Buying Advice on E46

[ducatiss 1]

Hi guys - I may be in the market shortly for an E46 (round 03 - 04). Probably a 318i but also may consider 320i. I am not familiar with these models so am looking for some advice on what to look for etc etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

[bmwnev 0]

Hi guys - I may be in the market shortly for an E46 (round 03 - 04). Probably a 318i but also may consider 320i. I am not familiar with these models so am looking for some advice on what to look for etc etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi. Having recently bought a 318i touring with the 2 litre engine, a couple of things I have found are oil leaks from the vacuum pump on the back of the engine, rocker cover gaskets can leak too, and sump gaskets sometimes as well! Other things to check out are electric windows, radiator expansion tank and control arm bushes. That said, love the car, was worth the effort to find and buy! Happy hunting...

[ducatiss 1]

Thanks for that - are there any other ppl out there with the E46 that have an opinion on thee things, what to look for etc etc? Cheers

[*Glenn* 854]

Buy and NZ new one and not a poverty pack or Jap or even worse Singapore import.

And unless you really want a 318 buy a 6 cylinder BMW they are SOOOOOOOO much better - I would suggest the 2.5 litre.

Service history is important as well, if it hasn't been serviced its a time bomb just like any other car.

+1 Don't buy a 4 cylinder N42 or N46

[Allanw 1071]

Buy and NZ new one and not a poverty pack or Jap or even worse Singapore import.

Humidity Myth again? The humidity here in Whangarei averages about 2% lower than Singapore all year. Singapore has "normal" euro spec, so the radios etc all work here - Jap can have a number of Jap market only special "features". NZ ones are easier to trace history through the dealers.

Google each particular model to see the common problems - Some of those valvetronic motors were having serious fuel system problems (I don't know which ones, but I assume it's those Glenn mentioned)

Agreed - the 6's sound awesome, the 4's don't. Even a full service history can be scrimped on, and just the basics done (like lease cars - show a full history, but an only an oil change still gives the book a stamp!) - Have an experienced/knowledgable BMW mech look at it, or be happy that it will need some money spent (It will need something anyway!). I just spent $1200 on rear suspension parts... NOT including shocks on the E39. It's only at 120k and is a bit sloppy.

[ducatiss 1]

Good info guys - many thanks. It will be a 6 cyl. Quick question, I took one out today for a run and while it went really well, the temp gauge only got up to around the quarter mark over a 20km run (though it is winter down here and the temp I think was only 2 degrees today lol)

[Allanw 1071]

Good info guys - many thanks. It will be a 6 cyl. Quick question, I took one out today for a run and while it went really well, the temp gauge only got up to around the quarter mark over a 20km run (though it is winter down here and the temp I think was only 2 degrees today lol)

Nah, should show warm pretty quick - the gauges are buffered so it reads "normal" (12 o'clock) over a HUGE temperature range - it'll require a new thermostat, which is reasonably common - If it's a M54engine (twin Vanos 2.2, 2.5 and 3.0) they have an "electric" thermostat which can fail so it runs cool, or fairly hot (not usually overheating hot though). They do tend to fail one way or the other quite a lot. If the electric parts fails (it's a small heater coil to elctrically heat the thermostat into opening to cool the engine more) it can run hotter, and the fault will ony be noticed with a scan at service time.

Google BMW MAP-controlled thermostat.

They're pretty cheap though, $100 or $130 from memory, aftermarket.

[elmarco 56]

Best advice on buying an E46? Buy my one and take a road trip...

[ducatiss 1]

Alright - great info there and something to go on. Many thanks everyone.

[Neal 543]

Not so sure about comparing Singapore humidity to Northland. Ive seen first hand cars only a few years old with interiors damaged beyond repair when staying with family up the northern end. Hate to think what happened to the electrics.

Some of the cars a fine due to lives in air cond garages and parking buildings. But if it's spent a reasonable amount of time outside I wouldn't risk it.

[Allanw 1071]

Not so sure about comparing Singapore humidity to Northland. Ive seen first hand cars only a few years old with interiors damaged beyond repair when staying with family up the northern end. Hate to think what happened to the electrics.

Some of the cars a fine due to lives in air cond garages and parking buildings. But if it's spent a reasonable amount of time outside I wouldn't risk it.

What sort of interior damage are we talking about? A Holden Astra lease car we had, had the dashboard literally melt off in the sun in Auckland and was replaced with a new one (in a lighter colour ,funny enough).

Singapore Humidity averages 79 to 82%, Auckland is 74 to 84%, Wellington 67 to 78% and Chirstchurch is 73 to 84%.

The temperature here is lower, but that makes for MORE condensation, which is when damage occurs (like with a hot moist day and a cold evening).

Plus, realistically, the cars are driven around with the climate air on all the time - that dries them out.

I have yet to hear enough stories (first hand) about enough cars to make a singapore car sound any worse than a japanese one.

Nobody seems to worry about the salt used on Japanese roads in winter though. Weird.

[NZ BMW 368]

What sort of interior damage are we talking about? A Holden Astra lease car we had, had the dashboard literally melt off in the sun in Auckland and was replaced with a new one (in a lighter colour ,funny enough).

Singapore Humidity averages 79 to 82%, Auckland is 74 to 84%, Wellington 67 to 78% and Chirstchurch is 73 to 84%.

The temperature here is lower, but that makes for MORE condensation, which is when damage occurs (like with a hot moist day and a cold evening).

Plus, realistically, the cars are driven around with the climate air on all the time - that dries them out.

I have yet to hear enough stories (first hand) about enough cars to make a singapore car sound any worse than a japanese one.

Nobody seems to worry about the salt used on Japanese roads in winter though. Weird.

I would tend to agree - I hear this stuff all the time without any actual evidence. My last car was a Singapore import and seemed to be fine. However I have been told (and once again have no info to substantiate this) that in Singapore cars which are used for driving people around (large sedans, 7 series, A8, S Class etc) are prone to sitting and running while waiting to keep the cabins cool. I guess that could be a negative.

[kinetik 4]

Singapore Humidity averages 79 to 82%, Auckland is 74 to 84%, Wellington 67 to 78% and Chirstchurch is 73 to 84%.

That's relative humidity, so those numbers are meaningless without also considering the air temperature. The air contains significantly more water at 80% relative humidity at 30°C than 80% humidity at 20°C. Singapore is obviously quite a bit warmer than anywhere in NZ.

[Allanw 1071]

I would tend to agree - I hear this stuff all the time without any actual evidence. My last car was a Singapore import and seemed to be fine. However I have been told (and once again have no info to substantiate this) that in Singapore cars which are used for driving people around (large sedans, 7 series, A8, S Class etc) are prone to sitting and running while waiting to keep the cabins cool. I guess that could be a negative.

I wonder of it would it be any different in Japan though? Plus people everywhere still don't waste petrol for the hell of it... do they?

I think they all have their fair share of problems, regardless of where they come from. I know people who've had trouble with NZ new ones too.

[Allanw 1071]

That's relative humidity, so those numbers are meaningless without also considering the air temperature. The air contains significantly more water at 80% relative humidity at 30°C than 80% humidity at 20°C. Singapore is obviously quite a bit warmer than anywhere in NZ.

Yes it is, but it stays warmer over there and there is likely less condensation inside electronics that are the supposed problem.

Like I say, people talk about it, nobody seems to have real evidence of a decent sample size. There are a few stories of a guy that had one car that had a couple of issues. They probably aren't related to the climate at all. There a craploads of E39's from Singapore (A LOT of the facelift ones seem to be - they have the wider number plate area in the boot lid). There are a lot of cars fro Singapore full stop. They tend to be highly specced and are usually higher end cars (It's basically just luxury cars that come in from there), so likely to have more problems anyway.

[Allanw 1071]

Humidity Myth again? ----------------NO ---------

I test drove several E36's and E39's ( over 20 in total) and they were all very mediocre compared to NZ new vehicles of a similar age.

Bodged repairs, substandard paint work, inconsistent equipment options , soft suspension, soggy gearboxes, sluggish performance, poverty pack wheels and manual seats on supposedly high spec vehicles to name a few.

Yep, look at each car on its merits.

[Neal 543]

What sort of interior damage are we talking about? A Holden Astra lease car we had, had the dashboard literally melt off in the sun in Auckland and was replaced with a new one (in a lighter colour ,funny enough).

Singapore Humidity averages 79 to 82%, Auckland is 74 to 84%, Wellington 67 to 78% and Chirstchurch is 73 to 84%.

The temperature here is lower, but that makes for MORE condensation, which is when damage occurs (like with a hot moist day and a cold evening).

Plus, realistically, the cars are driven around with the climate air on all the time - that dries them out.

I have yet to hear enough stories (first hand) about enough cars to make a singapore car sound any worse than a japanese one.

Nobody seems to worry about the salt used on Japanese roads in winter though. Weird.

I spent some time up at the northern end in Sembawang. Every day , Sun out morning , midday / early afternoon all hell would let loose with tropical rain and electrical storms , Two hours later all dry and sun out. It's the Tropics.

The car that spent it's time in mainly in a car port had an interior that was completely gone to the point where the frabic had rotted and the foam was showing everywhere , the car stunk and the plastics where stuffed and the dash plastic as falling apart. A walk around the neighbourhood confirmed that this was a comon issue. The car concern was less than 5 years old.

Yes the cars are higher spec'd and plenty of BMW 2.0 cars or smaller normally had almost every extra and normally leather. Remember that tax on cars there means they pay 3 times more for a new car and a basic car will cost you $50k. Bling is everything if you can afford a car there.

I might have considered one from there before staying there , but I wouldn't now.

BTW , Watch the S series Jags from there as there are many singapore spec ones without a heater.

[slowe30 0]

evan tho this has all gone off track and we are no longer talking about them buying an e46... haha

my work brought in 6 or 7 cars, all the same model and spec. i didnt really notice if they were the cheap spec, but all bar one broke one of its two plastic cam gears, when replacing them we replaced both so there were no chances of it happening again, and the only reason the last one didnt break was due to us replacing it before it broke, showed signs of it failing soon tho. all cars had low ks and were around 08 onwards but all had issues that related to the climate. we no longer buy singapore imports.

just my .02c of first hand experiance

[allan 295]

Have a read http://www.e46zone.com/forum/topic/1452-wh...uying-your-e46/ might help out.

[ducatiss 1]

Thanks Allan - a good read. They certainly seem to have their share of problems!! Though when I look on trademe they still seem to be doing 200 thou plus. I do most of my own maintenance - something I enjoy. Have driven the 320i with the 2.2 motor and really, that is all the power I need. Currently looking at a 320i with various motorsports bits and pieces. Thanks everyone for your views and assistance - will post up a pic as soon as I actually get something. Looking forward to once again having two Bimmers in the garage!!

Edited July 5, 2012 by ducatiss

[Neal 543]

And your bike (s) ?

[ducatiss 1]

K75S - would add a pic but every time I try and upload one it fails with a msg to ask admin to check permissions...

[Neal 543]

Nice ! Quite the BMW fan then