E 46 or e34?

[325e '87]

ive got a line on two cars, a ‘92 525i and a e46 325i. Both manual and in really good shape. I’m having a hard time deciding which one to possibly get. Any opinions?

ive tried posting 3 threads. Every one i post up gets frozen and its really confusing. If you all see the other two threads, i apologize, on my end they all run into dead ends and it isn’t veiwable to me.

[roguetoaster]

The 3 is probably the better car to own, but why not get another E30?

[Todd Black 88]

The e46 is a much better car, and still easy to work on.

[e30davie]

Between those two, E46 for sure. E34 doesn't do much for me and the e46 is ~10yrs newer?

[lukeADE335i]

After driving a modern for a while I'd agree - e46 - old enough to work on yourself, new enough that there's still good ones around. I'd buy another e30 over an e34 at this point unless you really need the room.

e39s are worth a look now too as they're also bottoming out in price. An LCI 530i m-sport is a lot of car for the money.

[george graves]

Good advice here. All I can say is watch out, there are a lot of e46's that have been a "hand-me-down" to a teen. Find a vert, or low milage one for a car that hasn't been treated like poop.

E34's need a lot of work to be interesting. An e46 is a better car off the lot.

[325e '87]

Thanks gents, here is the ad

https://augusta.craigslist.org/cto/d/north-augusta-2003-bmw-325i/6970151997.html

the owner sent me an email last night, has new a/c compressor. He is the second owner, believes that it might need a clutch soon and says it uses 1 qt of oil in 1,000 miles.

I like it. I just want a car to give my e30 some relief, I’m keeping my car. I want something I can jump in and drive to meetings/site visits which can mean driving 600 miles at a moments notice.

[dmanb2b]

Thanks gents, here is the ad

https://augusta.craigslist.org/cto/d/north-augusta-2003-bmw-325i/6970151997.html

the owner sent me an email last night, has new a/c compressor. He is the second owner, believes that it might need a clutch soon and says it uses 1 qt of oil in 1,000 miles.

I like it. I just want a car to give my e30 some relief, I’m keeping my car. I want something I can jump in and drive to meetings/site visits which can mean driving 600 miles at a moments notice.

Looks clean, but with 235K be prepared to invest quite a bit in maintenance unless it's all DIY. PCV, cooling system refresh, DISA, Vanos are all things to check out before you buy. I picked up a '04 330ci sport last year for $6,500 with 86K on it, m3 interior bits and new MPSS on it...so hopefully you can negotiate it down a bit.

[Javier h]

depends on the year. Go to an E46 forum...do some research. As a general rule, all things considered, the newer the car the better (same maintenance etc.) WITHIN the body type/make.

[IceWhite]

OP head on over to E46Fanatics read this thread E46 BUYERS GUIDE - read first before purchasing

and don't be scared to read through this helpful thread Top 10 E46 Failures and go through this thread as well Cooling System Guide - overheating/coolant/etc

I hope this helps.

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[325e '87]

Thanks Ice. I went to that forum and found those threads. Now I know what to look for as I sort through the maintenance records the seller has. Hopefully going to look at the car Sunday.

Looking through that e46 forum its shocking to me how the majority of the topics seem to be tech/computer related, both for diagnostics and upgrading. Prob not shocking to most here, but for me, the newest BMW ive ever driven was the ‘91 e30 i had 12 years ago. I’m an old guy, obviously.

[IceWhite]

I own both the E30 and an E46 currently, and to be honest, it took me a while to adjust and really enjoy the E46.

The newer models (After the E46) have more tech/computer related issues. One example I can think of now, is that you have to register the battery to the car when you replace the battery. This was never a problem before!

Anyway I say, go for it. You might enjoy it! Obviously it all depends on the condition of this particular one (It does seem good in the ad) and also what maintenance items that still need to be done vs purchase price. It also depends on how DIY capable are you.

Keep us updated.

[Caperix]

At 320k miles my 01 e46 is starting to have electrical problems. I have had to replace the general module & the dsc rotation rate sensor in the past year & my dsc module is going out now. The 2 modules I have replaced cost around $1000 and it will be another $1000 for the dsc module. I have been lucky and not had any engine issues other than replacing the coolant parts in my time of ownership.
i would go for the car that has been the best cared for, a well cared for e34 will cost you less to maintain than a beat to death e46. Expect both to need some work after purchase and budget for that. If you can get the car up in the air & inspect everything before deciding. Look at maintenance records or at least what has been replaced in the last few years. Both have similar cooling system & suspension common wear items.
An older German car can be a joy to own & drive but getting into a basket case cheap BMW is always a bad idea. Be honest with your own skill for preforming repairs & expect to have to take it to a $100 plus per hour shop for what you can't do your self.
Either way good luck with the purchase.

[djjerme]

Do you like replacing headliners?

E46 is a great car/platform, and the M54 will run forever - so long as you don't over heat it. Maintain the cooling system, and you'll get to 300K with it.

Ideally though, I'd look for a lower mile E46, they are out there.

[nando]

I own both the E30 and an E46 currently, and to be honest, it took me a while to adjust and really enjoy the E46.

The newer models (After the E46) have more tech/computer related issues. One example I can think of now, is that you have to register the battery to the car when you replace the battery. This was never a problem before!

Anyway I say, go for it. You might enjoy it! Obviously it all depends on the condition of this particular one (It does seem good in the ad) and also what maintenance items that still need to be done vs purchase price. It also depends on how DIY capable are you.

Keep us updated.

people always say this, but it's not really true. the E46 has *tons* of computers and modules - way more than an E30. And many of them are failure prone. It's about as "analog" as a Casio calculator watch..

Registering your battery is literally something you can do with several inexpensive phone apps, or a laptop with INPA, or whatever - and it serves a purpose. It extends the life of the battery (and reduces the parasitic drag on the engine) by only charging the battery as it really needs to, instead of having it pretty much driven by a simple voltage regulator and engine RPM.

It's funny looking at those top 10 failures on the E46. They're good cars, but man, everyone talks up how reliable they are - inexpensive maybe, but I would not call that reliable.