e46 320i Trade in on e36 M3 / e46 330i

[De@nO]

Howzit guys, and gals!

I wanted some advise on what to do with my car.
Its an '05 e46 320i Exclusive/Exec Pack. 68000km on the clock.

I am seriously considering trading it in for either an older 330i, or then an e36 M. -The 320i has been giving much grief lately :/ i throw quite some abuse its way, so i guess its almost expected.

I can get about 90k-100k for my car on a trade i reckon. and im willing to put up 30 - 35k for either one of these cars. However il only go for it if:

1. The car hasnt been in any accidents
2. It relatively well looked after, good condition, with average/low milleage.

What does one look out for when going for an e36 m or e46 330i?

I prefer the 2 door e36 m, however I would imagine it would be easier to find a good 4 door. What is the difference between the 2 in terms of electronics such as ASC and DSC? I heard the 2 door has no traction or stabiliy control?

Maintenance on an e36 m?

 

[Muney]

Doit! Doit! Doit! Dont know about maintenance, but I presume that if you are worried about the costs, then consider an e46 330i. You wont regret it! Either choice is a great choice, at least you arent buying a Tata!:mmm:

 

[clutchplate]

nice going bro ! let us know what you decide ... I'd go for the 330i .. and turbo it.

 

[freerider]

330i for sure. Maintenance on the e36 M3 will kill you if you cant afford to fork out.

 

[@ri]

330i :thumbsup:

 

[Fuzzy]

Brother my e36 M3 - 2 door ....I love everything about her! PLEASURE all the way. She is however very pricey to maintain, you have to have money to look after it. I have had mine for 3 years and must say, besides the usual servicing, she's looked after me very well and I do drive the MOER out of her!

And umm engines only cost R150k or was that R120k!! I dont pay too much insurance on her either (She's insured for R135k), apparently I am a Lady driver (not high risk) evidently they do not know Fuzzy.

If I was asked to do it again, I would choose to buy her again!! As for handling performance wise, we are in sync with each other, she's smooth and ever so willing!

These models however when they came out had the highest record for write-offs within the first 6 months of ownership! Los lyf!!

When I do decide to buy the e46 M3 (staan nog op Voortrekker Road....) my e36 will remain as part of my classical collection!!

A friend of mine had the 330i, and he has had endless problems, but that's a one on one situation and not that series problem. I just think he's an idiot driver!!

Either way you win in your choice!!!

 

[///MOS1TED]

E36 M3 - 2door - 3.0L , 210kw

E36 M3 - 4door - 3.2L , 228kw

The E36 M3 4door is a all rounder in terms of family , racing and stability etc.

Maintenance on the 4door M3 is not that hetic as people seem to think , all depends on what you want to put into the car , others use R400 oil for eg , whilst i use R900 oil for eg....

I can tell you this for sure , you wont regret the decision of a 4door M3 , it averages with my bad driving 11L/100km in urban , and 6.0L on the highway , sometimes even lower.

Not much needs to be done to a 11/12year old Mpower to embrass a lot of cars on the road , LSD is stock standard on the 4door and can be engaged by use / clutch control

Just to let you know how anal i am about the E36 , lets just say i will never ever sell it , it use to give my ex E46 M3 a very good go.

Theres nothing wrong either with a E36 M3 , Gspec (2door) , problem is finding a clean one and a person actually wanting to sell it , out of quiet a few i have driven , it seems much more tail happier than the 4door M3 , can be good and bad , but who cares , IMO just as long as it says MPOWER , you will never ever regret it !!!

:thumbsup:

 

[Fuzzy]

You are right about the tailhappy part!! I am however very happy to oblige!!

She reminds me of a dog, looking at its master, wagging its tail, waiting for you to throw the stick and she's ever so willing to go and fetch!!

GSpec hard to find. My one has seen terrible days from its previous owner who was a cont!!

 

[SirSparky]

i got myself a decent trade in on my 2004 320i.i got 105k and thats 2k more than trade.i had 55 000 kms on the clock....

yes the m devision is more expensive to maintain,but let me tell you this coming from a 1 month old M owner...as long as you dont wright her off...you will never buy another car again.there are ones in good nic going between R100k and R150k

then again the 330 is also not a bad buy.

make sure you go higher than 2003 and not lower......2003 and up has 6 speed gearbox.i saw a couple of nice deals when choosing between M5 or 330.i found one with 70 000 kms on the clock for R148 000 and it was in good nic,2003 model


Choice is yours buddy

 

[calypso]

I have an 2dr e36 M3, have had it from 98000km-128000km and counting. Its a great car, nothing major has needed to be done, but you must be proactive on the maintence. As long as nothing big breaks you should be fine, though the 3.0 engine in know to be very reliable if treated well, its very sensitive to cold oil conditions. The 3.2 the same, though the Vanos seems to be a little less reliable, also not a very expensive thing to repair these days. The car has no traction or stability control.
Also, expect everything thats glued to the car to start coming apart, but thats nothing a good auto upholsterer cant fix. Best advise i would give is to try find a 1 owner car that has a histroy and has been cared for. It took me 2 years to find mine, the other 10 i saw while looking were all trash.

 

[bryden]

I agree, the M3 is probably a better car to drive and own, but finding a deccent one is going to be a nightmare.
There are way more 330's out there, most of which were owned by older (no offence to anyone) people, all the young guys went for 2nd hand M3's. You'll find a good deal within a week if you in a hurry, but the ///M could take months, even years.......:mmm:

 

[patrickdelport]

I have been through the same situation but has probably been to fussy to make my up my mind...330i & get supercharged or E36M3 although the m3 would be a way better performance & handling car it will also cost you more if anything would pack up & need replacement, its also hard to find one that is in good nic, I saw one the once for R160 G but it was cared for like a baby, it only had 60000km on it.
Over all the 330 everything is newer & better as it is a new generation...
*********I just have to inform you by now that you have actually wasted your time reading this as clearly I have not made up my mind yet so how could I offer good advice

E46 just get one of those

---

E46 M3 that is

 

[clutchplate]

yea, why not just get the E46 M3 ?

 

[Muney]

+1

 

[///Marksman]

i was in the same situation a couple years back... i chose the 330i mainly because of an excellent price and the car was in great shape. it did have 180 000 km though which i thought was hefty, but the price was too good.

I was young and stupid, so as you can imagine i drove like a fuckin dickhead ALL the time, shifting @ 6500 through most of the gears all day, everyday. No mechanical problems, none whatsoever... only issue after all that hammering was LCAB's, brakes and other suspension bushings, sold the car @ 215 000 km and got what i paid for it. bargain of note and i managed to get through that teenage superman syndrom alive.

with that said, there were many days that went past with me thinking i had made the wrong decision, the 330 was more mordern, linear power delivery, half decent brakes (which fade quickly when pushing on), comfortable suspension... and... and... and...

BUT

to cut an allready long story short... take the e36M if you can afford it. you wont regret it. I doubt you would sit at a light in the M and wish you went for the 330

---

yea, why not just get the E46 M3 ?

forget what i said,

listen to clutch, even if you have to sell a kidney. DO IT

 

[clutchplate]

lol, well, this is how I figured it. if u can get 100K for your car, plus the 30K u wanted to put down u allready have 130K.. u can prolly get a E46M3 for between 200 and 250 ? ... and your set. will be a nice and small repayment..

 

[weiburwu]

if you can find a really good m3 go for it,,other wise 330i is not a bad one as well

 

[///M_POW]

I say go for the M3... :thumbsup:

If you have R130K u can get a clean E36 M's...

If u have around 70-100K+ more u can get a E46...

E36 1st... save up then get a E46.... save up a lotttttttt more then a E92 :thumbsup:

 

[///Marksman]

fk it, we are sure spoilt for choice with the bmw range, from old to new... there are many great buys out there