Opinions on this E46 - or info on these cars...

[tez180]

Hi people,

Anybody on here got any info on the E46? what to look out for? anything bad about them??

Also what engine is decent, not looking for economy, as will only do a hundred miles a week.

My budget is only about 4k also.

One I found I like - http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1504197.htm

Any info much appreciated, I know this is E30Zone! but I know a few peeps have newer BM's or have worked on them

Cheers

James

[darkchild]

I've had an E46 318ci for nearly 12 months and its been quite a mixed experience. Its a superb car to drive, nice and smooth, economical and looks superb.

However, its also had more faults in a year than any of my E30s and my old daily driver E36 had in 7 years and 85K. Failed parking sensors, knackered air-con, broken driver's door handle, snapped drive belt, thirst for oil (not cheap as it has Castrol Edge 0w30). Most of the above was thankfully replaced under warranty as repairs/labour would've been well over £1K (the air conditioning system is all practically as new now). For a car that had only done 59K with a FBMWSH the list of faults is ridiculous. Personally, I don't think they're as well made as their reputation suggests - its got a few rattling bits of trim with the trim around the top of the passenger door sagging particularly bad; carpets that are a big backwards step from an E30/E36; flat paint finish under the bonnet and in boot shut lines etc. Built to a cost and it shows.

A sorted example is a great drive but lots are now at the age where they need big $ to remedy an assortment of issues.

I do quite a few miles in mine so needed something economical (it averages 35mpg and returns 42mpg on a run) but the pick of the bunch IMO is the 325i or 330i. Creamy smooth and quick enough for most. Check the suspension thoroughly as the E46 eats balljoints and bushes for a living. Also ensure the cooling system is spot on as you don't want to cook any E46 engine.

[tez180]

Thanks, Darkchild. Much appreciated.

[darkchild]

No problem! I forgot to mention the failed crankshaft oil seal...

Hopefully others will have had more trouble free experiences! Everything just seems to be disposable on modern BMWs

[frogman]

shove the front wheels back towards the rear of the car when loking at it. check for movement. lower control arm bushes very common to go in them. will be a clonking noise over speed bumps.

[sihooker]

My dad has a 318i tourer (2000 X plate) and he's had a few gremlins since owning it from 46K. It's now on 97K.

The windows rattle, and one mechanism broke.
Both rear springs snapped, and it isn't used as a heavy-load lugger. This happened before 55K.
The alarm/central locking has been a pain in the arse, completely failing before recently being repaired.
It's had to have a few rubber bushes replaced in the rear, all before 70K.

But...

The engine is very smooth, economical and doesn't use oil.
It shows no signs of rusting anywhere.
The air-con works very well.

It's very comfortable and well appointed, but has 'comfort' leather, so you tend to slide about a bit on tight corners! That's not really a fault, but i'd look for 'sports' leather or cloth seats...

[capri_rob]

Sure I read on here that the E46 has a reputation for the rear subframe mountings to the floorpan ripping out which effectively writes the car off
Not sure if BMW did a recall for this and it may only affect the coupes but worth investigating.

bss325i is probably the best person to ask

[lamby]

e46 subframe mountings have been known to rip out but will/should be repaired f.o.c as it is known,have a 318i with 175000 miles on it no probs apart from front bushes, good alrounder if not a bit boring just change oil and coolant reg if you can also change cam/crank sensors if mileage high,330ci would be my choice but they like oil aswell

[johnt0709]

My daily driver is an e46 - problems over the past 4 years of ownership have been fairly minor to be honest.

Spring at rear broke, Idle control valve needs cleaned (ticks over erratically lowere than 900rpm), oil switch is causing the oil light to come on for 15 seconds and then go off (common fault) lower bush on control arm, apart from that no complaints. Nice and smooth - I think that car looks great and is reasonably priced.

[darkchild]

Sure I read on here that the E46 has a reputation for the rear subframe mountings to the floorpan ripping out which effectively writes the car off
Not sure if BMW did a recall for this and it may only affect the coupes but worth investigating.

This was well known on the early 323i and 328i coupes but can be repaired. There is the odd story of it happening on later cars too but I guess something must have been amended by BMW as its less commonplace. BMW made significant goodwill payments for repairs but this will cease as the cars age. There was never a recall.

[darkchild]

Thats a lovely looking coupe.

[cragles]

My e46 323i Saloon (with bmw sports suspension from the factory) has had the goodwill repair to the boot floor / rear subframe mount in Feb 2006 at 114K miles. My car has just been back in for remedial work also (basically they have filled the subframe mounting cavity with foam!!!) car now has 170K miles and no longer FSH and they have completed both these free of charge.

Apart from a couple of split hoses, new disks and pads every 50K miles, new front control arm bushes every 70K miles, and a set of tyres every 30K, rear window regulator, headlamp washer pump it's been pretty bullet proof. I do all the servicing myself now, cheap parts from GSF or ECP.

It's still on the original clutch, suspension, exhaust etc!!!

[Ollie_bwoii]

Sure I read on here that the E46 has a reputation for the rear subframe mountings to the floorpan ripping out which effectively writes the car off
Not sure if BMW did a recall for this and it may only affect the coupes but worth investigating.

bss325i is probably the best person to ask

'tis very true, and it was Barry himself that told me about that lovely problem with the early E46's.

[bss325i]

Most of the common problems have been covered in this thread so far.

The rear subframe mount problem was pretty much only on 2000 or earlier cars and generally 6 cylinder coupes although i have seen a'99 318i saloon with both mounts ripped clean out of the floor pan!

Cooling systems need to be in top condition especially on 6 cylinder cars as if cooked then the engine is scrap.

Overall though, they are an excelent car and better than the E36 it was evolved from in many ways. They will do big miles like E36's if looked after.

[Andyboy]

Best all rounder is probably the M43 316i or 318i four doors. They're pretty solid old things and reliable. Coupes look nice but the front wings rot, the door windows can be problematic and they're more expensive to buy. Diesels - only the early 136bhp car is worth having. Later ones are just too risky - manifold flaps, turbos etc.
Valvetronic engines are okay until they go wrong. Even changing a crank sensor is a massive, labour intensive job.

I wouldn't discount a really mint late E36 318i saloon. There are very few cars about that are tougher.

Boot floors - BMW are now welding in repair plates that go over the damaged area, not replacing boot floors. I've seen a 2003 320d Touring and an E46 M3 with these issues.

[bss325i]

Valvetronic engines are okay until they go wrong. Even changing a crank sensor is a massive, labour intensive job.

Yep, inlet manifold off. Done a few of these now.

[Andyboy]

You could probably do an M43 head gasket job in a similar time! Fagtronics are good when working though. I delivered a 318Ci to Cardiff the other day and it averaged 42mpg.

[lamby]

i,d agree m43 318 easy to work on cheap parts run a lot better on shell v power good mpg over 45mpg at 70mph 34 round town, just change the heater pipe/connector at back of head cost about a fiver 40 mins done also the crankcase valve got my car cheap as guy said new engine needed cos it run like a pig,thankyou very much

[Ziggy]

M43 in a '36 touring (look better than saloons as well as being more useful!). On LPG if you want to be really sad. More money left to send on 80s scrap for me!

[e30shed]

In my experience with E46's, its best to go for the newest possible, ideally a 2003 '53' plate on facelift. A mate of mine has a '52' plate 330d 5 speed, another mate has a '53' 330d 6 speed which is a far far better car.
Also, I'm not a fan of the flat cushioned cloth seats present in most SE's - the sports seats are superb, however.

[gooner1]

Thats a lovely looking coupe.

Ain,t it just, looks very purposeful.

[Andyboy]

In my experience with E46's, its best to go for the newest possible, ideally a 2003 '53' plate on facelift. A mate of mine has a '52' plate 330d 5 speed, another mate has a '53' 330d 6 speed which is a far far better car.
Also, I'm not a fan of the flat cushioned cloth seats present in most SE's - the sports seats are superb, however.

I'm not a massive fan of any E46, 6 speed M3 apart. When you're taking about the four door plodders, the Audi A4 is a nicer all round car. Decent handling and ride, better quality interior, decent economy and no rust. The 1.9TDi is a very good car.

[e30shed]

In my experience with E46's, its best to go for the newest possible, ideally a 2003 '53' plate on facelift. A mate of mine has a '52' plate 330d 5 speed, another mate has a '53' 330d 6 speed which is a far far better car.
Also, I'm not a fan of the flat cushioned cloth seats present in most SE's - the sports seats are superb, however.

I'm not a massive fan of any E46, 6 speed M3 apart. When you're taking about the four door plodders, the Audi A4 is a nicer all round car. Decent handling and ride, better quality interior, decent economy and no rust. The 1.9TDi is a very good car.

I'm not sure what you mean by four door plodders, as the coupe, cab, saloon & touring are mechanically the same.. Maybe I'm taking you too literally.
The vast majority of A4 1.9TDi's are FWD and gutless.. even an E46 320d ph1 has more power and RWD, and is loads more fun!

[seanboy]

I had a E46 330i facelift sport 4dr in topaz blue, great tool. I had her for two years with no problems what so ever. These engines (m54B30) do like a drop of oil though but it was no problem to compared to how she went, say 0.5/1 litre to every 5k miles.
Just make sure you have all the service history and relevent paper work to justify where she's been, you know yourself.

[autopia]

I bought a 5 year old 330Ci in 2006, superb car, very reliable, loads of performance, not bad economy, it was great on a trip to the 'Ring, including a couple of laps, only problems I had were with the wheels, on this spec it had tyre pressure monitoring which gave me some headaches.

When I bought car from a specialist in Glasgow, TPM light was on, stealer dropped it off and light was off, didn't do any major miles in it for a couple of weeks due to working away, then it kept coming on.
Pressures were fine so after resetting several times, I took it to a tyre place and they showed me the wheel was damaged, only slightly but over time it was showing up as a TPM fault as it uses the ABS system to measure rotation of wheel and if one turns faster/slower than the others, it suggests a tyre pressure problem.

BMW 18" alloys are known to be thin alloy so they warp easily if kerbed or driven into a pothole, but they're expensive to replace.

I can see the E46 being an ideal replacement for the E30 in time, would definitely have another, perfect candidate for a track car after throwing some of the ballast out, especially if it has switchable traction control.

rgds

[Morat]

E46 are great all rounders, but if you're unlucky they're a lot more complex to fix than an E30. BMW sold absolutely tons of them so I'm sure they'll be good for parts for a long time to come.

330i Mtech touring is the best model ;)