Another shit E46 BMW and collectioneering NOW BRAKING 4 SPEARS

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I hate E46's. To me they're a pile of festering shit, an E36 that was comprehensively re-engineered by Renault and a complete bastard to make every single job a nightmare.

 

But when they are a hundred pounds.........

 

2003 ish 318i auto. It's a metallic misery with anthracite misery trim. Not really worth a cup of cold piss, but hey ho.

 

Now - the collection. Soz no trains/taxis/dramas/muslim nuttaz. It was closer than Paris.

 

 

2.14 pm. I set off to collect it. It took me 12 minutes to walk there.

 

2.18 pm. Greetings and small talk. I connected the battery.

 

2.20 pm. It started.

 

2.23 pm. I furnished the vendor with one hundred pounds. More small talk.

 

2.27 pm. I arrive back at base.

 

There's good news, and it's lick smacking, sweet talking' good.

 

There's bad news, and it's arse wipin' bad.

 

I will leave you to decide which is which.

 

 

[billyboy406v6]

Nice mayo shot !

[Sealtainn]

Coronation Chicken Coolant

[320touring]

These things can be a barsteward to get fixed and bled-they like to banana the head..

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Gonna flush the fukcer out and K Seal it. Mite work yo.

 

Am I taking the head off to fix it properly? Am I fuck.

[garethj]

2.14 pm. I set off to collect it. It took me 12 minutes to walk there.

 

2.18 pm. Greetings and small talk.

 

Did you run?

[RoadworkUK]

E36 wheels, so it's trying to make you like it.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I don't mind these. They aren't anywhere near as nice or as solid feeling as an e36 but they aren't terrible either.

 

Yes they rot, especially the arches. Doesn't seem as much of an issue on the later post face lift models.

 

Round here even the chavs have lost interest in the e46 - they never really took off in that regard the same way the e36 did. I think the Audi A4 S-line stole the limelight.

 

My choice would be a 325i touring in red with the M sport tat. Maybe not very autoshite but nice ones are getting fewer in mumbers

 

The four cylinder engine gets my vote for extra shite points.

[dome]

I could never get on with e36s, the driving position never felt right coming from the e28/e34/e32s that I was used to.

 

Current daily is an e46 330d sport touring. Facelift manual so 204bhp. It's a good car. Needs work as they all do but still feels like a BMW to me. Engine is good and getting better as I drive/fettle it.

 

[cort16]

Dome does your have the 56 wobble? I think every BMW I've ever owned built after 1985 has had that fucking wobble.

[Parky]

Get Kevin the Peacock from Dave numbers farm to shit in the rad - probably sort it no problem

[chrisjvm]

£100 for a 52 plate E46 ???...Just desserts W4NKR .... and comfirmation that you're not as smart as you think you are ... Didn't bother last time when you 'explained' your ident was 'ironic' ....as if I wasn't aware!! ....

C0mp13t3 w4nk3r ... aren't you ? !!!😀

[dome]

Dome does your have the 56 wobble? I think every BMW I've ever owned built after 1985 has had that fucking wobble.

I know that wobble very well from previous BMWs... This one was bad under light braking-traced that to the front wishbone rear bushes which I've replaced. It's now almost gone but there's still a tiny one there-more like a warped disc though as its only under braking

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I know that wobble very well from previous BMWs... This one was bad under light braking-traced that to the front wishbone rear bushes which I've replaced. It's now almost gone but there's still a tiny one there-more like a warped disc though as its only under braking

 

 

It's a more the old 5-7 Series stuff with the upper and lower control arms than an E36/46. It's the inner bush on the upper TCA but can be sticky calipers.

[RoadworkUK]

£100 for a 52 plate E46 ???...Just desserts W4NKR .... and comfirmation that you're not as smart as you think you are ... Didn't bother last time when you 'explained' your ident was 'ironic' ....as if I wasn't aware!! ....

C0mp13t3 w4nk3r ... aren't you ? !!!

 

This may require clarification.

[spike60]

It's not auto box fluid in the coolant is it? Looks a bit browny reddy in the pic. Dunno about e46's but I've seen other stuff leak through the cooler.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

This may require clarification.

 

Ignore the fool. He just pops up from time to time to insult folk for no reason!

 

It's not auto box fluid in the coolant is it? Looks a bit browny reddy in the pic. Dunno about e46's but I've seen other stuff leak through the cooler.

 

Not sure. These shitheaps also have an engine oil to coolant heat exchanger, but it's not that - already checked. But anything's possible.

[garethj]

This may require clarification.

He's very cross that a bloke on the internet has bought a 14 year old BMW.  I think it'll be out with the machine guns if someone gets a new Corsa.

[rantingYoof]

*rubs thighs gloriously*

 

 

 

 

 

[/Rover 825]

[JohnDeere]

I hate E46's. To me they're a pile of festering shit, an E36 that was comprehensively re-engineered by Renault and a complete bastard to make every single job a nightmare.

 

The E90 was another step downwards in quality, tedium and general awfulness. No driving enjoyment whatsoever. i don't really do the all moderns are shit thing, but it is certainly the case the Bimmers went shit when the last E36 rolled off the line.

[Tamworthbay]

Having had an e46 touring for a few months now I can say 100% that they piss on a 36 from a great height. Only people who think a ruler is essential in all walks of life and men who have beards like 36s. Pov spec 36s are being sold for a kidney but aren't worth the squeezed contents.

 

I am quite the 46 convert............

[cort16]

I agree about the e90's and the e60;s. Every time I think of that 520 I had a bit of sick comes up in my mouth. A truly horrible horrible car.

Expect me to buy another next week.

[Rocket88]

chrisjvm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Raymanboy's less coherent country cousin.................

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The E90 was another step downwards in quality, tedium and general awfulness. No driving enjoyment whatsoever. i don't really do the all moderns are shit thing, but it is certainly the case the Bimmers went shit when the last E36 rolled off the line.

 

I don't really agree. In 2007 I had the use of a new 320d for 6 weeks as a hire car when one of mine was damaged. It was a really, really nice thing to have and it did everything well. Now they're old they are probably crap but at least they don't rust. They are bland though and the latest one is even worse.

 

Having had an e46 touring for a few months now I can say 100% that they piss on a 36 from a great height. Only people who think a ruler is essential in all walks of life and men who have beards like 36s. Pov spec 36s are being sold for a kidney but aren't worth the squeezed contents.

 

I am quite the 46 convert............

 

Until the hinge for the tailgate glass snaps, like they do. Or the GM module fails meaning the car can't be locked or unlocked until you break in and have to fit and recode another module and find the key won't communicate with it, or the boot floor tears open around the NS rear subframe mount, or when the expansion tank splits open like a ripe melon dumping a few litres of hot coolant and find the old one has pretty much welded itself to the mounting stub, or the heater fan resistor fails and you discover hat they moved it from the passenger side behind the glovebox to the other side, turning a 25 minute breezathon into a two hour fuckfest of swearing, or a window regular cable snaps, Laguna style or or or. I work on a few E46's for folk and dislike them more every time. The rampant body rot is the icing on the cake really. I suspect this one will just be pillaged for parts, a fitting end to it.

 

It's no exaggeration to say that BMW took every simple engineering solution on the E36  - a decent, competent car - and spoilt it. They drive a little better, but for me not enough to want to run one. I did run a 2003 320d Touring a couple of years back and it was a complete and utter nightmare.

 

I had one at a year old back in 2002. It was a nice thing but I just had an inkling it wasn't going to be very robust.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

chrisjvm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Raymanboy's less coherent country cousin.................

 

 

Probably small man syndrome or something. 

[320touring]

TBH the e36 was a step backwards from the e30 in design and engineering 16MM bolts for front calipers? load of bollocks and made of cheese.

 

Gimme 19mm any day!

[Bren]

I was led to believe HGF on some BMW's necessitated a new motor because removing the head bolts usually brought the threads with them as well.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I was led to believe HGF on some BMW's necessitated a new motor because removing the head bolts usually brought the threads with them as well.

 

 

Yes, but that's more 6 cyl alloy block stuff. I don't think anyone's ever dared to take the head off one of these turds.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Well.

 

Good used hoses and an almost new Behr branded header tank fitted. Drained coolant and refilled with a few litres of parts washer and ran that thru although the oil shite is only in the top hoses, not the lower ones. Drained that after 10-15 minutes running and it brought a lot of shit with it so did repeat performance with Fairy Liquid and water. Then tipped K Seal down the top hose into the engine, added 5 litres of reclaimed* antifreeze, topped up with clean water, ran it up, bled it out. And it seems okay so far. Had it idling for 15 mins or so and no sign of oil in header tank.

 

Only thyme will tell, but obvs I'm not as smart as I think I am.

 

 

 

 

 

*I never throw decent looking anti freeze away. It gets decanted into 5 litre containers and used in shit like this.

[Tamworthbay]

I don't really agree. In 2007 I had the use of a new 320d for 6 weeks as a hire car when one of mine was damaged. It was a really, really nice thing to have and it did everything well. Now they're old they are probably crap but at least they don't rust. They are bland though and the latest one is even worse.

 

 

 

Until the hinge for the tailgate glass snaps, like they do. Or the GM module fails meaning the car can't be locked or unlocked until you break in and have to fit and recode another module and find the key won't communicate with it, or the boot floor tears open around the NS rear subframe mount, or when the expansion tank splits open like a ripe melon dumping a few litres of hot coolant and find the old one has pretty much welded itself to the mounting stub, or the heater fan resistor fails and you discover hat they moved it from the passenger side behind the glovebox to the other side, turning a 25 minute breezathon into a two hour fuckfest of swearing, or a window regular cable snaps, Laguna style or or or. I work on a few E46's for folk and dislike them more every time. The rampant body rot is the icing on the cake really. I suspect this one will just be pillaged for parts, a fitting end to it.

 

It's no exaggeration to say that BMW took every simple engineering solution on the E36  - a decent, competent car - and spoilt it. They drive a little better, but for me not enough to want to run one. I did run a 2003 320d Touring a couple of years back and it was a complete and utter nightmare.

 

I had one at a year old back in 2002. It was a nice thing but I just had an inkling it wasn't going to be very robust.

WHAT!!!!! Old cars break???!!!!! No one told me old cars are not 100% reliable when you get them for peanuts, if they had I would have bought peanuts instead. But being serious, you can find a list of issues for any old car. The quality/ cost ratio is superb, if you want crappy build quality you should see my wife's Mazda and that's an 08. As with anything, be careful of the one you buy and at least with the e46 there is no shortage of cheap spares.