E46 Advice
 

My bro in law is looking at getting an E46 (325i). Any recommended things to look for or problems that anyone knows of to be leary about?

Here is the link:
Superior Pre-Owned Auto World: Vehicle Profile

That 325i looks very average. I'd recommend one with xenons, sport package, and of course a manual transmission.

As for problems, lots of info here: BMW E46 - BimmerWiki

Generally speaking, its things like window regulators, cooling system, and wiring connections for the rear taillights.

you can also search at e46fanatics.com .. a great site

Pointed him to that site. Hopefully he will do a little research on his own.:thumbup:

Pass, too much dough for not enough go

Have him read up and buy direct from the owner the 325i. Getting the service history and meeting the previous owner will tell you a lot about the car.

I wouldn't pay more than 12k for a car of that vintage

We sold our 2002 325xi last year. It was my wife's car, and she loved it. Four door, dark grey, no premium or sport, 6MT. A few specific options such as the heated seats, and IIRC we got the Xenon lights standard in Canada that year. I like the E46 without all the options, it is a very simple car to maintain that way. Ours was very clean, and we got $20k for it privately. First person that looked at it bought it. I gave him all the maintenance records, told him about the CDV, and so on. It was a great car, and had lots of life left in it, but we wanted a sport utility when I sold my X5, so we got an X3 for my wife.

:iagree:

I had an e46 330ci coupe for 1year bro and nothing wrong with that. Right now I have the e46 M3 for 1.5 year and still nothing wrong with my M too!!!! You can see I am a 100% e46 fanatic and I recommend those cars to everyone.

very basic. upgrade a bit. not many problems should be anticipated

I've had a 328i for 5 yrs... great car!! Mine has 140,000 miles and still running strong. Common probs are window regulators, frt susp bushings, hood alarm sensor, cam sensors, radiator expansion tank, water pump and auto transmission (after 100,000 miles ussually... mine is stick). Other than the auto trans, they are all easy fixes that you can DIY. The only big prob with some of them is subframe failure. Go to e46fanatics.com and you will find tons of info on them. I do all the work in my car and always find all the info needed there.

http://img276.imageshack.us/img276/2...513f11r1pe.jpg

Thanks for all the great info guys!! I will be sure to pass it along.