The E46 325ti Appreciation Thread

[RSTurboPaul]

I am tempted by the red one... but I don't really have the money (especially after getting robbed for road tax and insurance on top of whatever one buys), don't really need a third car around the place, and don't have anywhere to park it... lol

[Mr Tidy]

Don't let sensible things like that put you off!

Road Tax is only £415 a year.

[jonindorset]

Please just come and test drive it, no obligation, I guarantee you'll be blown away.

Silky smooth straight six, slick manual box, purple quick rack hydraulic steering, new Eibach spring/Bilstein B8 suspension, no creaks, rattles or warning lights.

Send me a PM

[ferrisbueller]

Where is the ad?

[jonindorset]

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16734296

[ferrisbueller]

Mr Tidy said:

Don't let sensible things like that put you off!

Road Tax is only £415 a year.

I think that number kills the deal for a lot of potential buyers. It's a shame the current tax regime is so punitive on things like this.

[jonindorset]

By far the biggest cost of almost any car is deprecation.

Given my track record on selling cars, appreciation is just as likely as any negligible depreciation going forward.

The tax situation is annoying but in the grand scheme of things less than £1.14 per day is not so much...

[Mr Tidy]

Lack of depreciation is one of the best features of these cars.

The tax isn't great, but anything with a petrol straight 6 is going to be expensive. It's much better than the £730 a year my Z4M costs!

[Mark-insert old BMW]

jonindorset said:

Please just come and test drive it, no obligation, I guarantee you'll be blown away.

Silky smooth straight six, slick manual box, purple quick rack hydraulic steering, new Eibach spring/Bilstein B8 suspension, no creaks, rattles or warning lights.

Send me a PM

I'd have loved it but I've not got quite enough and by the time I factor in a £120 train ticket (small wonder people don't like getting trains!) etc am left about 500 shy of the asking price.

[ferrisbueller]

jonindorset said:

By far the biggest cost of almost any car is deprecation.

Given my track record on selling cars, appreciation is just as likely as any negligible depreciation going forward.

The tax situation is annoying but in the grand scheme of things less than £1.14 per day is not so much...

You're preaching to the choir, but it's a factor I'm afraid.

[Hippea]

jonindorset said:

Please just come and test drive it, no obligation, I guarantee you'll be blown away.

Silky smooth straight six, slick manual box, purple quick rack hydraulic steering, new Eibach spring/Bilstein B8 suspension, no creaks, rattles or warning lights.

Send me a PM

Have you had many come and see it?

[s m]

Mark-insert old BMW said:

jonindorset said:

Please just come and test drive it, no obligation, I guarantee you'll be blown away.

Silky smooth straight six, slick manual box, purple quick rack hydraulic steering, new Eibach spring/Bilstein B8 suspension, no creaks, rattles or warning lights.

Send me a PM

I'd have loved it but I've not got quite enough and by the time I factor in a £120 train ticket (small wonder people don't like getting trains!) etc am left about 500 shy of the asking price.

You’ve got a nice alternative there though Mark

South African built? You’ve done well to find a non rusty one

[jonindorset]

No, not had any viewings yet. A number of real enquiries and a few scammers.

Seems a shame but I could probably strip some value out of the car (remove the Kenwood Satnav/Android Auto/Apple Carplay, change the wheels/tyres over and maybe get a standard suspension fitted) and reduce the price.

As it stands, I have recent receipts for significantly more than the asking price - this is currently a forth car and has been pampered, definitely not run on a shoestring like so many...

[Mark-insert old BMW]

s m said:

Mark-insert old BMW said:

jonindorset said:

Please just come and test drive it, no obligation, I guarantee you'll be blown away.

Silky smooth straight six, slick manual box, purple quick rack hydraulic steering, new Eibach spring/Bilstein B8 suspension, no creaks, rattles or warning lights.

Send me a PM

I'd have loved it but I've not got quite enough and by the time I factor in a £120 train ticket (small wonder people don't like getting trains!) etc am left about 500 shy of the asking price.

You’ve got a nice alternative there though Mark

South African built? You’ve done well to find a non rusty one

Well fingers crossed it's not rusty. It's advertised as ''presenting as if it just rolled off the showroom floor'' and there's no red flags in the MOT history that I could see, so am off to a good start. I wanted another E30 really but the only one I could afford needed a bit of welding and a new wing, and that was just the rust I could see.

I think this is a lovely Compact though and had I had the cash it'd b coming to Cornwall. It's hard to think of anything better for the money. I actually preferred mine to my E46 M3. An S54 swap would have made it my dream ''hot hatch'', apart from an s14 powered 2002 touring.

[s m]

Mark-insert old BMW said:

s m said:

Mark-insert old BMW said:

jonindorset said:

Please just come and test drive it, no obligation, I guarantee you'll be blown away.

Silky smooth straight six, slick manual box, purple quick rack hydraulic steering, new Eibach spring/Bilstein B8 suspension, no creaks, rattles or warning lights.

Send me a PM

I'd have loved it but I've not got quite enough and by the time I factor in a £120 train ticket (small wonder people don't like getting trains!) etc am left about 500 shy of the asking price.

You’ve got a nice alternative there though Mark

South African built? You’ve done well to find a non rusty one

Well fingers crossed it's not rusty. It's advertised as ''presenting as if it just rolled off the showroom floor'' and there's no red flags in the MOT history that I could see, so am off to a good start. I wanted another E30 really but the only one I could afford needed a bit of welding and a new wing, and that was just the rust I could see.

I think this is a lovely Compact though and had I had the cash it'd b coming to Cornwall. It's hard to think of anything better for the money. I actually preferred mine to my E46 M3. An S54 swap would have made it my dream ''hot hatch'', apart from an s14 powered 2002 touring.

You’re not the first E46 M3 owner to say that about a cheap ( in comparison ) Compact

[jonindorset]

FYI it's in East Dorset, definitely not Cornwall!!!
If you're serious, I could potentially show the car in South London too as I work in London a couple of days a week.

[Mark-insert old BMW]

jonindorset said:

FYI it's in East Dorset, definitely not Cornwall!!!
If you're serious, I could potentially show the car in South London too as I work in London a couple of days a week.

It's me that's in Cornwall.

[FNG]

Has anyone here fitted a towbar to a Compact Sport?

It's not essential I fit one to my car, but it's got a towing capacity of 1600kg where the other half's Duster is 1150kg. I'm probably never going to tow more than 900kg but it'd be better to have the headroom given the choice.

I've seen a few for sale, some of them say SE only, some don't say anything at all but hard won experience tells me that the absence of detail doesn't mean they fit all bumper types!

[buccal]

jonindorset said:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16734296

That looks like a great buy!

[s m]

FNG said:

Has anyone here fitted a towbar to a Compact Sport?

It's not essential I fit one to my car, but it's got a towing capacity of 1600kg where the other half's Duster is 1150kg. I'm probably never going to tow more than 900kg but it'd be better to have the headroom given the choice.

I've seen a few for sale, some of them say SE only, some don't say anything at all but hard won experience tells me that the absence of detail doesn't mean they fit all bumper types!

I’ve not seen one on a car with the Sport rear bumper but maybe there’s a swan neck one out there that does

Certainly seen the swan neck types fitted to normal 325ti models