N46 318 Coupe - How stupid am I?

bertie4evr

I'm looking at an E46 318i with the N46 engine. I've read about a lot of problems with it. But is it the same as most other things, people who've had bad experiences post more than the majority who've had no trouble at all?

Besides that, what should I look out for with one of these at around 90,000 miles and 10+ years old?

bmwguy

I had 2 of those engines, both 318i 4 cylinder 2.0 and had no problems with either. 1 was manual, 1 was automatic.

Window motor went on one of them but that's all in a few years of owning them (cars both had similar mileage to 90k)

bazz26

The subframe is a real issue on that model 3 Series, plenty of info on the web about it. Cooling system can be iffy too on BMWs of that age. Look for a well cared for one as there are alot of money pits out there.

Idbatterim

Id defo go for a 6 cylinder if possible and a facelift. The m sport are far nicer than SE in my opinion, preferably 6 cylinder, its what I drive and what I would be after if I was you...

subframe, cooling systems can be weak as mentioned. the 2 litre engines can be a bit soft too. throw up links to any that you are interested in. Get any potential one checked out prior to purchase...

bertie4evr

Idbatterim wrote: »

Id defo go for a 6 cylinder if possible and a facelift. The m sport are far nicer than SE in my opinion, preferably 6 cylinder, its what I drive and what I would be after if I was you...

subframe, cooling systems can be weak as mentioned. the 2 litre engines can be a bit soft too. throw up links to any that you are interested in. Get any potential one checked out prior to purchase...

I'd love one myself, but insurance would push it over the edge of it making sense to buy one.

I was looking at this one, thinking of making a trip down to see it soonish.

bmwguy

bertie4evr wrote: »

I'd love one myself, but insurance would push it over the edge of it making sense to buy one.

I was looking at this one, thinking of making a trip down to see it soonish.

Great price, nice car but it's off the road (doesn't say how long) and no nct. Probably a reason for no nct to be honest, if it doesn't need anything a 50 Euro nct would add 1500 to that car so I don't understand why it is not done, I don't believe people have no time to do the test.

I think this car needs work. Is it much cheaper than others in 2006?

Sorry, just noticed one line says no tax or nct and the other says just passed - I'd say it is an edit and they never removed old line and it does have nct. In that case it's a potential purchase.

bertie4evr

bmwguy wrote: »

Great price, nice car but it's off the road (doesn't say how long) and no nct. Probably a reason for no nct to be honest, if it doesn't need anything a 50 Euro nct would add 1500 to that car so I don't understand why it is not done, I don't believe people have no time to do the test.

I think this car needs work. Is it much cheaper than others in 2006?

Cheers for the reply. I actually called him a little earlier, he had an ad for the car up for over two months with no interest. It's still up actually, and not great - theres only exterior pictures.

But it has been NCT'd, I checked the NCT website to be sure. No tax still, unfortunately. The car has been almost idle for 6 months though so I'll definitely need to check it out. He had personal reasons for it sitting idle. I don't know if they're true but he sounded genuine. He has been starting it(Says every day but who knows).

As for other 2006 318ci's, there's not many others at this price. The ones that are are high mileage or lower spec.

bmwguy

Yeah get it well checked out. I got a 525i sport in great nick in 2013 that was 9 years old but prices were really on the floor then.

Maybe they are on the floor again because the target market for a 3 series coupe is younger guys and they can't get insured.

If it checks out you could get a bargain

Idbatterim

I'd love one myself, but insurance would push it over the edge of it making sense to buy one.

that may well be the case, but I would get quotes to be sure...

the car the op linked too, says it has new nct...

bertie4evr

Idbatterim wrote: »

that may well be the case, but I would get quotes to be sure...

the car the op linked too, says it has new nct...

Insurance won't be a problem with the 318! The 6 cylinder 320 is where it starts going mad.

Yeah, the guy put it through the NCT Monday before last.

Idbatterim

it wouldn't be my favourite colour personally, but if 126,000 km is legit with an nct the asking price is pretty reasonable. Still Id have someone check it out if I were you...

clubberlang12

Have had 2 e46 318 coupe's. One thing to note is that they are a pretty heavy car so performance and consumption suffer a bit in my opinion. Can be a very thirsty motor for urban driving. Real life driving will yield around 28-31 mpg in my opinion. Also sometimes there is an issue with the MV2's when the rim starts to corrode along the tyre wall, there can be a slow release of air similar to a slow puncture. Also the handbrakes tend to be soft on them and there is an issue of the back plates behind the rear hubs corroding and the location pins for the brakes shoes breaking through and coming loose. While i love driving mine, i do wish i had gone for the 6 cylinder model for the added performance and feel or a 320cd for economy. Next up will be an E92 but if i stayed with an E46 i'd be going for a 6 cylinder model or a diesel.

bertie4evr

Right so, where to start! I had reservations about it so I arranged to look at another car after this one, just in case. Along I go to see it and it's not in great condition, but still not horrible for a 10 year old car. Gave it a look over, realised I forgot the OBD2 scanner :mad:, and took it out.

A mile and a half down the road all the lights on the dash come on, it loses power, throttles back, and then finally the EML, Engine, and DSC lights come up! He says he's bringing it to a mechanic to have it fixed, he'll pay for everything and give me a call next week. Good luck!

So off I go to the next car with everything the same, including price, but an 05. Much cleaner, drives much better than the other did, serviced just over 6 months ago, etc. Guy selling it was nice too (But so was the first fella too!). Got into a garage down the road and had it scanned and checked the subframe. All's well and it's sitting in the drive as I type.

Wailin

bertie4evr wrote: »

Right so, where to start! I had reservations about it so I arranged to look at another car after this one, just in case. Along I go to see it and it's not in great condition, but still not horrible for a 10 year old car. Gave it a look over, realised I forgot the OBD2 scanner :mad:, and took it out.

A mile and a half down the road all the lights on the dash come on, it loses power, throttles back, and then finally the EML, Engine, and DSC lights come up! He says he's bringing it to a mechanic to have it fixed, he'll pay for everything and give me a call next week. Good luck!

So off I go to the next car with everything the same, including price, but an 05. Much cleaner, drives much better than the other did, serviced just over 6 months ago, etc. Guy selling it was nice too (But so was the first fella too!). Got into a garage down the road and had it scanned and checked the subframe. All's well and it's sitting in the drive as I type.

WTF is an OBD2 scanner??

Esel

Wailin wrote: »

WTF is an OBD2 scanner??

It's a Google thing that people forget.

bmwguy

bertie4evr wrote: »

Right so, where to start! I had reservations about it so I arranged to look at another car after this one, just in case. Along I go to see it and it's not in great condition, but still not horrible for a 10 year old car. Gave it a look over, realised I forgot the OBD2 scanner :mad:, and took it out.

A mile and a half down the road all the lights on the dash come on, it loses power, throttles back, and then finally the EML, Engine, and DSC lights come up! He says he's bringing it to a mechanic to have it fixed, he'll pay for everything and give me a call next week. Good luck!

So off I go to the next car with everything the same, including price, but an 05. Much cleaner, drives much better than the other did, serviced just over 6 months ago, etc. Guy selling it was nice too (But so was the first fella too!). Got into a garage down the road and had it scanned and checked the subframe. All's well and it's sitting in the drive as I type.

Best of luck with it. Is it a sport or SE?

bertie4evr

bmwguy wrote: »

Best of luck with it. Is it a sport or SE?

It's the Sport.