Newcomer with a just purchased 330ci

[rtayob]

So this is my first topic on the forum. Been lurking around but never started a thread.
But this place is full of great guys. I'm based in Limpopo. Far away from the rest of you guys.
So here's my story. Always loved a convertible, from the e36 but never thought I'd actually own one. But just picked up one today. E46 330ci, 2004 facelift, 147,000km on the clock. But needs some tlc. Roof works 100% though.
Just before I bought it, the guy knocked the side mirror on his gate and there are couple other issues below:

1. Driver door handle not working from the outside. ( googled it abit and saw it can be fixed with some time and a cable tie)
2. Right mirror broken off. (As above)
3. Front bumper a little loose.
4. Tiny knock on the back bumper left.
5. Small dent on the back left fender.
6. Battery needs replacing.
7. 2 tires need to be replaced. Car was sitting for long and rubber looks like it's cracking.
8. Power steering pump leaking. the guys said his mechanic said that it's the seal on the pump but he never get a chance to sort it out.
9. Water hose from the radiator leaking.
10. Car has a delayed acceleration. It's an auto. My brother got a standard 2001 e46 330i and i can feel the difference in the power. Mines feels very sluggish.
11. Remote on the key doesn't work. Only found this out after I paid for the car. Should have checked it first. It Unlocks the car and starts it manually but the lock and unlock buttons dead. I'm hoping that because the car was standing so long the battery in the key died. ( from google again )
12. Lcd on the radio fading. But I've seen this on other e46's as well, so not too stressed about it.
13. Hoping there isn't a 13

So as I'm typing all this, I'm beginning to think that I may have made an impulse buy
But what's done is done. Might as well make best of it.

I would like to do this as a project slowly, got a decently running e46 2003 318i that keeps me going for now.
But worried about the mechanical issues on the ci. I'm based in Limpopo so left the car at my in laws place in Pretoria as didn't want to drive it over 200km home in case I have issues on the road. I'm not really a mechanical guy, been in IT and now sell stationery in my humble town. But I would like to slowly start with the mechanical issues so I can drive the car safely back to me and then work from there.

Any advice will highly appreciated.
Apologies for the long long post.
Will upload some pics. Took a few quick ones before I left for home today. But may not be the best pics. Was in a rush as needed to get back to Mokopane.












Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

---

So this was the pics I got before I bought the car

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

---

And these are pics I took myself before I left for home. Not the best angles.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

---

The fender dent.

The back bumper paint peeling.

The loose front bumper.

The missing side mirror.

The dead / dying battery

Just realized I never take any pictures on the engine etc, under the bonnet. Will take some when I'm back the in laws place again. For now the car is resting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[zama]

Welcome Bud. Congrats on the purchase, I'm sure most of our 1st BMW's were impulsive buys for the love of the brand and you learn as you go along fixing all the niggles and what to look out for in future purchases. Those items listed should be sorted in no time, then go out and enjoy that straight six sound with the top down.

 

[Maljan]

That door handle sounds like it needs a new cable. It is a fairly easy fix. There are enough E46s on the scrapyards to find a cheap one. Don't bother with cable ties. The amount of work is the same and I doubt that it will last.

 

[zippy320]

Congrats on the car! Always loved the LCI convertibles!

Everything you mentioned are small issues that you can do by yourself ,Time and patience and google!, the E46 is not a difficult car to work on , I also have an LCI 318i , Im not a trained mechanic but if I can work on this car anyone can and I now see everything that you listed as easy quick fixes , Besides the tyres , I cant fit tyres (too heavy).

Lets see from the top

1. Buy a new cable or get a second hand one from a yard , cable tie isnt going to last long , might as well do it properly the first time.
2. Buy new/second hand mirror ,dont worry about color you can reuse your cars old mirror glass and cover(If its not broken) ( Mirror glass is not cheap) (reuse cover to save money on respraying or respray when doing 4 n 5)
3. Take bumper off , the guides or rails that screw onto the body might be broken or pushed off the rails . Once the bumper is off you can see , Its not difficult to fix.
4. Panel beater , Make sure they used the correct color when respraying .
5. Panel Beater , Do it when doing number 4
6. Looks like the original battery , buy correct wattage replacement .
7. Replace tyres
8. Buy a new pump and fit it, its not difficult , Messy but not difficult , Goldwagen sells good quality pumps .
9. Replace the hose , I would buy OEM but goldwagen also sells these water hoses , its not pricy.
10 , Sounds like it needs a proper service , fuel filter , oil , sparkplugs , air filter If it was sitting for so long its going to feel that way , cars dont like to sit for very long .Would also be a good idea to hook the car up to a PC and read its fault codes . That could also help you pin point any other issues.


11. Replace the battery , And try it out , this is a nice guide.

http://www.bmwforums.info/3-series-guides/7863-bmw-e46-key-battery-replacement.html

12, I have also noticed this on many cars , I dont know what the fix is , maybe buy another radio from a scrap yard , test it in your car before so you know its good.

13. Theirs going to be a 13 and if your like me , 14 15 16 ....And We purchased our E46 new hehe , you just haven't found it yet LoL sorry .
The cars are getting old , so they develop issues .

 

[rtayob]

Thanks so much for all the advice guys. Really appreciate it. Espicially @zippy320 for the detailed advice.
When I get back to pretoria, going to start with the new battery first and then the new key. I ordered some blank keys with the RFID chips and a usb RFID programmer online for my brothers 330i, so can use that to hopefully program a new key for myself and my bro. Heve not tested it yet though
But need someone that can cut the key. Anybody you guys can recommend in the pretoria area just for the cutting.

 

[kilotango]

welcome! i have an auto 330ci as well, its not convertible though.

so....

- door handle:

the door handle thing isnt too serious, it happened on my passenger side door. if you remove the door card, and the vapor seal, look at the area close to the door handle and you'll see that the cable has a "holder" that clicks into a small plastic connector. what happens, is that the holder gets worn, and doesnt lock into place anymore. all you have to do is push the holder back in its place, then put some quick drying putty over it.. job done. its a really tight squeeze.. so you'll need long nose pliers and nimbleness to get in there.

- water hose leak:

check which hose it is, it will probably be the top hose, or the bottom hose that sits between the radiator and thermostat. the bad news is that either way... both hoses, thermostat, water pump all need to be replaced soon if they havent been done, otherwise an overheat will kill your car quickly!

- delayed acceleration:

try and get hold of a diagnostic machine that can access the gearbox ECU and check for errors on the gearbox module. a car at that mileage could have gearbox problems (bad) if the car hasnt been look aftered very well. saying this, your problem could be engine related. i suggest you look online about all the various vacuum leak issues on these cars. as zippy mentioned, you may want to service the car as well and see how the car performs then. btw, dont compare your brothers car to yours if his is manual, they will feel different because of things like an auto gearbox, manual clutch fan etc. delayed acceleration in an auto is also a symptom of vanos seals needing replacement which is common with all these M54 engined cars. if you feel the car accelerate like hell between 3000 and 4000 RPM .. then thats your prob.

 

[jcwdrop]

First thing I would do is try your brother's airflow meter and see if that does anything for the acceleration.

Good luck.

 

[rtayob]

Thanks man. Ok so i think should get a decent mech to look at the mechanical parts you mentioned. Scared I might do something wrong. Anyone you guys can recommended, someone who can do a decent job without costing too much. Already made a huge dent in my account on the purchase
Don't mind leaving the car in Pretoria or Jhb for a little longer as wife got some health issues thats gotta get treated so not gonna play with the car much for now. And then can start messing around fixing the cosmetic stuff myself slowly slowly in the new year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[AdiS]

Thanks man. Ok so i think should get a decent mech to look at the mechanical parts you mentioned. Scared I might do something wrong. Anyone you guys can recommended, someone who can do a decent job without costing too much. Already made a huge dent in my account on the purchase
Don't mind leaving the car in Pretoria or Jhb for a little longer as wife got some health issues thats gotta get treated so not gonna play with the car much for now. And then can start messing around fixing the cosmetic stuff myself slowly slowly in the new year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Try Gizmo (forum member). He is based in Alberton, but he will do good work!

 

[rtayob]

Thanks man. Ok so i think should get a decent mech to look at the mechanical parts you mentioned. Scared I might do something wrong. Anyone you guys can recommended, someone who can do a decent job without costing too much. Already made a huge dent in my account on the purchase
Don't mind leaving the car in Pretoria or Jhb for a little longer as wife got some health issues thats gotta get treated so not gonna play with the car much for now. And then can start messing around fixing the cosmetic stuff myself slowly slowly in the new year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Try Gizmo (forum member). He is based in Alberton, but he will do good work!

Thank man. I Sent him a PM now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[JohnLod]

Hi and congrates,

If you only have the one key I would strongly suggest you get a proper spare.

Send me the vin so I can see if it needs the passenger side air bag to be replaced, if it does the costs are covered by BMW. PM me the vin please.

Regards

 

[rtayob]

Thanks man. Ok so i think should get a decent mech to look at the mechanical parts you mentioned. Scared I might do something wrong. Anyone you guys can recommended, someone who can do a decent job without costing too much. Already made a huge dent in my account on the purchase
Don't mind leaving the car in Pretoria or Jhb for a little longer as wife got some health issues thats gotta get treated so not gonna play with the car much for now. And then can start messing around fixing the cosmetic stuff myself slowly slowly in the new year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Try Gizmo (forum member). He is based in Alberton, but he will do good work!

Thank man. I Sent him a PM now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Could I please trouble someone to PM me @gizmo number and I can give him a call


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[rtayob]

Thanks man. Ok so i think should get a decent mech to look at the mechanical parts you mentioned. Scared I might do something wrong. Anyone you guys can recommended, someone who can do a decent job without costing too much. Already made a huge dent in my account on the purchase
Don't mind leaving the car in Pretoria or Jhb for a little longer as wife got some health issues thats gotta get treated so not gonna play with the car much for now. And then can start messing around fixing the cosmetic stuff myself slowly slowly in the new year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Try Gizmo (forum member). He is based in Alberton, but he will do good work!

So update on my car. Haven't been active much on the forum. Car has done maybe around 5000km in the past 2 years. Had a few things done at a local mech in my humble town, to keep it running but finally got the car to @gizmo this month. Took me about 2 years to get it there. LOL. Will hopefully create a my first build thread on the car soon.

 

[Kaaba1]

Nice and welcome

 

[Gordvisr]

Welcome