NOR-CAL General Chat.

[Wh33lhop]

<3

nate - pliny.

god dammit.

[Vivek]

h'ok. For $8k, you are going to have to get lucky to find a nice E46. I found a salvaged '04 330i 6 speed for $8500, but buying it was a risk and I dumped some money into it directly after I bought it (CCV, Vanos, water pump, struts, CABs...). If you're able to find a nice well-maintained one for that much and have some extra put away for maintenance, then keep reading.

Basically, the E46 if not well taken care of will live up to the hype of being a plastic breaking wonder. The good news is, if you keep on top of the maintenance it's not so bad. The bad part of the good news is, maintenance is not incredibly cheap, and consequences are high for not keeping on top of it. Stupid stuff like expansion tanks and oil filter housing seals springing leaks happen a lot. In fact, at the Oakland meet awhile ago two E46s pissed their coolant out because of ET failures. So you need to be on the lookout for this stuff, because all-aluminum M54/M52TUs do NOT like being overheated. Then there's the water pumps, bleed screws which inexplicably just start leaking... and the rest of the cooling system basically. You will probably want to keep spares of a lot of this stuff. I have a full spare ET and bleed screw kicking around along with some premixed BMW coolant. Then there is the subframe issue which I would personally address for peace of mind. That's another $1k at a shop, or $150 plus DIY structural welding. Oh yeah, it needs LL-01 approved oil. Generally $7-10 a quart depending where you go. You can't just toss anything in the motor like an M20.

So, if you feel like you're up to all of this crap, what's the payoff? Well, it's a very nice driving car. It's quiet, rigid, suspension has lots of travel, if you find a 330 the brakes are awesome (I regularly beat the piss out of mine going full ABS from 80-90mph and they are great, stock pads and errthang), good torque as long as the Vanos is functional (it won't be, but not a crazy hard fix), great highway cruiser and still capable in the mountains. Limits, especially in stock form, are much higher than the E30, though it's missing a lot of the fun factor. DSC is a nice safety net if you are just cruising along. Convenience features. One-touch everything. It's nice.

Having said that, the E30, practically, will probably be a better buy at your price range, if you can find a nice one that is ACTUALLY worth $8k (maybe look in the $6k range if you only have $8k). It is an absolute joke how much these cars are going for these days, but if you can find a well-maintained E30 they are simpler, have less annoying issues to be addressed. Worst case you somehow manage to blow an M20, find one for $300 and swap it in. And swappable diffs are nice. The E46 non-M does NOT come with an LSD, and it's very pricey to have one fitted if you so desire. E30 is obviously much more simple, and more grassroots style. It's also a lot more original. How many E46s do you see on a regular basis...

Anyway, this has been a wh33lhop rambling of cognitive dissonance brought to you by... wine. Thank you and have a wonderful evening.

Thanks so much. This was all theoretical and 8k was just a figure I had in my mind for a midrange e46 and a higher end e30. One last little question: I always think about buying a newer bmw over an e30 (same $$) "Why would one spend more on a car that's worse in every way?". Is there any truth to that? Do you think that a well-upgraded e30 (turbo m20 or an s5x swap, GC, brakes, etc...the works) is objectively better in every way (faster straight, around a track, stops faster, flatter slalom, etc) than a basically stock 325ci or 330ci?

[mbonanni]

Shit, how much do scrapper usually pay for a stripped e30 chassis?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/zip/3611017647.html

I have access to a trailer and truck...

[Wh33lhop]

Thanks so much. This was all theoretical and 8k was just a figure I had in my mind for a midrange e46 and a higher end e30. One last little question: I always think about buying a newer bmw over an e30 (same $$) "Why would one spend more on a car that's worse in every way?". Is there any truth to that? Do you think that a well-upgraded e30 (turbo m20 or an s5x swap, GC, brakes, etc...the works) is objectively better in every way (faster straight, around a track, stops faster, flatter slalom, etc) than a basically stock 325ci or 330ci?

If you have a well setup E30 with coilovers and r comps compared to a stock E46? Of course the E30 will be faster, that's a purpose built car. But the E30 is not the end-all be-all of performance platforms. It's just light, simple and fun. Out of the box, the E46 will put power down better (provided you actually have a diff), be more stable, brake better, fit more rubber, have better geometry. But this is at the cost of 21 bits of rubber in the suspension (not joking, there are 3 diff bushings and 4 subframe bushings alone) and a chassis that is less engaging and doesn't always egg you on. My E30 basically begged me to slide it around every corner. The E46 is more down for whatever.

Having said that, honestly, who fucking cares about this stuff? If all that mattered was objective speed, we would all have corvettes. What matters is fun factor, character and taste. The E46 is a near-perfect DD for my purposes and I knew that, but it took me awhile to bond with it. In comparison, I was giddy about the E30 from the day I bought it. Call me corny, but that matters way more to me than how fast something is. I DDed a turbo S13 for awhile. I liked the car a lot, and it was super quick, but I never bonded with it. I never clicked with it, and while I enjoyed driving it I don't really have a desire to own one. Great car, just not for me. Because if I don't love a car, I'm not going to look forward to driving it, I'm not going to want to work on it, and I'm going to get flat-out pissed when it breaks.

[Danny]

Either Nate hit his head or is drunk. He's never this helpful.

[Wh33lhop]

Either Nate hit his head or is drunk. He's never this helpful.

:rofl: don't discourage me sir. I'm in a good mood.

[oliver.r]

I bought my e46 for 7k

[Vivek]

I'm pretty sure he's drunk, but thanks for the great advice. The corvette is one fast fucking car that I absolutely despise. You have a great point with what's more fun to drive. After driving both, for me personally my m42 vert is more fun than my dad's e46 m3. It's easier to throw around, feels much lighter (I'm pretty sure it is), and is just more entertaining to me. I can't really describe that, but maybe you'll agree...sorta?

[Pantless Spency]

Shit, how much do scrapper usually pay for a stripped e30 chassis?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/zip/3611017647.html

I have access to a trailer and truck...

at 150 its not worth your time and you would probably lose money.

[Wh33lhop]

I'm pretty sure he's drunk, but thanks for the great advice. The corvette is one fast fucking car that I absolutely despise. You have a great point with what's more fun to drive. After driving both, for me personally my m42 vert is more fun than my dad's e46 m3. It's easier to throw around, feels much lighter (I'm pretty sure it is), and is just more entertaining to me. I can't really describe that, but maybe you'll agree...sorta?

If you don't mind the comparable lack of power, the M42's a great motor. Have you driven a coupe? (2 door sedan, whatever)

The E46 is a great handling car, you just have to get used to driving an E46 as coming from an E30 it is a bit foreign. But you can definitely feel that they're much heavier.

[canakami]

Well said. (To Nates second bigass post, slow response here).

[mbonanni]

at 150 its not worth your time and you would probably lose money.

If It is in fairfield/vacaville, and PNP will pay me $150 I would come up like $140... Then buy everyone lunch and be down to $40.

I still profit.

Does PNP even buy stripped cars?

[bernzpeed]

it is in fairfield/vacaville, so if pnp will pay me $150 i would come up like $140... Then buy everyone lunch and be down to $40.

I still profit.

Does pnp even buy stripped cars?

yes

[mbonanni]

Sweet. calling pnp, the owner, and my friend tomorrow.

If I do make money off this, Spencer is not getting any lunch for being a Negative Nancy. I also cannot believe you have not used those parts I gave you to get your car going...

[Pantless Spency]

Sweet. calling pnp, the owner, and my friend tomorrow.

If I do make money off this, Spencer is not getting any lunch for being a Negative Nancy. I also cannot believe you have not used those parts I gave you to get your car going...

lots of busy stuff going on in my life currently lol.


got a new job
turned 21
helping my family rush together my sisters wedding which is this saturday
etc.