M54 motor lifespan ?

[Raybimmer]

E46 330i individual sportspack 5 speed with M54 motor and 290000 km on clock for sale on gumtree for R60000 , car looks nice . Are kilos high for this motor ? Cost for overhaul ? Second hand motor maybe R20 k or so ? Think I must move from EL to CT !!

 

[Twinz]

Hi Ray
The title of the thread is misleading. The N54 motor is the twin turbo models.

You are referring to the M54 motor or something else?

 

[moranor@axis]

maybe its an e46 with an N54 :drool:

 

[P1000]

At 290000km it depends mostly on how the car was cared for and how it was driven. There is quite a big difference between 300kkm on the highway and 300kkm stop-go traffic... I suggest you look at the car, if it smokes at all, walk away. at that mileage. Also check for water in the oil, if it overheated at some point, that might be one of the first signs. You will also probably need to do the water pump, and some other cooling components, Then the clutch possibly, guibo possibly, other drivetrain and suspension parts (there will be suspension parts that need attention). There are many good options on these cars with low mileage, and if you don't know the previous owners, it will be a much safer option to go for a lower mileage car. Oh, and a motor from a scrapyard will set you back R25k-R30k, excl installation. Then on the other hand, it could be a bargain. Either way, you will need to have a plan for if something goes wrong, which in most cases means R20k-30k cash in the bank...

 

[Raybimmer]

@Twinz oops at least it is right in the thread .@P1000 I agree , unfortunately I am 1200 km away so viewing is not easy . The car is one owner with full service history , which does at least count for it .

 

[whattingh]

i would not recommend buying a high milage car far away unless it is really special.

Then I might be just me but if services was done purely on the cars services indicator, I would think twice about the milage on a car. The oil changes of 25-30k km intervals is too big for me.

 

[Mahen]

Mileage is too high boet, find a lower mileage one

 

[P1000]

I would not consider buying a car with more than 100kkm on without seeing it and doing at least a 3 hour test drive, then again I don't think I would buy any car without seeing it, unless it is ridiculously cheap.... (My car has 280kkm on)

Keep on searching. If you are willing to look at an E39, you get double the value for even less money, just don't say it is too big before you have driven one. (finding a manual might be very difficult, though)