while I had it down to the RX-8 and the 330Ci, little reliability issues worried me about the Mazda, the lack of torque was very noticeable, poor fuel economy, and all the fuss with not shutting it down when Cold. I found the BMW just as enjoyable an experience to drive. That ultimately was what I was looking for, not the fastest or best handling car, but the one that gave me the most pleasure. The BMW won me over, just everything about it, it's the little things that BMWs do that others don't that just make the cars feel special to me.
As for why not the coupe, I did initially set out to get a coupe, but soon realised that I wanted a face-lift E46 and the Saloon was facelift 2 years before the Coupe so within my budget. Also some of the Coupes I saw were quite tired, then one day the Saloon appeared up in my list, it was cheaper than the coupe I was looking at, better spec, lower miles, FSH, never failed an MOT. I saw it and immediately fell in love. Also I prefer the looks to the Coupe and the added practicality is a big bonus. Also the fact that 330i Sport Saloons with manual gearboxes are quite rare. I've been lead to believe there are less of them than there are M3 CSLs.
As for why not the coupe, I did initially set out to get a coupe, but soon realised that I wanted a face-lift E46 and the Saloon was facelift 2 years before the Coupe so within my budget. Also some of the Coupes I saw were quite tired, then one day the Saloon appeared up in my list, it was cheaper than the coupe I was looking at, better spec, lower miles, FSH, never failed an MOT. I saw it and immediately fell in love. Also I prefer the looks to the Coupe and the added practicality is a big bonus. Also the fact that 330i Sport Saloons with manual gearboxes are quite rare. I've been lead to believe there are less of them than there are M3 CSLs.
Synchromesh said:
Fantastic bit of kit you've got yourself there. Love the facelift (or should I say LCI seeing as we're in Beemer-land) e46 and that blue is THE perfect colour. I'm also 19 and have been seriously thinking about getting one of these, but I don't think I'll be able to get one as nice as yours for my meagre budget. Mind if I ask how much you paid for it?
I paid £4300 for it. FSH, 70,000 miles, the options I mentioned, and it's never failed an MOT. HPI Clear. Had it AA Inspected too, gave it a clean bill of health. Pretty pleased with myself. 
Yeah Parkers price guide said about £5300 is what I should pay. But in all fairness it's not perfect. The airbag light comes on and off intermittently, so I'm suspecting loose connection somewhere. Common problem I know. Also it needs one new parking sensor, so those don't work, and I need to get a new key for it. But touch wood mechanically it seems all good. Oh and I need to replace the front badge and possibly give the wheels a refurb at some point. Currently I'm sorting out the airbag light, ordering a new key, and some BMW plates for it. Pleased as punch though.
Little Update:
I've done over a 1000 miles in the car now. It's just getting better and better. I discovered the butterfly valve in the exhaust was seized shut meaning I was running on one pipe, so I sorted it out so it's now stuck open which as a result means it sounds damn fantastic everywhere, even crackles and pops a little on the overun.
Last owner certainly never opened it up often, felt really restricted at the top end, but now after some V-Power and a few good runs it really shifts down a road. Only just found out that when EVO tested in a while back they got a 0-60mph time of 5.9seconds. Seriously impressed.
So far the only thing I've got for it is a new front badge to replace the old worn one. My ebay fault code reader software is on the way so I will address the airbag fault code next.
Last thing to mention is fuel economy, in town I'm getting 17mpg. But amazingly I've matched BMWs claimed 40mpg on some longer runs being very good with that usually lead-based foot of mine. Normal for motorway driving is around 32mpg. Pretty pleased with that.
More updates to come....
I've done over a 1000 miles in the car now. It's just getting better and better. I discovered the butterfly valve in the exhaust was seized shut meaning I was running on one pipe, so I sorted it out so it's now stuck open which as a result means it sounds damn fantastic everywhere, even crackles and pops a little on the overun.
Last owner certainly never opened it up often, felt really restricted at the top end, but now after some V-Power and a few good runs it really shifts down a road. Only just found out that when EVO tested in a while back they got a 0-60mph time of 5.9seconds. Seriously impressed.
So far the only thing I've got for it is a new front badge to replace the old worn one. My ebay fault code reader software is on the way so I will address the airbag fault code next.
Last thing to mention is fuel economy, in town I'm getting 17mpg. But amazingly I've matched BMWs claimed 40mpg on some longer runs being very good with that usually lead-based foot of mine. Normal for motorway driving is around 32mpg. Pretty pleased with that.
More updates to come....
james_gt3rs said:
Lovely car, lovely colour! How much was the insurance?
Ummm enough 
A price I hope to never have to pay again. But still worth every penny.It was a nice colour, it's now a sort of brown on blue colour. Not keen on keeping a gleaming BMW in dodgy little city side streets. It will be making an appearance at the PHSS at Silverstone after it's had a nice long bath.
Poko said:
james_gt3rs said:
I'll take a guess then. £3500?
£2k iirc 
The Crack Fox said:
One of the two pipes should remain shut until a certain RPM, although plenty of owners jam it open to enjoy the sound, take care if/when we get a smattering of snow as these are crap in bad conditions. I've enjoyed owning mine, trip reads 29.7MPG over the last 20k miles of enthusastic driving. I hope you enjoy yours
My valve was seized shut so it needed freeing up. Best thing I've done to the car, it's like having a new exhaust. Sounds amazing in tunnels too. I'm not expecting good things with 255 rear sections and real drive in the snow. As for fuel, I need to calculate my total averages at some point. Be interesting to see.ETA
Bugger! Just calculated my overall mpg over the last 1200 miles.... 22.9mpg. Oops, that'll be the city driving and new car fever doing that.
Edited by petrolveins on Thursday 2nd February 07:39
sparks_E39 said:
If you do a lot of town driving don't expect much more than the MPG you get now, thirsty buggers they are!
It's the combination of traffic, a set of traffic lights into a 50 zone and a nice bridge I go under everyday on my way to uni. 
I'm actually loving how filthy it is at the moment. Might just never ever wash it.
Clivey said:
Thirded! I also need to look at my parking sensors and the airbag light had started to illuminate with passengers, but since Wednesday it's decided to stay on. Bugger.
I seem to remember reading that the airbag light flashing is a common fault; any idea what causes it?
90% of the the time I'm told it's the passenger occupancy sensor, which can be fixed yourself with a part that costs £10 from ebay, and bypasses the sensor. But can be many other things.I seem to remember reading that the airbag light flashing is a common fault; any idea what causes it?
I've just had a new light spring up which tells me a rear bulb has blown, when in fact all the bulbs are working. Also a cheap self-fix soldering job I'm told, just need to find the time now. I did get some BMW Diagnostic software which I tried today. Interesting the number of fault codes the 'blown' light bulb has thrown up. Seems the car at some point has recorded a fault from every single rear bulb. A short-circuit I'm told, fixed by re-earthing the light unit somewhere else. However there is no fault code I can see for the airbag light, meaning I have no idea what's wrong. The software did however pinpoint the exact sensor that has packed up and gave me a part number to order it. Had good fun running though some of the diagnostic tests, seeing the dials go to 155mph and back, setting off the car alarm from my laptop and getting individual lights on the car to turn on. Also gives you timings on the Vanos system, engine, oil and water temperatures and all sorts of geeky things. I even found one function to tell me how close the nearest object to each of the individual sensors was. Also found a way to disable the annoying headlight washer system, which I don't need as I don't have xenons. So now I don't washer fluid spray all over the front end of the car every time I wash the windscreen.
Since last time I've treated the car to some nice proper BMW Dealership plates, just to make it look less wheeler dealer. However I think I've got myself a slow puncture. Hoping it won't require a new tyre.
Not so much an update as an excuse to post up some photos I took of the car today. Loving the car, average fuel economy is up now too. Total average is about 26mpg, finding I get into the mid-30s on a decent run.
Overall I'm loving the experience, but the BMW electronics are living up to their reputation. I have rectified the shorting issue with the rear light-clusters, which was much less complicated than I feared. However the next day the passenger wing-mirror packed up, guessing it's the motor. I'm going to book it into a recommended BMW Indy garage to get all the things looked at, I've also discovered it's about 3 years overdue a brake fluid change so that needs doing too.
Anyway now for the pictures
Overall I'm loving the experience, but the BMW electronics are living up to their reputation. I have rectified the shorting issue with the rear light-clusters, which was much less complicated than I feared. However the next day the passenger wing-mirror packed up, guessing it's the motor. I'm going to book it into a recommended BMW Indy garage to get all the things looked at, I've also discovered it's about 3 years overdue a brake fluid change so that needs doing too.
Anyway now for the pictures
Time for a little update. I've now done roughly 3500 miles in the car, and have averaged 23.4mpg which isn't as good as I'd like, but its all down to to my right foot.
Fuel hasn't been the only expense though, it's drunk two litres of oil during that time too, which seems to be quite common on the M54 engine. I also noticed a little while ago that the coolant level was always a little low despite me topping it up. So this combined with all the other things I knew it needed doing I booked it in to see BMW Specialist Andy Walker. Despite a sensor being broken the PDC suddenly started working so I'll just get the sensor off eBay at some point.
So my list for Andy to sort was the suspected coolant leak, brake fluid change (not had one in 6 years according to the book!) Also to diagnose and fix the airbag light, replace the auxiliary belt and a noisy tensioner and finally diagnose why the passenger mirror wasn't working.
He phoned me the day after I dropped it off to say he had found the source of the leak and the radiator would need replacing. He then informed me the whole mirror needed replacing too, if I wanted new it would be £200+ purely because having the rare option of a sport saloon with memory seat/mirror functions made the the mirror hard to find and different from cars with manual seats, so we both agreed I would keep an eye out for a salvage one. The brake fluid was straight forward as was the tensioner and belt. However the airbag was not, his diagnostics equipment could not get any response from the airbag ECU, he warned me he needed to get to it physically to inspect it because it appeared to be dead and it could be £300 for a new one. Sadly used ones are incredibly hard to get to work on a different car. Braced for a big hit to the wallet I said to continue. He phoned the next day to say I didn't require a new ECU there was simply a lose connection from it which then revealed the infamous fault from the passenger seat occupancy sensor was present too. So all in all I think a bill of £500 isn't too bad.
Had it fully valeted and machine polished the other day, came out amazing, looked like a brand new car bar a few scuffs here and there, best of all the chaps cleaning it were placing bets about how much I paid for it. £5-6k was the general consensus which I was rather chuffed with. As for the future of the car, no real plans as yet, wheels need a refurb, but I'm toying with the idea of some BBS LMs for it, haven't got the money yet and having been quoted £30 a rim for a refurb I don't think I can turn that down. I'll get some more pics up soon now I have my yellow smileys on it. Also need to book a trackday soon methinks!
Fuel hasn't been the only expense though, it's drunk two litres of oil during that time too, which seems to be quite common on the M54 engine. I also noticed a little while ago that the coolant level was always a little low despite me topping it up. So this combined with all the other things I knew it needed doing I booked it in to see BMW Specialist Andy Walker. Despite a sensor being broken the PDC suddenly started working so I'll just get the sensor off eBay at some point.
So my list for Andy to sort was the suspected coolant leak, brake fluid change (not had one in 6 years according to the book!)
Also to diagnose and fix the airbag light, replace the auxiliary belt and a noisy tensioner and finally diagnose why the passenger mirror wasn't working.He phoned me the day after I dropped it off to say he had found the source of the leak and the radiator would need replacing. He then informed me the whole mirror needed replacing too, if I wanted new it would be £200+ purely because having the rare option of a sport saloon with memory seat/mirror functions made the the mirror hard to find and different from cars with manual seats, so we both agreed I would keep an eye out for a salvage one. The brake fluid was straight forward as was the tensioner and belt. However the airbag was not, his diagnostics equipment could not get any response from the airbag ECU, he warned me he needed to get to it physically to inspect it because it appeared to be dead and it could be £300 for a new one. Sadly used ones are incredibly hard to get to work on a different car. Braced for a big hit to the wallet I said to continue. He phoned the next day to say I didn't require a new ECU there was simply a lose connection from it which then revealed the infamous fault from the passenger seat occupancy sensor was present too. So all in all I think a bill of £500 isn't too bad.
Had it fully valeted and machine polished the other day, came out amazing, looked like a brand new car bar a few scuffs here and there, best of all the chaps cleaning it were placing bets about how much I paid for it. £5-6k was the general consensus which I was rather chuffed with. As for the future of the car, no real plans as yet, wheels need a refurb, but I'm toying with the idea of some BBS LMs for it, haven't got the money yet and having been quoted £30 a rim for a refurb I don't think I can turn that down. I'll get some more pics up soon now I have my yellow smileys on it. Also need to book a trackday soon methinks!
lazystudent said:
Looks smart! I see you've studiously ignored questions about it so far 
, but where are the original pictures taken? Is it an airfield?
I'll let it out now, I just didn't want everyone to know about it, that was until Ron Howard decided to build a set on it for some F1 film called "Rush" that everyone is harking on about. , but where are the original pictures taken? Is it an airfield? 
But yes it's an abandoned runway at an small airport not too far from me.
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