What to look for when buying/looking at an E46?

[rusteee 52]

Hi there.

I'm looking at purchasing an E46. I spotted a nice 1999 E46 323I on trademe, UK import, 5 speed manual and hopefully can go have a look at it tommorow. Can anyone point out any tips on what to look for i.e. problematic areas. Is there any common problems with the earlier model E46?

Thanks in advance

[joshnz 2]

UK models look for rust

[AN E30 Fan 1]

Yep, look for rust on UK import cars. In the UK that put salt down on the road for added grip in the winter so the salt gets onto the cars and causes rust.

Take it to Glenn (Botany Motor Worx) or Ray (HellBM) and have a full check done on it.

[kinetik 4]

Cracks in the rear subframe mounting points. Cracks in the front strut towers.

Edited December 10, 2010 by kinetik

[E36 M 9]

When looking for E46's i ALWAYS checked under the boot carpet, in the wheel well to see if theres any water leaking through there or what not.

[rusteee 52]

When looking for E46's i ALWAYS checked under the boot carpet, in the wheel well to see if theres any water leaking through there or what not.

Cheers for all the info guys!! bloody awsome. I checked out that one, but was pretty dissapointing. Just by taking off the oil cap you could tell it hadn't had a very good service history, and im sure I could smell coolant when I took it for a test drive lol so back to trademe.

What about mechanical wise, is there any sort of issues in the earlier models (engine and electrics) that were sorted out in the later model if you get what I mean? Am looking more for an NZ new manual version

[Tristan 338]

Check the window switches for all of the moving windows.