Prospective Car, pics

[Wh33lhop]

Google e46 sub frame tears. A staggering amount will have this issue. I owned one and later realized this issue. Mine had patch work metal welded in before my ownership. Very true statement about the limp mode too.

Yeah and manuals were mostly susceptible to this issue. But it is a little overblown. My 330 had a tiny little crack in the carrier that wasn't really growing despite autoxing it, but I welded in reinforcements anyway.

If they will let you, get under the car and really check the weak points at the rear subframe for cracks. You should probably plan replacing FCABs, RTABs, possibly diff bushings, and doing the entire cooling system for peace of mind if you are like me and don't want to worry about it. Check the subframe every few months; I didn't notice the crack until after I bought it, put it on a lift and went at it with some brake cleaner.

Honestly I love my 330. It isn't the most exciting car but the E46 has a certain feel of effortless speed. Downsides are there are stupid issues that the E46 has (subframe carrier tears, tail light grounds, trunk wiring, Vanos, cooling system, no cheap LSD options to name a few) but if you appreciate the good engineering despite the bad, it's a great practical daily that also handles the mountains quite well, as long as you get some suspension on it because the stock non-sport stuff is quite lofty. That said, it really is a soulless car without much character or excitement that stands out; it's all engineering. If you can't stand that, you may want to look elsewhere.

[cwatt]

What are your goals with the car? Want something newer? Modern? More reliable? Need a larger vehicle to fit a baby seat and grandma on the weekends? Or maybe you just want something other than an e30.

[graveshaker]

Op, look into an e39 as an alternative. The cooling issues with any BMW should be upgraded but e39s are not plagued with major flaws. IMHO they are much more reliable than an e46. I've owned both a 2000 328i sport and an e39i/6.

[UNHCLL]

Not sure if it's practical for you, but buying a 328i or 325i here in the US will be less?

I just sold my grandmothers '99 328i with 97k miles for $4200.
A 323i is really an anemic car no matter how you slice it.

Best,
-Chris

[dirtbag30]

I'm guessing there was a front end collision that caused the passenger headlight to be replaced with a newer one.

i too was thinking this.
i wouldn't buy one. in my humble opinion.

[Farbin Kaiber]

As stated above, looks like the hood is a repaint, have you pulled any data for accidents via Carfax?