E46 330ci Prices on the Up?

[Olivergt]

Bluevanman said:

Loads of 330 coupes/convertibles have sold on ebay for less than £2k recently......they all have 1 thing in common,high mileage

And quite possibly 2 things:

high mileage
rust

Rust is the big killer on these, if you cna see it on the outside of the arches, chances are it's a lot worse underneath.

The good news though is that most of the good ones are getting bought by people who will look after them, possible garaged, only used at weekends etc, which does bode well for the future.

I'm on my second E46, have to say a good one is a really nice drive in all departments.

[dhutch]

Olivergt said:

...quite possibly 2 things:

high mileage
rust

Yes.

I've just had the underside of mine refurbished, diff, prop bearings, subframe bushes, etc. But also boot floor cracks welded up, two new cills, and a load of other welding and full underseal and repaint.

[I-am-the-reverend]

The reason values of nice E46's is climbing can be found in your BMW dealer showroom - what a ghastly collection of ugly pigs they make now.

When the base price of some miserable front wheel drive 1 Series sh*tbox is what, 25-30 grand - suddenly a really clean E46 looks like a good idea.

[dhutch]

I-am-the-reverend said:

The reason values of nice E46's is climbing can be found in your BMW dealer showroom - what a ghastly collection of ugly pigs they make now.

When the base price of some miserable front wheel drive 1 Series sh*tbox is what, 25-30 grand - suddenly a really clean E46 looks like a good idea.

Ah man, didn't release the 3rd gen 1er was fwd, I can sort of see why but also what a ruddy shame!

Before the 330ci I had a E36 316i compact, paid £600 for it ran it for 5 years and solf it for £400 with £400 worth of MOT on it!
Probably one of the lowest powered BMWs out there with a tiny 1.6 8v powerplant, but it was a hoot to drive, especially in the wet!

[Maxus]

Interesting video from Number 27 which nicely sums up many of the points raised here about the E46:

https://youtu.be/XM7jO1cjVuo?si=-8p0ZXp9haSLdZeT

[The Conflated Outlier]

Like the previous E36, the E46 has pretty much escaped the council estate drift yo phase and a nice standard car - any model - looks really nice again.

I regularly see a dark green X plate 318i saloon on those telephone dial 15 inch alloy wheels. It's absolutely mint and it really stands out amongst the modern toss. It looks small and neat, a really clean design.

[Discendo Discimus]

I used to have a 2003 330ci with some lovely options, it had an oxblood leather interior that I've not seen before or since, rainbow sound system which was a factory upgrade over H&K and was in beautiful condition.

A bin lorry decided to wipe me out on a roundabout, and I was convinced it was unrepairable. If only Mat Armstrong was around back then I would've had it repaired. Its the one car I miss more than any other. Drank oil though, about 1 litre every month.

[dhutch]

Discendo Discimus said:

If only Mat Armstrong was around back then I would've had it repaired.

That guy!! What a bloke.

Please say the interior was saved and went on to live a live in another car!

[Discendo Discimus]

dhutch said:

Discendo Discimus said:

If only Mat Armstrong was around back then I would've had it repaired.

That guy!! What a bloke.

Please say the interior was saved and went on to live a live in another car!

Nope! I bought the car back off the insurers when it was written off (It was only a damaged rear quarter) and sold it to a guy who had it repaired.
Looking at the MOT history, it was on the road for a few more years before being scrapped.

Loads of people have told me the seats aren't anything special (then sent me photos of the bright red seats that were really common as an example), but they were a dark red, oxblood Nappa leather option called Tannin I think.

If I could find that car and save it I'd be a happy chap. Had genuine M3 mirrors too.

[dhutch]

Discendo Discimus said:

dhutch said:

Discendo Discimus said:

If only Mat Armstrong was around back then I would've had it repaired.

That guy!! What a bloke.

Please say the interior was saved and went on to live a live in another car!

Nope! I bought the car back off the insurers when it was written off (It was only a damaged rear quarter) and sold it to a guy who had it repaired.
Looking at the MOT history, it was on the road for a few more years before being scrapped.

Loads of people have told me the seats aren't anything special (then sent me photos of the bright red seats that were really common as an example), but they were a dark red, oxblood Nappa leather option called Tannin I think.

If I could find that car and save it I'd be a happy chap. Had genuine M3 mirrors too.

Oh fair, even better, if a shame it's likely no longer with us.

[dhutch]

Maxus said:

Interesting video from Number 27 which nicely sums up many of the points raised here about the E46:

https://youtu.be/XM7jO1cjVuo?si=-8p0ZXp9haSLdZeT

Cant really fault that. Other than the statement its only the M3's which suffer subframe mount cracks!

Also, while I love my E46 and prefer driving it to my wifes 4yo V60 T4, the newer car does have real benefits in terms of day to day driving, adaptive cruise control, androidauto/carplay integration and 20 years and six times less miles age!

[4rephill]

dhutch said:

Maxus said:

Interesting video from Number 27 which nicely sums up many of the points raised here about the E46:

https://youtu.be/XM7jO1cjVuo?si=-8p0ZXp9haSLdZeT

Cant really fault that. Other than the statement its only the M3's which suffer subframe mount cracks!

Also, while I love my E46 and prefer driving it to my wifes 4yo V60 T4, the newer car does have real benefits in terms of day to day driving, adaptive cruise control, androidauto/carplay integration and 20 years and six times less miles age!

He also said that the 325 ci was the model to buy (Nope! - 330 ci all day long) and claimed that the 330ci made 330hp (I commented on that one, letting him know that it actually makes 228hp and not 330hp - Which he agreed was an "oops" moment [he was obviously confusing the model number with the power output] )

[Olivergt]

This is the thing, most are now 20+ years old, so good ones are going to be getting hard to find, and when you do, the price is going to reflect that.

I genuinely think the E46 will follow the E30 as the one to have. The E36 will always be it's poorer cousin and a lot cheaper, even for a good one.

I have an E46 so I'm biased, I bought one in excellent condition and reasonable mileage and am planning on keeping it for a long time. (It's an M3 and I still can't believe I have one, some very favourable circumstances led to the purchase 6 months ago and loving every minute, have to pinch myself every time I walk in the garage still).

[g3org3y]

dhutch said:

Olivergt said:

...quite possibly 2 things:

high mileage
rust

Yes.

Defo that.

I gave my dad my Shedtastic 330Ci, last time I saw it arches were bubbling quite notably. Also the roof seems to have delacquered in places. Given the £900 outlay (and tbh high miles +160k iirc), probably not worth the £££ to put right.

Olivergt said:

This is the thing, most are now 20+ years old, so good ones are going to be getting hard to find, and when you do, the price is going to reflect that.

I genuinely think the E46 will follow the E30 as the one to have. The E36 will always be it's poorer cousin and a lot cheaper, even for a good one.

I have an E46 so I'm biased, I bought one in excellent condition and reasonable mileage and am planning on keeping it for a long time. (It's an M3 and I still can't believe I have one, some very favourable circumstances led to the purchase 6 months ago and loving every minute, have to pinch myself every time I walk in the garage still).

I'm weird in that I preferred my E36s to the E46. Unpopular opinion and all that.

[Bluevanman]

g3org3y said:

I'm weird in that I preferred my E36s to the E46. Unpopular opinion and all that.

I went from a 325 E36 to a 330 E46.....the E46 is miles better in every way

[junglie]

Of course the prices are on the way up; I sold my mint 2003 facelift 330ci manual (no rust and low mileage) for less than £4000 recently!

I’m an idiot.

[Olivergt]

Bluevanman said:

g3org3y said:

I'm weird in that I preferred my E36s to the E46. Unpopular opinion and all that.

I went from a 325 E36 to a 330 E46.....the E46 is miles better in every way

I've never driven a E36, friend of mine has a lovely 325 saloon, I'll have to see if I can get a drive of it.

[g3org3y]

Bluevanman said:

g3org3y said:

I'm weird in that I preferred my E36s to the E46. Unpopular opinion and all that.

I went from a 325 E36 to a 330 E46.....the E46 is miles better in every way

As I said, unpopular opinion.

Probably biased as I've had 3 E36s (325i saloon, 328i saloon and 328i touring) and only one E46 (330Ci).

[Olivergt]

g3org3y said:

As I said, unpopular opinion.

Probably biased as I've had 3 E36s (325i saloon, 328i saloon and 328i touring) and only one E46 (330Ci).

I know it's only your opinion, but could you explain why you prefer the E36? Would be interesting to understand.

I know Auto Alex also prefers the E36 when he was looking at M3s and his reasoning was the looks, but by most other measures he admitted the E46 was the better car?

[pmorg4]

I had an E36 328i Sport coupe, then an E46 330Ci coupe. The E46 was the better all-round car, but a few things stood out as better on the E36 in my view, the first being that it was really easy to drop in an M3 LSD, which lowered the gearing slightly and of course the all important LSD. The E46 had a different subframe on the M3 which meant swapping out loads of bits along with the diff, or just paying up for a Quaife etc. The second difference was the electronic throttle body on the E46, which never quite felt right to me, not sure if it was non-linear or just laggy (or both) but it definitely ruined some of the throttle feel that the cable-driven E36 had.

On paper the E46 is a bit quicker too, but the E36 328i was strangled with a restrictive inlet manifold as standard, and swapping it out for the older 325i manifold would sort that out and made it noticeably punchier over 4000 RPM. Combined with the M3 diff, the E36 328i was a lovely thing to hustle along country roads, and despite the E46 almost certainly being slightly quicker, I had more fun in the E36.

The rest of the time the extra refinement, cruise control etc on the E46 were very welcome. And of course it was a much better looker, still one of BMW's best designs in recent decades.