Does anybody have an E46 on this forum please?

I'm thinking of buying one, 2001 330ci. I'm just wondering if there are any pitfalls or things to watch out for, even any things that I might be especially looking for on inspecting this thing. I think by and large it's a pretty good model Bmw and should be a nice car to live with. I got a small settlement for my army service in Vietnam so I think I should drive it well...

Thanks and Regards, Rick



perseverance furthers

I think that the other 3 series forum, R3V I think it is, probably has more stuff on E46.

Bob in Lake Havasu

I have one and I'm quite happy about it. 270.000 km on it now, 150.000 by myself in the last three years. Most of the issues I know about are engine specific and won't help you (mine is a diesel). My CD player has died on me when I bought the car, that's about it.

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rkj
I'm thinking of buying one, 2001 330ci. I'm just wondering if there are any pitfalls or things to watch out for, even any things that I might be especially looking for on inspecting this thing. I think by and large it's a pretty good model Bmw and should be a nice car to live with. I got a small settlement for my army service in Vietnam so I think I should drive it well...

Thanks and Regards, Rick

Hopefully Cab will check in. He's had his E46 touring for several years now and should be able to give you good first hand input

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Michiel 318iS
I have one and I'm quite happy about it. 270.000 km on it now, 150.000 by myself in the last three years. Most of the issues I know about are engine specific and won't help you (mine is a diesel). My CD player has died on me when I bought the car, that's about it.

My sister had one 320d, from almost new until 3 years ago.
It was starting to give some trouble, most of them routed to a poor head gasket job, and one thing led to another...
And she is not mechanically inclined, so she traded it for a new one.
For someone willing to do some major repairs, the car was solid and ran good.

Thanks Guys. After reading a lot of things about these cars I feel I know enough now to really look at these babies. Scott at BAV has also helped out, we've been doing business for close to 35 years now.

The car I'm seeing tomorrow is a 2004 330ci stick and should be a winner from what the carfax and the mechanic says. It's a lot more than I wanted to spend but I believe in spending more and getting a better car. after all, I AM a Bmw lover and deserve a decent car! It's hard though, I've got 4 or 5 cars I could easy be happy with but handing over all that cash is a tough one! choices...

I'll report back