Next Car: Looking for E46 320CI/325CI (facelift&white) or E46 330C

[fatjoez 3]

Hi guys

Been looking for a car for a long time now

& below is the list of options I'm looking for (in order of preference)

#1 - 2004+, Under 100,000km - M3

#2 - 2003+, Under 100,000km - E46 330CI (facelift)

#3 - 2003+, Under 100,000km, WHITE - E46 320CI/325CI (facelift)

Also NZ New & Transmission: Anything except manual

Couple trademe finds just wanna get feedback on

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-199707452.htm

325CI would be ok but I've seen 330CI's with similar mileage listed @ this price so it seems expensive

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-202423730.htm

What are your thoughts?

Assuming I was going for a 330CI would I be better off to just go for M3?

I've heard early M3's had reliability issues but do are 2004+ ok?

Also, if the car was silver or another such colour, what would it cost to do a proper repaint to WHITE?

(Just roughly)

Cheers

Edited March 2, 2009 by fatjoe

[pjay 8]

Hi guys

Been looking for a car for a long time now and have narrowed down to either

E46 320CI/325CI (facelift + White Colour) or

E46 330CI (facelift+sport spec dont want ugly wood interior) or

E46 M3

(Auto/Tiptronic/SMG - Not Manual)

Uhm.. 320's a bit out of place there mate.

Sigh. This is like round 10

[bravo 34]

Can we all please post helpful responses or not post at all? Post-whoring is lame.

I think what PJay is getting at is that your list of cars are all quite different to each other in terms of performance and cost.

You need to decide what you want the car for, and how much you want to spend. THEN we may be better informed to help you.

Edited March 2, 2009 by bravo

[*Glenn* 854]

Personally I'd go manual. Your choice though.. not many manual 330Ci's around

Keep a look out for a 328 Ci or 330 Ci Auto if thats what you want. They would be the only choices I would look at in a E46. Manual 328's are around... and dont even think about a repaint. Unless you do a professional strip on the car , you are going to devalue it by about half, because it wont ever be right.

[kiwi535 538]

as an aside M3 will be only manual or smg,no steptronic

[fatjoez 3]

I've updated my original post, please have a quick re-read of it

Edited March 2, 2009 by fatjoe

[Mark 178]

Can I ask why you have such a broad range of different powered cars listed in your original post? I wouldn't have thought someone considering an E46 M3 would be also interested in a 2 litre "base model" variety of the same car.

As bravo mentioned earlier... how much do you want to spend? Is the car a daily driver or weekend car? Do you want all out performance or just looks? Have you considered the huge gulf in maintenance costs between a 320ci and an M3.

Not trying to be offensive but at the moment you come across as a bit of a tyre kicker, as evidenced by your two other threads on this same topic.

[fatjoez 3]

How am I a tyre kicker based on my other topics?

One was about me strongly considering a specific 330CI for sale but being cautious due to finance etc owing on it, which for your information I spent $160 to do an AA inspection on & later did not buy largely due to the dealer & also in part because after thinking it over deciding the mileage was too high

The other was an inquiry about carbon fibre bonnets, AGAIN for an E46 3 series coupe

In response to your first questions, it will be a daily driven car for sure.

I tend to do around 30KM a day on average and somedays 50/60 even.

As you can see from my list, I'm keen for performance & show-off factor so firstly am looking for M3/330CI

BUT I would also consider the lower engine models if they were in WHITE which are very rare and I haven't seen any for sale for months...

That is my reasoning and I stand by it

How much extra maintenance is involved with an M3? Price / Details Wise

And do you know anything about complete repaints to white?

Edited March 2, 2009 by fatjoe

[E46-RAT 1]

A 330 would satisfy your show off tendency's i think,they are nice looking cars.

Put a set of wheels on it then you would be sorted for a lot less money then a M3.

With an M3 its not about weather you can afford the car,it is whether you can afford to keep it in tip top shape.

For example to replace the front disks and pads with oem examples you are looking at $2000.

If the engine goes,unlikely, but if it does, and you don't have a warranty you will have to sell some of your organs to pay the repair bill lol.

And the list goes on.

Depends what you want out of your car,in my case i just didn't want to compromise in any area so i got an M3 and have loved every second of it.

I dont use it as a daily driver though,only on weekends so im lucky to clock up more then 3000km a year.

[jjs 60]

Can I ask why you are only after white? It is "cool" at the moment, but something else will be cooler in a year or so. It it were me (and I guess 90% of the people in this forum) I would focus on the qualities of the actual car itself and not be as fussy when it comes to colour. The majority of NZ new Ci's will be silver, grey or black - a white one would be very, very rare.

As mentioned above, a 320 is a very different beast to an M3. I think this car is a great buy - NZ new '03 330ci in black travelled 77km with all the nice bits, it is SMG which sounds like it could suit you. It looks like good value at $28k http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-197980812.htm

[fatjoez 3]

Can I ask why you are only after white? It is "cool" at the moment, but something else will be cooler in a year or so. It it were me (and I guess 90% of the people in this forum) I would focus on the qualities of the actual car itself and not be as fussy when it comes to colour. The majority of NZ new Ci's will be silver, grey or black - a white one would be very, very rare.

As mentioned above, a 320 is a very different beast to an M3. I think this car is a great buy - NZ new '03 330ci in black travelled 77km with all the nice bits, it is SMG which sounds like it could suit you. It looks like good value at $28k http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-197980812.htm

Thanks for the helpful feedback crockett & E46-RAT

I would perhaps taking into consideration RATs comments, be better off getting a 330CI than an M3

Regarding white it's my favourite colour so I will jump at any NZ New one if I can find..

Regarding that 330CI you linked, it's 03 but not facelift & its the same dealer as last time, rubbish customer service - rules that out

As you say though it's gonna be a mission to find a white 3 series coupe but I have seen one for sale previously...