WTB E46 330i sedan/wagon

[Brohann 3]

on the hunt for a reasonably tidy somewhat low Ks e46 330i sedan or wagon, preferably wagon.

will pay a premium for factory manual and low ks however unlikely, converted manual is ok as long as ZF and certified 

not in a rush to buy and happy to wait for the right car

Big plus if under 130,000 kms, dark interior, all the problematic maintenance records eg. rear subframe reinforced, gaskets, control arms ect.

Could go upto $15-20k depending.

[Dogballs 102]

A little off your wish list..?, but still available.

 

[Blackie 510]

Have you thought of buying an auto for 6 or 7k and manual converting it yourself? You'd come out with some change from 15k for sure.

[Brohann 3]

17 hours ago, Dogballs said:

A little off your wish list..?, but still available.

 

I did see this for sale, its a beautiful example you have, just doesn't quite tickle my fancy sorry, but without a doubt the cleanest I've seen on the market so far

[Brohann 3]

2 hours ago, Blackie said:

Have you thought of buying an auto for 6 or 7k and manual converting it yourself? You'd come out with some change from 15k for sure.

yes that's plan B, just feeling out if someone has a gem that ticks all the boxes, otherwise ill be looking for an e46 touring with as low ks as i can get and do all the things id like, but most touring's seem to have over 200xxxkms and that does kind of put me off because this will be my forever car 

also open to importing but haven't looked into it yet

Edited March 16, 2023 by Brohann

[Eagle 1522]

Probably the best bet. I doubt there's many E46's non M's around with subframe floor done properly. K's dont matter much at this point in time as all parts likely need to be refreshed anyway due to age.

[Brohann 3]

26 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Probably the best bet. I doubt there's many E46's non M's around with subframe floor done properly. K's dont matter much at this point in time as all parts likely need to be refreshed anyway due to age.

yeah good point, im more than happy to replace parts and learn/do the work needed, just trying to avoid the car being on jack stands more than driven as im not blessed with much free time (big hour weeks and away work atm) and plan to tour around nz in the near future in it.

im being pretty picky i guess but just want the best base to start on to enjoy for a few years, and prefer not to spend my spare time under a car busting knuckles

coming from rb nissans which are super easy to work on, ive always heard to stay away from high kms bmws unless you have no other commitments and bottomless pockets lol

 

 

[Blackie 510]

Non Ms don't have the power to damage the subframe through normal driving in my experience (autos particularly - I can't even break traction in my auto 325i let alone break something). I repaired a few back when I was in panels but they were all M3 SMG. 200k is a low km M54, barely ran in, and you can't get a much more simpler engine to work on imho. Great cars (coming from an ex E36 only guy). Good luck with your hunt.

[Eagle 1522]

2 hours ago, Brohann said:

yeah good point, im more than happy to replace parts and learn/do the work needed, just trying to avoid the car being on jack stands more than driven as im not blessed with much free time (big hour weeks and away work atm) and plan to tour around nz in the near future in it.

im being pretty picky i guess but just want the best base to start on to enjoy for a few years, and prefer not to spend my spare time under a car busting knuckles

coming from rb nissans which are super easy to work on, ive always heard to stay away from high kms bmws unless you have no other commitments and bottomless pockets lol

If you can do the work yourself and know where to buy parts they arent bad. Preventative replacement is the key to make them last. E46's aren't as simple as easy to work on compared to older BMW stuff, but they aren't difficult especially so much information\guides on everything. Buying on condition and service history is all i go by, same as any brand really. All my best cars were all 300,000km+ and been reasonably well looked after. Still needed money spent on them of course and paint wasn't the best but engines etc were clean and solid. M54 have a rep for burning oil due to crappy rings which to me is their worse flaw along with subframe floor.

1 hour ago, Blackie said:

Non Ms don't have the power to damage the subframe through normal driving in my experience (autos particularly - I can't even break traction in my auto 325i let alone break something). I repaired a few back when I was in panels but they were all M3 SMG. 200k is a low km M54, barely ran in, and you can't get a much more simpler engine to work on imho. Great cars (coming from an ex E36 only guy). Good luck with your hunt.

Yeah the M are the more likely to fail first but plenty of examples of non M's with damage. Seen a number of pre-2000 models here in NZ with cracked receiver mounts which are the worse examples. Personally i dont think theres a shortage of E46's driving around with the beginnings of failure ie failed spot welds. They could driving like that for ages before anything happens if it even does progress to any noticeable floor cracking. Older these cars get the more likely its going to happen though and just to inspect the car fully requires alot of work. Out of sight out of mind or not even knowing has its benefits.

All the 4\6 cylinders before M5X were way more simple easier to work on. Anyone could work on those without much guidance.  

[Sammo 2477]

1 hour ago, Eagle said:

If you can do the work yourself and know where to buy parts they arent bad. Preventative replacement is the key to make them last. E46's aren't as simple as easy to work on compared to older BMW stuff, but they aren't difficult especially so much information\guides on everything. Buying on condition and service history is all i go by, same as any brand really. All my best cars were all 300,000km+ and been reasonably well looked after. Still needed money spent on them of course and paint wasn't the best but engines etc were clean and solid. M54 have a rep for burning oil due to crappy rings which to me is their worse flaw along with subframe floor.

Yeah the M are the more likely to fail first but plenty of examples of non M's with damage. Seen a number of pre-2000 models here in NZ with cracked receiver mounts which are the worse examples. Personally i dont think theres a shortage of E46's driving around with the beginnings of failure ie failed spot welds. They could driving like that for ages before anything happens if it even does progress to any noticeable floor cracking. Older these cars get the more likely its going to happen though and just to inspect the car fully requires alot of work. Out of sight out of mind or not even knowing has its benefits.

All the 4\6 cylinders before M5X were way more simple easier to work on. Anyone could work on those without much guidance.  

My old one needed a little crack repaired by the current owner while LSD and subframe bushings were done and that car was an auto for 145 out of 160km and I never launched it in my ownership... was quite surpirsed to hear that!

[Vass 702]

I remember seeing this video of a one lady owner auto 318i touring being prepped for a conversion that turned out to have cracks and failed spot welds through the floor. Can never really know with these models unfortunately.