E46 3 Series, any thoughts?

[Supernaut]

Mine does seem to have lead a sheltered life so perhaps I just got lucky.

Passenger side front caliper carrier bolts on the E36 316i me and 17-Coffees got resulted in me standing on the end of a 2ft breaker bar and jumping up and down.

[320touring]

Passenger side front caliper carrier bolts on the E36 316i me and 17-Coffees got resulted in me standing on the end of a 2ft breaker bar and jumping up and down.

its almost as if climate has bad an impact...

[Tamworthbay]

its almost as if climate has bad an impact...

It does make you wonder, years ago a mate of mine had a pea green Chevette that had lived by the sea, every single job on that was a chore and we must have taken about 30kg of sand out the boot..

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

its almost as if climate has bad an impact...

 

 

I had the displeasure of a 2002 E46 Touring a couple of years ago. It had lived in Sussex most of it's life and the underside resembled the Titanic. Every nut and bolt was a drama - the 18's snapped off in the front hubs and bollocks like that. It's an old car I guess and E36's are just as bad.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Petroleum powered, hence it's suitability as both a luxury carriage and receptacle for toolage/wood/bags of cement for London village jobs.

[Tamworthbay]

Petroleum powered, hence it's suitability as both a luxury carriage and receptacle for toolage/wood/bags of cement for London village jobs.

Have you got it yet?

[Cavcraft]

Yeah, the bigger (2.8 on) ones had the subframe problem but should have had a recall by now.

Saloon E46s are dirt cheap now (not for long though, I suspect) and estates seem really bargainous. I bet they're not a patch on a 328 or 330 petrol though. My old 2.5 went really nicely .

[Supernaut]

its almost as if climate has bad an impact...

Going by the paperwork that came with the car (a fucktonne of it, I might add), it lived in London until 2015!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Petroleum powered, hence it's suitability as both a luxury carriage and receptacle for toolage/wood/bags of cement for London village jobs.

 But, four or six cyls?

[DaveDorson]

my understanding is that the under-pinnings of the E46 are pretty similar to the E36.

 

In which case they're OK.

 

Engine choices and stuff is all different though, as already mentioned.

 

Personally, at £400 I'd buy it..  Someone else will have it for that price if you decide it's not for you, especially if it looks relatively OK. 

[Ghosty]

 But, four or six cyls?

 

316, 318 = 4

320, 323, 325, 328, 330 = 6

[mk2_craig]

Mrs_Craig has just bought an 04 convertible 320ci having had a 325ci a couple of years ago, I agree its a solid drive but I reckon most of these will be guaranteed money pits by now due to neglect by previous owners.

 

Incidentally the convertibles have the most over engineered glovebox handle I've ever seen.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

316, 318 = 4

320, 323, 325, 328, 330 = 6

 

Yes, but as I said earlier, some folk think their 2.8 318i is a 320 when it isn't really. The fact that this one has had a chain swap - a very common job on the four but unheard of on the six - says it's likely a 318i N42. Alas, the OP isn't really saying much so.......

[Tamworthbay]

I don't see the snobbery around the sixes myself, having had both engine types in different models it really does depend on what you want. My present one is a 1.9 4cyl auto which is fine as a general hack/ loadlugger. It won't win Le Mans but that's not why I bought it. Access for work in the engine bay is also massively better for obvious reasons. There just seem to be some people with a 'it isn't a real BMW unless it's got a 6', a bit like with my first love, Capris, but that leaves more decent cars for the rest of us I suppose.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Dunno. I've run a 318i of some description for the last 8 years, many because I'm a tightwad. But a mate recently bought a lovely low mileage 1997 328i Auto and that really is a proper car. It goes so well with bags of torque that makes driving effortless and the mpg is, on average, only slightly worse. Got to be a 328i or a 330i though - not much point otherwise unless of course it's mint/cheap/falls into your lap. 

 

BMW four pots are okay but no better than Ford or GM really. 

[320touring]

Dunno. I've run a 318i of some description for the last 8 years, many because I'm a tightwad. But a mate recently bought a lovely low mileage 1997 328i Auto and that really is a proper car. It goes so well with bags of torque that makes driving effortless and the mpg is, on average, only slightly worse. Got to be a 328i or a 330i though - not much point otherwise unless of course it's mint/cheap/falls into your lap.

 

BMW four pots are okay but no better than Ford or GM really.

yep my e36 318iS did 36-40mpg, my nrothers e36 328i did 33-38mpg depending on use. think it cost him about £40 more in fuel on the trip we did to Switzerland.

 

once we got there he had the poke to get up the passes whilst I ragged fuck out the 4banger and got nowhere

[Tamworthbay]

Not sure what you lot are doing but never had a problem on the big hills in mine, even with the mother in law in tow (about half a ton), five up with luggage. It comes down to expectations I suppose, but to compare a decent specced E46 to an equivalent age Fird or Poxhall can only be done either as a joke or by someone blind with no arms. I have nothing against mondeos as have had a couple but the interior is not a particularly nice place to be and the the Vectras I have been in seem to have the plastics supplied by the same people who make the bottoms of biscuit selections at Christmas.

[r.welfare]

Maybe I've spent too much time with <2 litre fours from mainstream manufacturers, but I was very impressed with the smoothness and performance/economy balance of the 2.5 litre six in the early (November '99) 323Ci coupe I used last month. I haven't tried a 2.8 or 3-litre mind you.

 

The whole car was in fact very nice indeed, but this is a low mileage, low owner, well-maintained standard model, which might help - although it has had the usual problems with an incontinent radiator and seized rear calipers. About the only things I don't like are the lack of adjustable lumbar support and the stiffness of the accelerator pedal.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Maybe I've spent too much time with <2 litre fours from mainstream manufacturers, but I was very impressed with the smoothness and performance/economy balance of the 2.5 litre six in the early (November '99) 323Ci coupe I used last month. I haven't tried a 2.8 or 3-litre mind you.

 

The whole car was in fact very nice indeed, but this is a low mileage, low owner, well-maintained standard model, which might help - although it has had the usual problems with an incontinent radiator and seized rear calipers. About the only things I don't like are the lack of adjustable lumbar support and the stiffness of the accelerator pedal.

 

When fully functioning they're okay but the nice interior plastics don't really make up for rotten arches, a das state of affairs when even Peugeot dealt with rust decades ago. Four cyl stuff is certainly adequate and maybe that's fine for some. I'm not really moaning, 34 mpg average and easy to work on.

 

But..............

[r.welfare]

This one (getting on for seventeen years old) has the odd bleb on the leading edge of the rear arch, the front arches (and indeed wings as a whole) are blemish-free which does seem rare and worse in the facelifted models if anything. Did they cheapen out the materials/build?

[dome]

Hadn't driven my 330d properly for a while then tonight it did what it does very well-transported me and my mountain bike home from a ride. Handled well on the twisty stuff and the MTec suspension on mine isn't too harsh(probably due to 135k...)

 

Then onto motorways and open A roads and it'll sit quite happily at speeds that should have me locked up. That's why I persist with all the flaws-the 3.0 diesel is a wonderful engine (did I mention 47mpg average?) and as a package my Sport Tourer rocks.

 

[dugong]

I'm learning a lot about E46s from this thread.

[320touring]

I'm learning a lot about E46s from this thread.

what I've learned working on them is to ensure they are someone else's problem:)

[Uncle Jimmy]

But, four or six cyls?

6 pot.

Have you got it yet?

Not yet! It won't become available for another 6-8 weeks; I shall have to sell the Toyota then to make a space outside the house for it!