Rick, please don't take this the wrong way, and I hope you find a buyer. Tim, don't buy a 330i unless you enjoy wrenching on newer cars more than you think you ought to. It's one thing after another with the 330i. Unless it comes with a bunch of spare sensors, a power steering pump, starter/clutch safety switch, window regulators, then don't bother. I worked on two 330i's this past summer several different times, for different reasons. It wasn't much of a surprise when one of the two came in on the hook.

The motor or trans were never an issue though.

No offense taken. My car hasn't had any problems except for the window regulators, which were replaced under warranty. And all the maint. stuff I DIY'ed I found to be super easy on this car. I think it's a very easy car to wrench on, far more so than my 993.

They are easy to work on, that much is true.

I have those seats in my 4Runner. Super comfy, heat is toasty.

330i's are as reliable, or more so, as any other German car. And they are super easy to work on. They are very basic cars. Tim won't have any problems with one and won't be disappointed.

After a weekend of searching for 330i sticks within a couple hundred miles, the red one is looking the most promising. I did find a six-speed, but it does not look as clean and is a couple grand more. Might go Wednesday to Cleveland to drive/buy it. I don't expect Honda reliability, but these RWD stick BMW's will be WAY EASIER to work on vs the godforsaken POS Audi I just got rid of. ;):D

better get a political carfax on it first

It is not a Prius or Subaru, does not run on govt subsidized ethanol and it does not have 20" spinners, so I should be OK. ;)

Late to the party, but it doesn't look bad. Price seems high, but in the current market cash can be a good motivator.:cool: Around here there are quite a few 330i with 100k at around $10k, but not all of them have the winter or sport package. Any service records? I'm always hesitant to pay top dollar for a used German car that doesn't include service records. Especially since you're at the right time for needing a new cooling system and a suspension refresh.

I kind of doubt that this used car dealer will have any history on the car. I will have to look it over real well to look for signs of accident damage etc.

I have searched Ebay, Craigslist and Autotrader for cars within a few hundred miles, and this red one is the cleanest 330i with the sport/manual-trans/cold weather pkg that is a 4 door sedan body that is priced right about at the "private seller" KBB value. I may have overlooked a few cars as my wife and I do not care for blue cars (even though we did have a blue Audi).

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the car remains unsold until I can go see it possibly Wednesday.

I have a stack of receipts for mine and a maint. log book.:)

Isn't yours an automatic Rick? I am dead set on getting another stick shift this go around as my old daily driver E36 325 has 290,000 miles on it's original clutch/transmission. :eek:

That said, what are you asking for yours?

Yes, mine is the steptronic trans. and I've not heard of any of them lasting as long as anything on an E30 or E36. I also got 235k miles on my original clutch and tranny on my E30. I'm asking $16.5k and it's still under warranty for another 10 mos.

Buy my AMG. My wife likes it much better than my BMWs.:D

Maybe next time Matt, after the Audi experience, I am going with something familar, a BMW again for the wife. If it lasts 2/3's as long as our trusty old E36, I will be quite satisfied. I just got off the phone with the seller and it looks like Wednesday we will probably go buy it.

Just joking Tim, it's a slushbox anyway. But to the credit of Mercedes, it's more reliable than the Audi ever dreamed of being.:) Honestly, it's been the most solid and trouble-free of my (many) cars.

WOW!! 3 months and no problems at all...

jk there Matt :p I wouldn't mind driving your AMG or the thread subject 330i. I'm still happy with my TT though next week it goes in for the timing belt...

True, but many of my past cars haven't even made it that far. Granted I'm an anal SOB so most of my "issues" are preventative maintenance.

David, If I were you, and paying to have the service done, I would look the car over thoroughly prior to having the work done.... maybe even take some pictures because It would be pretty easy to cob up the wiring, hose routing etc when they do this job. IIRC, you keep your cars perfect and I would hate to have you find out they cobbed it up when re-assembling the front end.

Thanks for the input Tim. I'll take the engine covers off and photo document what I can see. I'm having a retired Audi mechanic do the work. He has access to a garage and discounts on the parts involved. This could save me $700+ vs having the local pro shop do the work...as long as he does a good job.