Newbie buying E46 320i advice needed

[JasonCPT]

Howzit all.

A good mate if mine told me to join the best BMW online forum in the world as ill get the best advice needed.

So here goes.

I looked at a E46 320i Auto facelift 2003 model yesterday, been eying the car for few days. Took it for a drive and all i can say is wow! Solid, clean and rattle free. We are looking for a auto as we do 90% traffic driving and i have a bad knee so clutch is killing my knee.

Car is a little on the high mileage side 280xxx but has full service history at BMW Tygervalley, the last service was done at another place. Car seems to be well​ taken care of as i could not find any oils sweat on the motor or leaks after a good test drive.

My question is, how readable are they? Is this high mileage a big issue? I saw a few on gumtree pushing well over 300000 on the clock. I was fist looking at a 318i but was told to stay away from the N42 motor as they are problematic.

While my aggressive driving yesterday to test the car out the fuel economy was 12.1L/100km which i think is actually good. I was thrashing it and switched it over to manual and ran it through the gears.

My other question is, who in Cape Town, preferably Nothern Subs is trustworthy and not to pricey to maintain the car for me.

Thanks all

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[Captain_Stealth]

Hi bru

If you plan on keeping on the car I would go for it but if you ever plan on selling it you are going to struggle as it's a 320i. Also check that the auto gearbox is ok. I would probably have to say with that mileage it's the first thing that will go. Best of luck with ur decision. But I would look for a car with less mileage


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[JasonCPT]

Mornings. Thanks for the imput. I was told 2min ago from a bmw dealer to give this car a skip. That kind of mileage the oil pump and water pump is due for replacement and can cost a couple of k's

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[Captain_Stealth]

Mornings. Thanks for the imput. I was told 2min ago from a bmw dealer to give this car a skip. That kind of mileage the oil pump and water pump is due for replacement and can cost a couple of k's

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How much were you going to buy it for


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[AdiS]

At that mileage the autobox is the biggest risk.

But even on a lower mileage example, you'll still need to do a cooling system overhaul. You should not expect to buy an E46 and not have it cost you money to maintain.

 

[Aggregate]

I wish all the beast but Ican say that a 320i is a great car but boy the mileage!

Let's say don't buy it but look for something else? What is the price? If I have the price I could recommend something for you.

 

[Blue Shirt]

Even 280k km is not excessive mileage on that M54 motor. A mate has a E46 328i with over 500k km.

The price is the determining factor here. If you can get the car for cheap enough, you can afford to do all the preventative maintenance on the cooling system and suspension to give the car a new lease on life and to ensure reliable motoring going forward.

Generally speaking the M54 is fairly indestructible if properly maintained. The E46 320i is not a rocketship, but will offer reliable transport if cared for properly.

The naysayers on the auto transmission are also often mistaken. Those gearboxes can also last a long time if taken care of. Most fail due to abuse rather than wear. Abuse = throwing it into Drive after reversing while the car is still moving backwards or vice versa. Just be sure to test the car properly to establish if there is any excess slippage on the gearbox or nasty gearchanges.

 

[AdiS]

The naysayers on the auto transmission are also often mistaken. Those gearboxes can also last a long time if taken care of. Most fail due to abuse rather than wear. Abuse = throwing it into Drive after reversing while the car is still moving backwards or vice versa. Just be sure to test the car properly to establish if there is any excess slippage on the gearbox or nasty gearchanges.

That may be, but the other issue is that because BMW did not stipulate oil changes on the gearbox, at 280 000km, the gearbox is running on very old (probably burnt), original oil. That's not great for longevity.

 

[Captain_Stealth]

Cheap bmws are cheap for a reason they need a lot of work. Also service history doesn't matter after 200000km as that's a lot of mileage in my opinion. I bought an e36 convertible recently looks great but also needs work. Which I am prepared to do

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[JasonCPT]

I can pick the car up for 40k. Reason for sale is the lady cant park the car and only owned the car for just over a year. Problem i have is we all know how some service centers can take shortcuts. The car sat high, so doubt the was any suspension issues, i did however smell little burned oil after thrashing the car through the gears to test the auto box. Smooth shifts and no lagging. The burned oil smell can be from the service center maybe messed a little oil on the manifold or something as it just came back from the service.

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[Gizmo]

M54B22 is a rock solid motor if maintained. Underpowered in my opinion up here on reef level but will be more than good enough at sea level if you drive like a grandma. I actually got decent gas mileage when I drove my nephew's 2004 320i manual for a while. Obviously the auto will use 2-3lt per 100km more than manual but considering your bum knee it's a worthwhile compromise. Price is a major factor though considering mileage.

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Burnt oil smell is from tappet cover gasket. It's a common issue on m54. Price seems right.

 

[JasonCPT]

Hows Goldwagens parts for BMW. They sell thr waterpump and oil pump, water pump R500 and oil pump R2500. I went to google and noticed many changing/failed water and oil pumps around 220-290k.

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[SMN325]

Hi Jason

I ran a 2002 face lift 318i M(2.0lt, 4cyl) for 11.5 years with 280000 kms. The car was very reliable, and when I traded it in the only issue was the key transponder. This is something you need to check also, as replacing it is very expensive (+/- R5500 in 2013). Suspension components needed replacement at 150000 kms also (moderate driving)
I only serviced and repaired the car at a BMW dealer, so that helped

 

[Gizmo]

Goldwagen parts are cheaper than BMW for a reason, they don't last half as long. Buy an original water pump, buy an original oil pump if it is needed.

 

[SMN325]

Goldwagen parts are cheaper than BMW for a reason, they don't last half as long. Buy an original water pump, buy an original oil pump if it is needed.

On the money. If the OEM part lasts 7 years, then buy the replacement from the OEM - it's most likely going to give the same long life

 

[JasonCPT]

Agents price is 2 hand a half times more, obviously cant compare to OEM but then i need to get the car for cheap as that will cost me around 8k to supply and fit

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[Tjoppies]

if you decide on a BMW...dont fiddle with cheap shyte because it WILL bite you later on...do it properly now and make sure the car is happy for years to come.

 

[JasonCPT]

Yeah im not a pirate loving guy. I always tend to go for genuine parts but i know if you want to drive in style, you will have to pay in style

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[Tjoppies]

i think once we have covered the preventative maintenance on our E46's , they should prove to be quite trouble free and only cost us normal wear/tear products.

 

[Gizmo]

It really does pay to use mostly OEM parts on BMWs, the years of good service outweigh the cost of the part.