Advice needed on buying a E46 318i N42 (Pics added)

[XMAX]

@Andrew - lol - Thanks for picking that up. Im usually very careful with my grammar and statements. my slip up.

 

[Spy007]

At least the 318 e46 will still beat the e90 320i

same engine.

get avg 9 - 10.5 with gopher mixed driving but it is heavy body. Aslo noticed I get more with Sasol than any other. Re kick down of the A/t thats why i love steptronic.

 

[XMAX]

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to all members reading this thread.


Ive just realised that the 318i I owned was a N46 derivative and not the N42 as I had initially thought. My apologies for stating that I owned a N42 model. This was an honest mistake.


@Andrew - Thanks for pointing out the DSC / ASC issue. My 318i had DSC, and so I thought that your statement was false. I now realise my mistake and apologise.


p.s. I should let my wife see this. She says that I Never apologise when im wrong. See, Im apologising.

 

[Trigger]

The E46 318i 2.0l motors are very nice man. The E46's are beautiful cars also.

The motors however are a riddle. They depend on so many sensors and all run in union, that if something goes off and it doesnt throw a fault code, you will end up scratching your head for no more. But when they run, they run amazingly well for a 4 cylinder. I get around 9.0l/100km in traffic and on the open road around 8 or less.
Also common are intake leaks, crankshaft sensors, MAF's, coils, control arm bushes, etc.

Xmax has given u excellent advice buddy.

Hope it all works out for u.
Good luck

 

[XMAX]

aww trigger. :excited: now im blushing :thumb:

 

[andrewbuch]

MAF's as trigger said are somehow bad on the 318i's they die.. but new one was about R1500 for my car from bosch

 

[Werner318is]

O.k thanks guys. But what is so different from the N46 engine apart from the 10kw increase? Is it just more reliable than the N42? I saw a few guys with E90's also having some valvetronic trouble with that engine..but like I said, the engine is very quiet, even when I started it, no rattles etc..We stopped and I asked my dad to accelerate the car down the road and it didnt smoke or anything. I just want it to take me from a to b without any major trouble as I cannot afford a 6cyl in that condition with that low mileage.. I had a look at a 2000 330i manual with 166 000km on the clock for the same price but it had a lot of owners and the last guy had it only for 3months..? and the interior needs some tlc aswel..

 

[andrewbuch]

Get it

 

[Stephen Weyers]

Thanks a lot for your advice XMAX I really appreciate it and I feel more positive now. Can you tell me what the fuel consumption of your car was like? I did a lot of research on the internet and many say the 6cylinders are more reliable but they are more heavy on juice than the 4cyl valvetronic motor and Im very concerned about fuel economy. Will I get 10-11km/h in town with the 4cyl? I also forgot to mention that the car has PDC and ASC, I dont know if its standard though...? The salesman offered me R80K the first time but called me back a few minutes and told me that he will do the swop. I bought this bakkie 3 months ago for R95k but the fuel consumption is insane, I get around 6.5km/l in town and 8.5km/h on highway driving...:cursin:

Hi W.
For what it's worth.
Had a couple of BMW's.All Six cyl. Thought I would sacrifice the joy of a six for a four cyl to have better feul cons. I was WRONG ! I nurse the car ( 139000 km , N42 auto ) and only get 1 km per litre more than my best BM ever ! ( 528 i ).It returns me 8,5 km per litre in town. You MUST get an " unmolested " one , or you MIGHT be sorry ::=):