gjm 3258 Report post Posted April 24, 2022 One of these, or half an E30? It's a lot of car for the money. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/3559019551 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balancerider 751 Report post Posted April 24, 2022 cheap to buy maybe not cheap to fix (unless you're @KwS) 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2421 Report post Posted April 24, 2022 27 minutes ago, balancerider said: cheap to buy maybe not cheap to fix (unless you're @KwS) Avoid like the plague, they're hateful things when they inevitably go wrong. Thankfully mine sold before i got more temped to set fire to it. Every trip in that car was anxiety inducing, waiting to hear that BLING of another fault popping up. It is a lot of car and a lot of tech for the money, but they are old now, and were unreliable when new. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted April 24, 2022 Beautiful car, lovely engine, drives so well. When it's working. Perhaps I'll stick to pre-2002 E46s. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1660 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 14 hours ago, KwS said: Avoid like the plague, they're hateful things when they inevitably go wrong. Thankfully mine sold before i got more temped to set fire to it. Every trip in that car was anxiety inducing, waiting to hear that BLING of another fault popping up. It is a lot of car and a lot of tech for the money, but they are old now, and were unreliable when new. What made you buy one? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 821 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 2 hours ago, gjm said: Perhaps I'll stick to pre-2002 E46s. Wait, what happened post-2002? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick496 268 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 23 minutes ago, Vass said: Wait, what happened post-2002? The 318i swapped to an n series motor. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freaknout 47 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 Destined to be a future classic at the rate they're disappearing! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KwS 2421 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Eagle said: What made you buy one? Got it as a trade for a car i couldn't sell (niche market), thinking it would be easier to sell. It wasn't. Worst decision I've made in a long time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3258 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Vass said: Wait, what happened post-2002? 1 hour ago, nick496 said: The 318i swapped to an n series motor. As Nick said - the N4x engine happened. Up to model year 2001 you had (for example) the M43 engine. Not perhaps inspiring, but capable, competent and generally reliable. After that... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 821 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 33 minutes ago, gjm said: As Nick said - the N4x engine happened. Up to model year 2001 you had (for example) the M43 engine. Not perhaps inspiring, but capable, competent and generally reliable. After that... Ahh phew, got me sweating for a minute there with my two '03 e46's. Luckily they're both M54's 😄 Good to know though, was thinking of maybe getting a wee 4-pot one as a cheap-ish daily at some point but was afraid they might all have the dreaded N42/46 disasters in them. Will know to keep a lookout for the older ones 👍 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Young Thrash Driver 1020 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 Last week I came across a couple of guys struggling to push one into a trailer in the middle of the street. I hoped they were stealing it so I stopped and gave them a hand but alas it was genuinely broken (quelle surprise). 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1660 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 2 hours ago, KwS said: Got it as a trade for a car i couldn't sell (niche market), thinking it would be easier to sell. It wasn't. Worst decision I've made in a long time. Ah yeah i think you may of mentioned that at some point. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1660 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Vass said: Ahh phew, got me sweating for a minute there with my two '03 e46's. Luckily they're both M54's 😄 Good to know though, was thinking of maybe getting a wee 4-pot one as a cheap-ish daily at some point but was afraid they might all have the dreaded N42/46 disasters in them. Will know to keep a lookout for the older ones 👍 Way too slow though especially in the heavier E46 even with manual. E36 with M42 or the better M44 is way to go for cheaper daily. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 821 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 1 minute ago, Eagle said: Way too slow though especially in the heavier E46 even with manual. E36 with M42 or the better M44 is way to go for cheaper daily. True that. Ideally would want something with yearly WoF's though so would prefer something from the 2000-2002 period. Speed isn't that much of a factor when all you're doing is driving 10 minutes to work through a 60-zone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick496 268 Report post Posted April 25, 2022 19 minutes ago, Vass said: True that. Ideally would want something with yearly WoF's though so would prefer something from the 2000-2002 period. Speed isn't that much of a factor when all you're doing is driving 10 minutes to work through a 60-zone. There are a few 318ti's that are 2000 registered. My one was a great wee runabout 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodachrome 150 Report post Posted April 28, 2022 On the cheapness of E63's, I like them too, but they are basically E60's with 2 less door. Price wise, they are similar, so I wouldn't really say they are so cheap, just in the old but not retro cool car-lifecycle limbo period. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3308 Report post Posted April 28, 2022 On 4/25/2022 at 10:06 AM, gjm said: Beautiful car, lovely engine, drives so well. When it's working. Perhaps I'll stick to pre-2002 E46s. you should buy my particularly well-maintained e60 545i. 50:50 weight distro, valve-stem seals already replaced, what a drive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
