Bmw E46

[GTAm]

What would be the price of the earliest pre-face lift petrol E46s? Any major issue in hot tropical SL weather?

[madmax]

What would be the price of the earliest pre-face lift petrol E46s? Any major issue in hot tropical SL weather?

300- would go for about 3-3.5 Mil I believe.

[milindu]

300- would go for about 3-3.5 Mil I believe.

There was a 300- 318i with 80k on the clock advertised for 3.3 negotiable.

Not major problems to report. What ever plastics that perishes with the heat can be easily replaced.

[dhp]

The big concern (esp on rough roads) is the notorious e46 chassis crack. search bimmerforums and you'll find tons of resources and what to look for. There are youtube vids showing the crack expanding when suspension loads

only other thing I can think of (from e39 2.8 experience) is the cooling system.

Most e46 and other bimmers of that era are know for the "exploding" fans in hot climates. The blades of the fan are brittle and if stressed (during maintenance or repairs) can result in shattering under centrifugal force. You can remove the fan cover and inspect the blades, hoses and also the coolant reservoir.

If you do buy the car, have the pulleys and tensioner checked .A buddy of mine lost hoses, oil lines etc. due to belts coming loose. Other than that...its a solid car! Good Luck!

[The Don]

Also be aware of electronic glitches as there are a lot of it (not glitches but electronic components) in those cars and they are notoriously difficult to diagnose and fix when they develop problems

I do suggest taking the car plugging it in to a diagnostic system and getting a report before buying it, the self diagnosis system is quite good

Edited October 30, 2007 by The Don

[GTAm]

Thanks guys. This is scary stuff. Makes an Alfa look like a Toyota in terms of reliability !

It's not for me though, just finding out for a pal. I wouldn't spend over mill more than a 156 for a car that's less enjoyable to drive anyway !!!

[The Don]

Thanks guys. This is scary stuff. Makes an Alfa look like a Toyota in terms of reliability !

It's not for me though, just finding out for a pal. I wouldn't spend over mill more than a 156 for a car that's less enjoyable to drive anyway !!!

ha ha No GTAM, overall I am sure you know having owned one yourself the BMW's are quite well built cars,

the only problem being parts etc come with a BMW price tag

The sad thing is the mechanicals on those cars are rock solid, and a lot of the reported problems are electronic glitches and if you take the car to a dealership they insist on replacing whole units !!

[dhp]

GTAm: didnt mean to scare ur friend away. I would keep looking for a good unmolested one. There are a few electronic glitches but I would still get one esp if you can source some parts from outside SL. I am sure the stealership will rip you a new one if you take the car to them

shying away from a bimmer cos of electronics is like <analogy here> kicking uma thurman out of bed cos she has big feet

[The Don]

GTAm: didnt mean to scare ur friend away. I would keep looking for a good unmolested one. There are a few electronic glitches but I would still get one esp if you can source some parts from outside SL. I am sure the stealership will rip you a new one if you take the car to them

shying away from a bimmer cos of electronics is like <analogy here> kicking uma thurman out of bed cos she has big feet

very true,

but who says big feet ain't sexy ?

[milinda]

very true,

but who says big feet ain't sexy ?

Why not ask that from Quentin Tarantino

[GTAm]

Well electronic glitches are ok as most Euro cars seem to be cursed with them. However what's really scary is the cracks in the chasis.

This reminds me of the Lancia Beta which rusted so badly through the bulk head that the cars broke in two on the motor ways.

That said I recently drove my ex 323i E36 and really played with it in corners and was so impressed with how sorted the chassis is at high speeds. Something that fwd will probably never achieve.

Btw I kind of like Uma Thurman's large toes !!!

[The Don]

I never can understand the electronic glitches in modern European cars, especially German ones, and how comparatively the Japanese seem to make equally complex but more reliable electronic components. Do not know why they cannot match the same level of reliability.

This problem was best highlighted by the Toureg failures in the Paris Dakar rally

[GTAm]

I never can understand the electronic glitches in modern European cars, especially German ones, and how comparatively the Japanese seem to make equally complex but more reliable electronic components. Do not know why they cannot match the same level of reliability.

This problem was best highlighted by the Toureg failures in the Paris Dakar rally

Interesting observation. Especially since now car manufacture is globalized and even German companies get components from Asia as well.

On one of my meetings with Micro creator Dr. Lawrence Perera he made an interesting comment about this. He said that the Japanese companies perfect their product before introducing them to the market while Europeans tend to perfect it while its in the market. He went on to say that the later cars from a Euro manufacturer tend to be better than the initial ones. I tend to agree with this.

This could also explain why European cars are always first with new tech and Japs take more time to introduce them apart from the fact that most new tech originates from Europe.

[fuzzo]

i heard the same thing GTAm. when i was in the US and looking to buy a german car, i was told, by dealers, to stay away from the 1st years of the new models coz that's when they have the most bugs.

[VWvortex]

i heard the same thing GTAm. when i was in the US and looking to buy a german car, i was told, by dealers, to stay away from the 1st years of the new models coz that's when they have the most bugs.

I would say this is true with any brand. The first versions of new models are generally prone to have issues that would be sorted out with the later year's manufactured cars. Hence some people are hesitant buyers of new models.

[The Don]

Interesting observation. Especially since now car manufacture is globalized and even German companies get components from Asia as well.

On one of my meetings with Micro creator Dr. Lawrence Perera he made an interesting comment about this. He said that the Japanese companies perfect their product before introducing them to the market while Europeans tend to perfect it while its in the market. He went on to say that the later cars from a Euro manufacturer tend to be better than the initial ones. I tend to agree with this.

This could also explain why European cars are always first with new tech and Japs take more time to introduce them apart from the fact that most new tech originates from Europe.

I do not think its fair to say most new technology originates out of Europe, Europeans are probably the first people to put such technology in their cars but that doesn't mean they are the first to come up with them or to perfect them.

Going beyond motor vehicles The Asians do have a strangle hold on the electronics market, and I can't even think of a European manufacturer (apart from maybe Philips) who hold their own in the world of electronics. Even the Koreans are doing very well there. I think Samsung is the biggest maker of semiconductors in the world.

Perhaps as you say the Japanese take time to perfect their product and thus have less bugs in the manufactured product while as the Europeans seem to be beta testing their vehicles on customers.

I think perhaps its their altitude towards quality assurance, in which there is absolutely no doubt Japan is the leading country in the world, and principles originating out of that country has been adapted all over. Actually a lot of these principles did not originate out of Japan, but they were the first to really embrace and apply it.

Obviously there is a difference in design philosophy as well, Asian automobiles seem to be designed around practical concerns, for example I usually find it much easy to find things, to take panels off etc on a Japanese car. Everything seems to be designed around practical concerns, to save time in assembly, to require less non standard tools nuts bolts etc. European cars have exquisitely complex designs, such wonderful thoughtfulness and very customer oriented, but they are not as practical for assembly and disassembly purposes. Speaking from first hand experience, in a Vauxhall Astra MK4 you have to take a storage section and a panel off to get to the fuse box !!! In a VW Golf MK4 there is either no idle control screw or its hidden away !!! I do not know its because I am used to Japanese cars and not so used to European ones, but even the smallest thing seems a challenge in a lot of european cars I've come to contact with.

Perhaps its because I am not a trained mechanic, but I remember finding my own mechanic in SL complaining about an old 305 that had come to him for a small repair and the amount of covers he had to remove to get to a section of the engine !!! so maybe its not just me.

[GTAm]

You're forgetting Siemens Don. It's one of the biggest electronics companies in the world if not the biggest. At least in the auto industry.

If you take most new tech for the auto industry they originate from Europe. A few examples are ABS, Common rail Diesel, Fuel injection, Turbo charging, variable valve timing etc etc etc. All the tech we take for granted these days.

Europeans are better inventors. Japanese are better manufacturers and perhaps better businessmen.

Well yes your observation about Euro cars being more complex is correct to a certain extent. However now I think ALL cars are very very complex.

[GearHead]

22 min BMWFactory video - Production process of the E46

[miniace]

22 min BMWFactory video - Production process of the E46

Good link Gearhead.Thanks mate!

MINIACE

[GearHead]

Good link Gearhead.Thanks mate!

MINIACE

no worries machan..

Edited April 24, 2009 by GearHead

[DevakaC]

no worries machan..

Shyts after watching the video I felt like buying an E46 too..lol... did the E46 come with a 2L turbo diesel? it looks the same to the diesel ones that run with 65- plates and WPGA numbers. Have the economy helped them to come down for about 3mil?

[GearHead]

Shyts after watching the video I felt like buying an E46 too..lol... did the E46 come with a 2L turbo diesel? it looks the same to the diesel ones that run with 65- plates and WPGA numbers. Have the economy helped them to come down for about 3mil?

i dont think that i am the best one to comment on BMW prices..bc i have no idea machan.. lets wait and see what others have to say..

[Devinda_Z]

Shyts after watching the video I felt like buying an E46 too..lol... did the E46 come with a 2L turbo diesel? it looks the same to the diesel ones that run with 65- plates and WPGA numbers. Have the economy helped them to come down for about 3mil?

that 2L seen in the 320D IS a turbo diesel afaik - quite a nice motor - far too common though

& the market price for those has been holding steady... 3.5mil and you could get a decent , if not good car i recon

[xXx]

lets wait and see what others have to say..

yup lets wait for L board's H*TAD review LOL

[madmax]

Shyts after watching the video I felt like buying an E46 too..lol... did the E46 come with a 2L turbo diesel? it looks the same to the diesel ones that run with 65- plates and WPGA numbers. Have the economy helped them to come down for about 3mil?

Yep, prices definitely have come down since I sold mine almost 2 years ago. Prices for the pre face lift are hovering in the lower 3Mil range and the face lift in the upper 4 mil range. That's a difference of about 500k compared to when the market was good.