E46 325i Sport
Discussion
E90_M3Ross said:
Back in 2003 my old man got a 330d with the 6 speed manual and the updated 3.0 204bhp. It was such a reliable car. He was doing a lot of miles at the time and after 3 years sold it with 80k on it.
A facelift 330d with a 6 speed manual is seemingly very rare. I wouldn't mind one as a second car as they're fairly good on fuel and punchy enough, there's one of Autotrader (touring) with a 6 speed manual for sale just up the road from me. 207k miles and wants £3750 though!
Now you're making me feel old! A facelift 330d with a 6 speed manual is seemingly very rare. I wouldn't mind one as a second car as they're fairly good on fuel and punchy enough, there's one of Autotrader (touring) with a 6 speed manual for sale just up the road from me. 207k miles and wants £3750 though!
My first BMW was an ex-demonstrator facelift (so a 6 speed) 2004 320td Compact I bought in 2005 because I was doing business miles. Then 42K miles later I replaced it with a pre-registered 2007 123d with 201bhp in 2008 that I did over 80K miles in - both were pretty reliable.
But there came a point when I wasn't doing business miles so I bought a Z4 Coupe and a 325ti Compact as a daily and realised my 320td should have been a 325ti, and my 123d should have been a 130i.
E46 330i and 330d facelifts seem very hard to find, probably because most were too expensive for company car budgets at the time!
Tourings always seem to attract a massive premium too. I paid less than £3,750 for my current E90 330i on 107K miles in 2019, and it has 258bhp! It's been a while since I did enough miles to justify a diesel, and my sister lives inside the expanded ULEZ so it's petrol only for me now.
Mr Tidy said:
Now you're making me feel old!
My first BMW was an ex-demonstrator facelift (so a 6 speed) 2004 320td Compact I bought in 2005 because I was doing business miles. Then 42K miles later I replaced it with a pre-registered 2007 123d with 201bhp in 2008 that I did over 80K miles in - both were pretty reliable.
But there came a point when I wasn't doing business miles so I bought a Z4 Coupe and a 325ti Compact as a daily and realised my 320td should have been a 325ti, and my 123d should have been a 130i.
E46 330i and 330d facelifts seem very hard to find, probably because most were too expensive for company car budgets at the time!
Tourings always seem to attract a massive premium too. I paid less than £3,750 for my current E90 330i on 107K miles in 2019, and it has 258bhp! It's been a while since I did enough miles to justify a diesel, and my sister lives inside the expanded ULEZ so it's petrol only for me now.
It does appear the E9x generation can be had for less than the E46, certainly for earlier E9x cars. I just find the non-coupe styling a bit dull, whereas the E46 is such a nice design. I'd love to drive a nice E46 one day.... I don't think I've ever driven an E46! My first BMW was an ex-demonstrator facelift (so a 6 speed) 2004 320td Compact I bought in 2005 because I was doing business miles. Then 42K miles later I replaced it with a pre-registered 2007 123d with 201bhp in 2008 that I did over 80K miles in - both were pretty reliable.
But there came a point when I wasn't doing business miles so I bought a Z4 Coupe and a 325ti Compact as a daily and realised my 320td should have been a 325ti, and my 123d should have been a 130i.
E46 330i and 330d facelifts seem very hard to find, probably because most were too expensive for company car budgets at the time!
Tourings always seem to attract a massive premium too. I paid less than £3,750 for my current E90 330i on 107K miles in 2019, and it has 258bhp! It's been a while since I did enough miles to justify a diesel, and my sister lives inside the expanded ULEZ so it's petrol only for me now.
Interesting chat! I really didn't think there would be much of a difference between the 2.5 and 3.0 engines in real life. Perhaps I should have a go in a 3.0. I'm basing things not feeling much quicker on having just sold my E90 M3 though, so everything's going to feel slow compared, unless I do an S54 conversion...
d_a_n1979 said:
That I get; but having owned x3 E39 530i's and a 540i and been out in 325i's and E39 525i's - the extra BHP the M54 30i has is noticeable and IMO it's a peach of an engine
And agree; I'd buy on condition over spec - happy with mechanical work needed (TBH I'd do it anyways with the lengths I go to, to get cars to my standards), but I will not take on a car that's fizzing in the rain...
I'm ok to get bits of rust/bubbling sorted etc; but want nothing to do with a car that needs full sills/wings replacing etc
That's the major concern with the E46 unfortunately; but there are examples out there that look very well looked after indeed
Plus I've not explored the Jap import scene for the E46s yet; or E9x range too
The power is noticeable, but the 2.5 sounds nicer in my opinion / experience.And agree; I'd buy on condition over spec - happy with mechanical work needed (TBH I'd do it anyways with the lengths I go to, to get cars to my standards), but I will not take on a car that's fizzing in the rain...
I'm ok to get bits of rust/bubbling sorted etc; but want nothing to do with a car that needs full sills/wings replacing etc
That's the major concern with the E46 unfortunately; but there are examples out there that look very well looked after indeed
Plus I've not explored the Jap import scene for the E46s yet; or E9x range too
Either way, the E46/39/38 are very pretty cars.
E90_M3Ross said:
It does appear the E9x generation can be had for less than the E46, certainly for earlier E9x cars. I just find the non-coupe styling a bit dull, whereas the E46 is such a nice design. I'd love to drive a nice E46 one day.... I don't think I've ever driven an E46!
The E9x cars are going through their bad period though - lots are owned by mouth breathers who just want a 'German whip' mod them badly / don't look after them. As the F series cars get cheaper, they'll move onto them and the E9x will be viewed more fondly. Its a cycle that's happened to the previous 3's too.
only a 5 hour round trip 
but yeah we should catch up again at some point after your euro jaunt! Court_S said:
E90_M3Ross said:
It does appear the E9x generation can be had for less than the E46, certainly for earlier E9x cars. I just find the non-coupe styling a bit dull, whereas the E46 is such a nice design. I'd love to drive a nice E46 one day.... I don't think I've ever driven an E46!
The E9x cars are going through their bad period though - lots are owned by mouth breathers who just want a 'German whip' mod them badly / don't look after them. As the F series cars get cheaper, they'll move onto them and the E9x will be viewed more fondly. Its a cycle that's happened to the previous 3's too.
That's a major concern if I go down the E46 / E90 route - but when you see examples on the likes of Car & Classic; you can see they've been owned by the older person, enthusiast, like us old farts
F3x still out of budget unfortunately - ideally I'd be £8k max with a few £k from the off to do the essentials (suspension, cooling, brakes etc)
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