E46 ci coupes

12gauge dave

Ive been looking at getting an e46 ci coupe but just wondering have people here ever owned one or currently own one?
What have there experiences be?
Are parts expensive?

What engine would you recommend?
Id like a 330ci but if parts are so much more expensive than a 318ci i wouldnt bother

Ardennes1944

Boy oh boy have you come to the right place

dgt

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

Boy oh boy have you come to the right place

Potential man for the 325i clan? :pac:

ba_barabus

I have a 318 Ci and love it. Watch out for snapped rear coils though, rattling chains and oil leaks.

Also buy post 2002 to get the facelift model.

12gauge dave

Why have i come to the right place guys?ha

So post 2002 and look out for suspension leaks rattly timing chains.

How do you find your 318ci on fuel and power and repair costs?

I wouldnt mind paying the tax on a 330ci but if repair costs are alot more expensive than a 318ci it wouldnt justify the extra torque the 330ci would offer

ba_barabus

12gauge dave wrote: »

I wouldnt mind paying the tax on a 330ci but if repair costs are alot more expensive than a 318ci it wouldnt justify the extra torque the 330ci would offer

If imagine the 330 is far nicer to drive. Mine hasn't needed anything unusual done to it.

Both rear coils have been replaced as they snap. Both batteries in the key fob have been replaced. I feel its a bit underpowered however but still a very nice car to drive and live with. Repair and servicing costs are cheap enough.

I can get up to 40mpg out of it on the open road. This drops down to low 30's around town or if its driven hard.

I'm lead to believe the 330 is relatively cheap to service and run apart from tax

Ardennes1944

Ok ill actually help now :P Ive had a 325ci for 6weeks now
Parts? Not really that expensive, they will be slightly more for the 6cylinder models over the 4cylinder 318's but not by much.
These cars are getting old now and do need to be minded, cooling system in particular. Rear subframe also has issues as does the rear springs as has been said.
Check for rust underneath! Especially if its an import, which it more than likely will be if it has decent spec.
I wouldnt buy a 318 if youre even half thinking of a 330 tbh.
The noise of the 6 cylinders and even the way they drive is fantastic. Ive had a few people comment that it almost feels like the car floats along, the engine is that smooth.
Mpg aint that bad, Im getting about 25 around town and that is giving it the beans a lot.
Great cars, never appreciated them until I bought one.

c3bmw, opieoils, misterauto (suspension especially) and in ireland Otto Parts in Dublin are places Id recommend for parts, even to give you a price idea.
c3bmw actually lists the prices for all models next to each other so will give you a clear view of the difference.
If you dont mind the extra tax over a 325, get the 330. Id imagine the extra ~35bhp is very nice

challengemaster

12gauge dave wrote: »

Why have i come to the right place guys?ha

Because half the motors forum regulars own E46s

Ardennes1944

The awesome half anyway (e92s are included also)

Alanstrainor

Another e46 325ci owner here. I would say that the running costs in terms of maintenance on a 6 cylinder versus the 4 pot 318 are negligible. The 6 pot would certainly be the better engine. Again, I get 24mpg urban mileage out of mine around town and I tend to have a lead right foot.

12gauge dave

I guess a service history, low mileage with a recent nct and you cant go to wrong with one i guess. Always thought they were a beautiful car

Ardennes1944

Have a look on bmw-drivers.net. i bought mine from a guy on it. better chance of getting a well minded one if there is any for sale atm.

coolisin

I own a e90 330i while not an e46 it has the same engine that was in the e46 I believe.
I can't comment on major items going wrong yet.
But running costs are alright, constantly I get around 25mpg over all.
It's a lovely car to drive.
I would def say I was right when I insisted that we get a 6cyl car.

Trust me do the same.
The road tax is the worst part but if you go in with your eyes open and just prepare for it you'll be ok.

Alanstrainor

coolisin wrote: »

I own a e90 330i while not an e46 it has the same engine that was in the e46 I believe.
I can't comment on major items going wrong yet.
But running costs are alright, constantly I get around 25mpg over all.
It's a lovely car to drive.
I would def say I was right when I insisted that we get a 6cyl car.

Trust me do the same.
The road tax is the worst part but if you go in with your eyes open and just prepare for it you'll be ok.

The engines are not the same between the e90 and e46, the e90 has an N52 and hte e46 has an M54. The M54 is considered the more reliable engine as far as I have read.

coolisin

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The engines are not the same between the e90 and e46, the e90 has an N52 and hte e46 has an M54. The M54 is considered the more reliable engine as far as I have read.

Ah right sorry, thought they were alot closer then that.

Either way: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4666218

Alanstrainor

coolisin wrote: »

Ah right sorry, thought they were alot closer then that.

Either way: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4666218

Yeah they have some significant differences alright.

As for that one, in my opinion, if you're going to go 330ci it has to be manual and MSport.

Granted my 325 is not MSport, but it did come with sport seats, H&R cup kit suspension so it was the exception to my rule :P

Ardennes1944

yeah that 330 is yawn.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4097933

166man

I'd say stick to a 325 tbh, it appears to have the best mix overall with costs and performance. Heard from someone a while back, think it was a boardsie that there's not much between an E46 325i and a E46 330i.

Tax is an extra €700(?) on the 330 and something I wouldn't be happy to pay every year. Plenty in the 325i IMO hence why they're so common!

E92 is a different kettle altogether as it has 270bhp compared with the 230 of the E46, IMO of course!

Alanstrainor

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

yeah that 330 is yawn.
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4097933

That's more like it.

It's been for sale for ages too. I saw that ad months ago.

coolisin

Ah alright it's not msport was more the nice price.

But yeah I would agree the msport would be the way to go.

Edit sorry was sure that one was manual.

Ardennes1944

Yeah Al it has been for sale for ages. I think a brother of someone on bmwdrvers owns it? or maybe its a member, cant remember rightly. great spec though!

Alanstrainor

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

Yeah Al it has been for sale for ages. I think a brother of someone on bmwdrvers owns it? or maybe its a member, cant remember rightly. great spec though!

Import no doubt. So worth getting checked out properly. But looks like a very well minded motor.

166man

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

Yeah Al it has been for sale for ages. I think a brother of someone on bmwdrvers owns it? or maybe its a member, cant remember rightly. great spec though!

170k miles is hefty enough on one no? Might be at that stage where it needs maintenance and all that...

Ardennes1944

It is but once its been maintained it should be rock solid still. and on an e46 by that stage everything should have been replaced and it will be on its second life imo

rocky

166man wrote: »

Tax is an extra €700(?) on the 330 and something I wouldn't be happy to pay every year. Plenty in the 325i IMO hence why they're so common!

E92 is a different kettle altogether as it has 270bhp compared with the 230 of the E46, IMO of course!

€414 extra.

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The engines are not the same between the e90 and e46, the e90 has an N52 and hte e46 has an M54. The M54 is considered the more reliable engine as far as I have read.

Links? I haven't read of any general problems with the N52 engine thus far...

Alanstrainor

Don't have links, and not going to go hunting for them again. Just from general reading around BMW forums.

166man

Oops thought it was €1800 for the 330 and €1100 for the 325

dgt

166man wrote: »

Oops thought it was €1800 for the 330 and €1100 for the 325

1494 for a 330i

166man

dgt wrote: »

1494 for a 330i

Bargain.

coolisin

Well I don't enjoy paying it, but it's worth it when take it for a drive.

delly

Another E46 owner here, only the wee 318Ci though (/pedant, ci means the ragtop, Ci is coupe).

Got mine in Jan. 2012 so heading towards 11k miles in just under a year and a half. Mine had relatively low miles so I managed to have a lot of the common issues that probably would have happened sooner on a higher mileage example. Nothing major though and there is sooooo much DIY info on the web that it is easy enough to diagnose and fix a lot of problems. Even the proper dealer parts aren't mad money, so anything you can get OEM will be even better value.

All in all I paid little money for mine and was lucky to get a well minded example, but getting a proper check over is key imho.

Sobanek

Alanstrainor wrote: »

That's more like it.

It's been for sale for ages too. I saw that ad months ago.

It's actually my friend's car - still wonder why it's not sold considering it's a very decent example...

I'd honestly recommend it to anyone interested in a 330ci...

He gets 2k offers all the time though...

Sobanek

166man wrote: »

170k miles is hefty enough on one no? Might be at that stage where it needs maintenance and all that...

It's 170k KILOMETRES. 106k miles

Ardennes1944

Sobanek wrote: »

It's actually my friend's car - still wonder why it's not sold considering it's a very decent example...

I'd honestly recommend it to anyone interested in a 330ci...

He gets 2k offers all the time though...

So you're the person I meant!

Sobanek

Ardennes1944 wrote: »

So you're the person I meant!

Jackpot

Alanstrainor

Sobanek wrote: »

It's 170k KILOMETRES. 106k miles

The odometer in the picture clearly shows 169,000 miles though so the mileage is indeed high by anyones standards.

Sobanek

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The odometer in the picture clearly shows 169,000 miles though so the mileage is indeed high by anyones standards.

Alan, unlike yourself, I've actually had a chance to see and touch it, the odometer shows the mileage in kilometres - it was showing 160k kms in May 2012... I can ask Luke for a picture up close just for you

Alanstrainor

Sobanek wrote: »

Alan, unlike yourself, I've actually had a chance to see and touch it, the odometer shows the mileage in kilometres - it was showing 160k kms in May 2012... I can ask Luke for a picture up close just for you

Cool.

Honestly though...he should change that ad to have mileage in miles. If I saw that car, I would immediately assume that it had 170,000 miles given that it should be displaying its odometer in miles and not kilometres given the vintage of the car. I'm sure he's missed out on more than one caller for that.

Sobanek

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Cool.

Honestly though...he should change that ad to have mileage in miles. If I saw that car, I would immediately assume that it had 170,000 miles given that it should be displaying its odometer in miles and not kilometres given the vintage of the car. I'm sure he's missed out on more than one caller for that.

Advice passed on.

And a little treat:



Mr. Clearly Shows Miles :P

166man

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Cool.

Honestly though...he should change that ad to have mileage in miles. If I saw that car, I would immediately assume that it had 170,000 miles given that it should be displaying its odometer in miles and not kilometres given the vintage of the car. I'm sure he's missed out on more than one caller for that.

Yeah exactly, the minute I saw that I was checking the miles on it. 170k miles is high enough to anyone and I'm sure has put some people off, including myself tbh.

List it at 106k miles and maybe reduce the price by a few hundred and he should shift it I'd say. There's always going to be a market for a clean one like that in Ireland.

12gauge dave

Sobanek wrote: »

It's actually my friend's car - still wonder why it's not sold considering it's a very decent example...

I'd honestly recommend it to anyone interested in a 330ci...

He gets 2k offers all the time though...

any faults you know of with car? scratches? dents? rust?

Sobanek

12gauge dave wrote: »

any faults you know of with car? scratches? dents? rust?

Not at all, no rust for sure and I haven't seen any dings. The paintwork is honestly mint. As for faults - there aren't any It had some worn bushes, but he got that fixed for NCT.
Even if you're not prepared to buy it, it's definitely worth seeing.

Remember, there is no 100% mint cars in Ireland, but I'd be willing to chop my arm off if this one wasn't near the 100% mark.

frostie500

I had a 318Ci as my first car and absolutely loved it. Cracking car and I had pretty much no problems with it for the two years that I owned it. Gave good fuel economy and was lovely and comfortable for long drives. Havent driven the 330 though I cant see why it would be taken over a 325 when everything is considered (tax, economy etc)

The rear springs are a worry for any 3 series, I've got to replace them on my E46 M3, but luckily I didn't have any issue with them on the 318.

All in all

Also interested in getting one of these. Sorry for hijacking thread.

Anyone have any opinions on the 2 below?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4874111

http://www.adverts.ie/car/bmw/3-series/2004-imola-red-msport-320ci-bmw-3-series-for-sale-mint-low-mileage-fresh-nct/2520909

rocky

This one looks good, it's a clubsport asking 3300:

http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/showthread.php?p=593673#post593673

Ardennes1944

style 71s, pretty rare!

Alanstrainor

All in all wrote: »

Also interested in getting one of these. Sorry for hijacking thread.

Anyone have any opinions on the 2 below?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4874111

http://www.adverts.ie/car/bmw/3-series/2004-imola-red-msport-320ci-bmw-3-series-for-sale-mint-low-mileage-fresh-nct/2520909

The first one is too expensive and crap spec.

Really like the second one, its my favorite colour. Although its a 320ci its taxed as 2.2 so tax is a fair bit more. The red one is also an msport.

Idbatterim

that red m sport above is different league to the SE...

the below isnt bad either...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4964348