zilvia 2 Report post Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) Hi Guys Unfortunately my first post isn't the "New Member Introductions" as I'm playing the waiting game for a e46 330Ci to come up, wanting a black,manual, facelight, low km's so I maybe waiting a while. Just wanted to ask a few questions thou I'm sure this has come up in various threads is the Auto to manual conversions and number of manual 330ci in NZ, I have being looking for about 2-3 months now and haven't seen any 330ci manuals so I'm starting to question how long I'm going to wait. There is the option of Auto to manual which I did on my e36 which was pretty simple but looking at forums the e46 is more involved and I start to think about resale value if I wanted to sell. There is a black 330ci on trademe at the moment but its over priced and is SSG gearbox which puts me off it. So, is there many 330Ci manual in NZ ? Is the Auto to manual on a e46 worth it in NZ ? Thoughts on the SSG gearbox ? Loads of stories of problems with these, then again if you look for issues with any car you will find horror stories on the internet. Also any tips on selling a car in Auckland ? My Mazda 6 is the cheapest, lowest Km's on trademe but nothing, not one call or email. Never had a problems selling my cars in Christchurch, always within a few weeks. Edited November 5, 2015 by zilvia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matth5 471 Report post Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) I'm sure they are out there but it'll be rare. There was an E92 330i Manual MSport coupe on a while ago and I'm sure that's even more rare, I was thinking of buying it... Keep looking, don't rush and settle for an auto if you want manual! Edited November 5, 2015 by Matth5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted November 5, 2015 it took me about a year to find my 535 manualIt was the third one i looked at 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3568 Report post Posted November 5, 2015 I was looking for a 330ci for about 2 years.. black / non facelift / msport / sunroof / auto or manual / any ks.. never found one ended up with a velvet blue / facelift / clubsport / no sunroof / auto / high ks 330ci lol but my point is what you want is pretty rare. there arent many black ones to begin with, almost no facelifts in any color and you want a manual on top of that? its like 1 in 10000 if that. I have to say.. might pay to up the budget for an m3.. its easier to find black m3's in manual Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rubix 434 Report post Posted November 5, 2015 Finding a manual 330ci will have you waiting a long time. I had an NZ new manual 323CI which was rare enough but the 330 is even more so. RE: trying to sell car in Auckland, unfortunately a Mazda 6 will never sell quickly. There's probably 1000 other Mazda 6's on Trademe in Auckland right now. I've sold quite a few cars, has never taken more than 2-3 weeks however the models of cars i've had are rather uncommon. Your best bet if you're wanting to sell it quickly is to drop the price, or take it to turners/trade it in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) SSG gearbox, there were 2 of them on the 330Ci, 5 speed and 6 speed. I had one with a 6 speed which shares it with the Z4 from the same era. I owned the car for 3 years over 65000km and had no issue with it. No maintenance needed on them. They are rare and a bit left field, treat it as a manual with a robot-ised clutch will be a close description of it. Like DSG of the VW, they hate doing traffic light GP, which is what kills them quickly for worn clutch. 5 speed version, from memory, share components from slightly older Alfa Romeo Selispeed (spelling?) semi-auto. That would give you some ideas. Oh, while on SSG, both 5&6 speed have launch control. Very effective and precise with a right amount of wheel spin to keep the rev up on take off. Those dotted lines laid down by the tyres is a thing of beauty. (As oppose to me try to do it in a manual gearbox car) Edited November 9, 2015 by SpikeyLemon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zilvia 2 Report post Posted November 9, 2015 I took the black SSG for a test drive, in auto mode it was like a sluggish autobox, wasn't overly impressed but made up for it in the manual mode. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zilvia 2 Report post Posted November 9, 2015 Update: So a person looking at my Mazda 6 Trademe ad saw that I put a bid in on a e46 last week and sent me an email saying they are selling their 2004 black e46 manual with 140000km for $12k on Trademe next week, but it's a non msport They sent through some pictures, it's a nice car but looks abit meh, realistically to add msport bodykit and other add on's would be $2000+ easy. Thoughts guys ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3568 Report post Posted November 9, 2015 wow. i wouldnt let this go if it was me. msport or not it ticks a lot of boxes for sure. if it checks out alright mechanically then i say go for it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MD13 459 Report post Posted November 9, 2015 It's roughly $4-5k to convert an auto to a manual. Or you could take the non motorsport and add h&r springs, koni's and bigger rollbars for maybe $2-3k? If the car is in good nick with history then worth considering. In fact I think someone was selling coilovers for an e46 in the for sale section recently... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted November 9, 2015 Do it. But get it checked by Glenn at Botany motor worx (forum sponsor) first. That will save you ALOT of money. Also, switching over to an msport is not so difficult - swap the front and rear bumpers, but I wouldn't bother with swapping the side skirts as there is not much difference imo. You could put msport springs and rollbars in for cheap, or as MD13 suggests spend a little more and go h&r and konis which is a big step up over standard. Oh, and paint the kidney grill surround black Also, if you can get the rego number of the car, we can then get the vin (by using carjam.co.nz) and then look up info on the car like what options it came from the factory with etc, as bmw keeps a record of this online. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zilvia 2 Report post Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Just looking at the pictures the owner sent, I'm pretty sure it has the cream interior which I hate and could never live with. So adding it up cream interior non msport it's just to much work and money to get it how I would like it so I'm going to pass on this one I think, sounds a little crazy but I would rather have a Msport auto over a cream interior non msport. Edited November 9, 2015 by zilvia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted November 10, 2015 Did you get the rego number? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zilvia 2 Report post Posted November 10, 2015 Number plate is MIZBMW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3568 Report post Posted November 10, 2015 https://www.carjam.co.nz/car/?plate=mizbmw 2003 325i convertible? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zilvia 2 Report post Posted November 10, 2015 Yeah just looking at it now, not sure what's going on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted November 10, 2015 Hmmmm, somethings not right.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted November 10, 2015 (edited) Was assembled September 2002 so 5 months old before being rego'd here in NZ. Also as regards bring it up to M sport it is not only the springs, sway bars, bumpers front and rear, side skirts, road wheels, the interior hood lining, pillar trims, steering wheel, kick panels, seats, gear shift, interior lights and the little emblems so not a cheap exercise should you be able to get all the correct parts. As you are becoming aware it is a waiting game New Zealand doesn't have a very big market and it will take time for the right car for you to surface best of luck in your search hang in their. Edited November 10, 2015 by tim 325 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zilvia 2 Report post Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) BUMP. The wait is over and worth it !!! You may have seen a red M-Sport 2002 e46 on Trademe over the last few weeks, well it's now mine. Traveled up to Auckland and drove it back down to ChCh last weekend. Also managed to sell my Mazda 6, I used to live in Auckland, had the Mazda listed on Trademe for 6 months and didn't receive any phone call or messages, then I moved to Christchurch in January and was sold within 3 weeks. The car has been well looked after, I think it has been garaged its whole life as there is zero UV fade on the exterior trim, almost looks factory new. Few things need doing, AC doesn't work so hopefully a regas and not a major leak, don't think the waterpump and thermostat has been done(115,000km atm). It's got a old factory Dynavin with BMW cellphone !! but the radio doesn't work so may replace with factory business CD unit or a avin or eonon unit, unless I can fix the radio.It's NZ new and well spec'ed, rain senor, packing senors, halogen lights, Dynavin. No real modifcation plans really, maybe black grills and front csl splitters, LED tail lights would be nice but would have to be OEM, not a fan of aftermarket. I think the red is the best colour for the e46, so many silver ones around so I'm happy with that, all and all I waited about 6-7 months and was worth the wait and glad I didn't rush in to something. Better pic's to come. Edited March 1, 2016 by zilvia 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DR1FTMONKEY 15 Report post Posted March 1, 2016 Nice find! I may see you around CHCH, red certainly stands out from the pack. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1160 Report post Posted March 1, 2016 Nice one. Is it 330i manual? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3244 Report post Posted March 2, 2016 congratulations! yeah, tell us more, and start a project thread! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted March 28, 2016 dont skimp on the mods....you have waited a long time for the right car make it exactly what you want! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
