Tell me about E-46 BMW's

Jims5543 · 12-30-2005, 07:11 PM

My little brother is visiting me at my mountain home in the Western NC mountains. He is looking into a 3 Series BMW to add to his garage for family/solo outings to the moutains for some fun runs.

Opinion as to what model E-46 would be best for him would be appeaciated.

We are heading off to bed now with too many Vodka/grapefruit's in the mix for the night.

Thanks!!

Jim

**did not use spell check, too tired**

Excuse any spelling errors. Thanks!!

VaSteve · 12-31-2005, 05:27 AM

I have an automatic E46 325xi. I wish it was a 5spd because it really doesn't come alive until 3K RPM. I have taken it on spirited drives with the tiptronic and it's not the same as a real 5spd. Even with the awd, it's not bad on gas. Reasonably comfortable. Well laid out. Trunk is a little small. What else would you like to know?

The rear frame mounts (?) on the earliest models were a problems, but I have heard it's overblown like many of the common Porsche issues.

Rick V · 12-31-2005, 05:40 AM

These are what you would expect from a 3series. The engines and drivetrains are very reliable and as solid as ever. The interiors SUCK, the headliners will fall down and all the door panels will come apart. These issues were carried over from the E36. The cooling systems have some issues as well, The waterpumps, t-stst housings and rads will all fail. There are some frailiaties in the front suspentions as well (control arm bushings and ball joints. The aftermarket world has many good cures for these issues.
All in all these cars are fun and reliable just not bullit-proof. Most of the problems these cars have is of the inconvience type you just have to be on the lookout for the signs of a failure.I drive an E36 every day (when not in the SC) it has 210 on the clock and I would drive it across the country, no problem.

Halm · 12-31-2005, 06:13 AM

I special ordered a 325Xi in '03. Minimal options made it a great deal. I drove the heck out of it for a year and our son then bought it from me so it is still in the family. GREAT car. Not old enough to have the issues that Rick pointed out or we have been lucky with the dealer service department taking care of issues before they develop.

Actually here in NC, I see a wide range of sevice and competency among the dealers. Flow BMW in Winston-Salem is vastly superior to Hendrick here in Charlotte and Leith in Raleigh is also better than Hendrick. So I guess I am saying make sure the dealer closest to you has a good reputation.

Jims5543 · 12-31-2005, 07:03 AM

What do you think about the 330's

He is looking at a 330i 02'. The mechanic @ BMW said they are great cars and have a fair amount of power. He also said they can be upgraded fairly easily.

kaisen · 12-31-2005, 07:10 AM

Jim,

You can look to some of my previous BMW posts, but my 01 330CiC Conv was pretty awful, as was my good friend's 01 M3 Conv. Some of the issues were convertible and M3 specific, but I wasn't impressed enough to EVER buy another BMW.

Good luck.

E

onewhippedpuppy · 12-31-2005, 12:46 PM

I'd look on Bimmerforums, you'll get a bigger slice of the pie over there. I know a guy that has easily owned 10 BMWs, if not more, he says his E46 325 touring is by far the lowest quality. They've had it in the shop many times, and he plans to sell it before it's out of warranty. Just one example, fun cars though.