opinions wanted

[mikebloco]

I've been looking at e46 330ci manual cars for awhile now and I wanted to know what they are like. My roommate just says to go with a e36 but the 330ci is wayyy nicer in my opinion. From those of you that own them. How reliable are they? Anything to watch out for?
I know they don't like to be revved too high because of harmonic issues, and lots of people say that the water pump can randomly grenade if it doesn't get replaced at intervals.

[Jon325i]

This would be a source of info to research....

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/

My only experience with E46s is when a family member used to own an '02 model 330i sedan with 5-speed manual. Got to drive it a few times, nice ride. They were fanatical about the maintenance too. That alone is critical when shopping for one. Do some research and drive as many as you can before plunking down your cash.

Good luck.

[stonea]

Never had any experience with the e46 (besides helping my dad with his M3) but I have a M54b25 in my Z3 and LOVE it. The 3.0 does have that harmonic issue, but from my reading and research its only really found in race cars that live up in the RPMs all their life. Even then its not a common occurrence. The M54s do have cooling issues though, from my understanding they have an electronic thermostat and incase that fails there is a mechanical back up. For some reason BMW designed the back to open when its pretty much to late and the car overheats and because of the aluminum block... well thats where a lot of the deaths happen from.

The 323i (actually a 2.5 liter) and 328i have the M52tu which is basically a M54, but it has a restrictive intake and the throttle is drive by cable (like the e30s), while the 325i and 330i is drive by wire. You can swap a M54 intake onto a M52tu and use a turner motorsports throttle body adapter for more power. By this reasoning if you get a 323i and swap a M54b25 intake on it. Its basically a 325i now, just drive by cable. I know you're looking at 330i's, but if a nice 328i comes up just do a intake swap and you wont be that much slower than a 330i. If this e46 is just going to be for commuting and daily driving then I wouldn't count out the 325i or 323i either.

[Stanley Rockafella]

considering the price of nice e46's, I'd hold out for a nice 330i. The additional features, more power, and comparable fuel consumption to the 328 and 325 makes it an easy choice IMHO.

[brandonbio]

My parents purchased a 2001 330ci (manual) about five years ago. The thing was in perfect shape, 70,000 miles, never driven in the snow (rarely in the rain according to previous owner). Ironically my father, the day purchasing the car, drove it home on Michelin pilot sport tires in the snow.

After five years of all season driving (Wisconsin definitely gets a good dose of all four seasons) the car has held up extremely well, it's got around 120,000 miles now, no major issues to speak of. Minor rust starting under the license plate frame. The huge drawback to what I see is the interior issues. The headliner sags in all four corners and is peeling off the pillars, the seat bolsters are tearing on the drivers side and all around the seats look worn.

While those are just cosmetic issues, the car still drives like a dream and pulls hard. (although I wish it had an LSD). It gets almost 30 miles per gallon and just as many smiles per gallon. They go for fairly cheap now, a good condition one with 100,000 miles will roughly be 6-9k.

Hope I was some help,

[mikebloco]

It would be mostly for commuting and looking good. I've never had a car that was flawless exterior wise. Maybe some day it would get some performance upgrades as I never really can leave a car stock. I found a pretty nice one for 5K. It has 148,000 miles on it. which isn't horrible but not the greatest either