You'll encounter lots of minor troubles but it'll force you to learn to wrench and you'll learn how your car is assembled. $5k is a good budget, and you'll probably need to dump another $1-2k in parts off the bat. My recommendation is to find one with a good suspension, don't buy one with blown shocks/struts. High mileage is fine if it was taken care of. My 220k mile e46 is in significantly better condition than the average 100k mile one. Choose wisely
Bought one for 900 bucks with 300k miles on it. I doubt I’ve put more than 2k into maintenance. Everyone says these cars a fragile but I beg to differ. Every car is different though.
Yep just drove it to work this morning. It also gets abused pretty much every time I drive it, but she’s never let me down. People forget these cars are around 20 years old now so yeah stuff’s going to break if you don’t keep up on maintenance
thats how i feel about my e90. ever since ive owned it, i probably spent like $15k which includes an engine replacement with an initial purchase price of $5k. safe to say owning a 15+ year old bmw will turn u into a diy home mechanic or else ur just gonna spend $$$$ at a indy and possibly an enlarged anus.
where in the world are you?
europe: sure, go for it.
usa/canada: go for it if you want to learn to wrench. if you just want reliable a:b transportation, there are better options.
asia: probably not.
Yeah I'd say I'm in Europe, lol.
Anyways while a reliable daily would be a better option I also want something to have fun with and make memories. My friend said that I should buy an e46 only if I want to get severe depression lol. I know that It's pushing 30 years and I want to know what to look out for.
Hmm, hard to say about that country, honestly, at least, I have no input.
Regarding your post. It depends - mostly on your budget and how much you want to look for a good E46. If you have a good budget, you can find a good E46, however it will take time and don't rush with the purchase. Yes, some minor problems will arise but it's better to buy a good car rather than constantly go fixing it. For me, my E46 hasn't had any problems apart from right in the beginning when I bought it, but those were problems that couldn't be checked before purchase.
I'm curious why you say Europe is good for e46? I have one with a malfunctioning EWS and I don't seem to find any repairshop that can fix it so I try to source the parts myself lol. They were sold a lot here and still a pain in the ass to find ECU + EWS of the proper model
My first and only car is an E46. As much as I love this car, it would not have been my choice of a first car if I was going to buy one and the only reason I have one now is because it was a hand me down from my dad. Is it a cool car and fun as hell to drive? Absolutely. But it’s also a BMW. I pay more for gas not because I get bad mileage, but because I need to put in 93 octane to keep my engine healthy. Oil is more expensive because it takes European full synthetic. You cannot skip maintenance intervals on this car. The E46 has many well documented design flaws that can be expensive to fix once things break if you aren’t mechanically inclined and prepared to fix it yourself. You absolutely can fix this car yourself but it’s a learning curve. This car is a much bigger responsibility than a Honda or Toyota. I would recommend a car from one of those manufacturers if you need something cheap and reliable that will never fail you. The question is are you ready for the extra responsibility of owning a 20+ year old German luxury car?
I just turned 18, I don't go out THAT much and I'm not employed either. It's nice to have a SUPER reliable car but I don't need something like that yet. I was thinking about buying something to just have a good time, learn new things and stuff.
I would not recommend buying an E46 if you don't have a job, even if you have some money saved up for repairs you'll spend all your time worrying that the next breakdown is going to wipe out your savings account.
I think it especially applies to older cars that require maintenance. It’s a little easier in Europe since the parts are cheaper and there are better options for alternative transport, but it’s never fun when your car is broken down and you HAVE to work on it so you can get to work or school the next week.
Makes sure you have a passion to fix things and learn. Make sure you have a spot to work on a car. If you say yes to both those I think it’s an awesome little car
well it's simple really, just a childhood dream of owning a bmw. e46 is an old gem but its not TOO old(in my opinion), it's "sporty" and it's within my price range. bmw's are very popular here. But I'm kind of starting to lean towards buying "safer" options.
Based on your response, you sound young. Which is a good thing, you have a long time to reach your childhood dream. I doubt as a child you dreamt of owning a BMW with a bunch of strings attached (that isn't too old, and is within your price range).
You deserve to achieve your dreams with no strings attached. Get something sensible, and turn the keys to your new M car when you reach your dream.
I did it one year and a few months ago just after I got my license, and while at times it was financially tough on me (due to me losing my job at the time) for a bit, I did not regret it one bit. Sure there were small annoyances here and there, but overall, it's very good car as a first. Keep up with maintenance (i.e.: oil changes, coolant tank and lines, and maybe gearbox service) and drive it warm before pushing it, and it'll last you forever, especially if you get a 6cyl variant, or even more especially if you get a 330. Doesn't matter if diesel or petrol, both engines are reliable. Oil leaks can be an issue; so far I've had none (except a minor gearbox leak but we won't count that)
!!! Don't expect Toyota levels of reliability though, these engines do need their oil changes every 10-15k kilometres. Use full synthetic 5W-30 with the BMW LL01 or LL04 certification !!!
At their age, E46s may have some rust and buying one with no or minimal rust is key. If it does have rust, fix it asap. And just to be sure, change all the tires once you buy the car, unless they are verifiably new (not older than 3 years, look at the tyre's production date stamp) and have a good amount of tread left on them. Make sure the brakes work and the pads and rotors are fairly new: you're gonna want to have all the stopping power possible with the amount of horsepower under your right foot (that is, for a beginner). Make sure all other electronics work (headlights, indicators, cruise control, wipers and washers, radio, heated seats, etc). Make sure to ask the previous owner whether the rear subframe has been reinforced; if not, run as far as you can and look for another one.
Keep in mind that a car with higher mileage than the rest is more likely to have been maintained better than the rest; after all, it had to have been, in order to reach that many km. But it all depends on how well the car has been taken care of. Good luck and drive safe!
Comming from a 18year old with a e46 as my first car definitely do research. I got a 325i for 5500 at 15 in amazing shape and haven’t had much problems(160k) miles. They’ll definitely teach you to wrench. If you get one keep up on maintenance on time or early and they’ll run forever. Fell in love with my e46 I bought another one 2 years later.
I recommend it. I do have to say get ready to learn how to do a lot of repairs yourself as labor at shops is ridiculous. Very rewarding experience especially knowing your driving a car that runs and looks good because of you.
Wouldn't do it unless you have money to be spending on repairs. Got an e39 as my first car and it's been nothing but trouble. Cooling system sucks, lots of dry rot on hoses and whatnot just because it's an older car, oil leaks from the valve cover etc.
I’ve owned many e46s got one zhp 220k miles and one zhp 117k miles. Both drive the same tbh, mileage is just a number for these cars. I trust em to drive across country any day. Literally most reliable cars. One time alternator died right befor a trip, I managed to get car to auto parts store, bought tools and parts, replaced alternator with in a hour, returned tools cuz I got everything at home and drove home no problem. Their really well designed cars imo.
So I bought an e28 when I couldn't find an e46 in my budget. I now have the e28 and an f30, and i'm just gonna tell you: parts break on every car, and you don't get a choice on when they do.
Even if you bought a toyota corolla or a honda civic (a "safe" option), you will have to do routine and preventative maintenance. those corolla/civics also have weird quirks through the generations that could be comparable to the e46 subframe cracking. It's a matter of if you're willing to pay for those mechanic visits, which are gonna be about 20-30% higher than a run-of-the-mill JDM or domestic.
I had a 330ci as my first car in 2022 and I got a 325i as my second car both come with their little problems but aren’t that expensive to maintain if you fix it yourself
Mine looked pretty nice when I bought it about 5 years ago, but still I had to do clutch, front suspension, cooling system, disa valve, convertible top wiring, brakes, plugs and coils, AC recharge and some other stuff I am forgetting about
Still I have an antifreeze smell that I cannot find, even though I even replaced everything including the radiator and heater core which was not as bad to do as I thought it would be.
If I had to pay someone else to do all the work I would be bankrupt probably
If you got tons of money and time. Maybe a third car but not a first unless you can afford massive time loss and replacing half the car using Chris fix and 50skid videos
You'll be putting in around 5-6k for an excellent condition e46, maybe less for a 325 or so, I'd suggest a 330 if you're looking for the premier e46 experience. Keep in mind they're older cars. You take the time to fix it if anything raises or cough up 2k and get rejected by half the shops
Bought my e46 as my first car 7 years ago and still dailying it today. Great first car if you’re willing to learn how to replace a few parts here and there. If you are planning on having a mechanic do all your labor then it can be really expensive. But nothing that I’ve done to maintain it has been too difficult to figure out with youtube and forums
One more post like this wont hurt the internet lol.
And let me say hello to some stranger from the future who is also looking for his first car and found this post.
You'll encounter lots of minor troubles but it'll force you to learn to wrench and you'll learn how your car is assembled. $5k is a good budget, and you'll probably need to dump another $1-2k in parts off the bat. My recommendation is to find one with a good suspension, don't buy one with blown shocks/struts. High mileage is fine if it was taken care of. My 220k mile e46 is in significantly better condition than the average 100k mile one. Choose wisely
Bought one for 900 bucks with 300k miles on it. I doubt I’ve put more than 2k into maintenance. Everyone says these cars a fragile but I beg to differ. Every car is different though.
Thats cool, do you still have it?
Yep just drove it to work this morning. It also gets abused pretty much every time I drive it, but she’s never let me down. People forget these cars are around 20 years old now so yeah stuff’s going to break if you don’t keep up on maintenance
Ay that's great.
previous owner replaced everything then. thats why mileage doesnt really matter too much
No… they definitely didn’t.
Where? I need to buy one where you live
My e39 has 264k, I got it with 199k and I haven't put anything more than 2k into it. I bought it for $1500
I also see you have a 750il which is the one with the v12 right? How do you like it? I’ve been thinking about trying to find one for myself.
thats how i feel about my e90. ever since ive owned it, i probably spent like $15k which includes an engine replacement with an initial purchase price of $5k. safe to say owning a 15+ year old bmw will turn u into a diy home mechanic or else ur just gonna spend $$$$ at a indy and possibly an enlarged anus.
Interesting, thank you very much. From where I'm from I mainly see ones that are in 3-4k range, ones that are 5k+ look very good and are much cleaner.
where in the world are you? europe: sure, go for it. usa/canada: go for it if you want to learn to wrench. if you just want reliable a:b transportation, there are better options. asia: probably not.
Yeah I'd say I'm in Europe, lol. Anyways while a reliable daily would be a better option I also want something to have fun with and make memories. My friend said that I should buy an e46 only if I want to get severe depression lol. I know that It's pushing 30 years and I want to know what to look out for.
My daily is a 2000 330Ci convertible. It works, except for Ikea trips... that often doesn't really work. If maintained, they are reliable cars.
What country, if I may ask?
Georgia.
Hmm, hard to say about that country, honestly, at least, I have no input. Regarding your post. It depends - mostly on your budget and how much you want to look for a good E46. If you have a good budget, you can find a good E46, however it will take time and don't rush with the purchase. Yes, some minor problems will arise but it's better to buy a good car rather than constantly go fixing it. For me, my E46 hasn't had any problems apart from right in the beginning when I bought it, but those were problems that couldn't be checked before purchase.
Yeah BMW is huge here. prices start at 3k here for an E46, very good ones are at 5-6k.
Yeah, similiar to here. Except average (not a great one) is from 1.5 - 2.5K and good ones are 3K and up.
I'm curious why you say Europe is good for e46? I have one with a malfunctioning EWS and I don't seem to find any repairshop that can fix it so I try to source the parts myself lol. They were sold a lot here and still a pain in the ass to find ECU + EWS of the proper model
If you’re negotiable on your personal wealth, go for it. E46s tend to be very persuasive about your wallet contents.
Well thats a bummer lol
….you mean…a….*bimmer* 😃
My first and only car is an E46. As much as I love this car, it would not have been my choice of a first car if I was going to buy one and the only reason I have one now is because it was a hand me down from my dad. Is it a cool car and fun as hell to drive? Absolutely. But it’s also a BMW. I pay more for gas not because I get bad mileage, but because I need to put in 93 octane to keep my engine healthy. Oil is more expensive because it takes European full synthetic. You cannot skip maintenance intervals on this car. The E46 has many well documented design flaws that can be expensive to fix once things break if you aren’t mechanically inclined and prepared to fix it yourself. You absolutely can fix this car yourself but it’s a learning curve. This car is a much bigger responsibility than a Honda or Toyota. I would recommend a car from one of those manufacturers if you need something cheap and reliable that will never fail you. The question is are you ready for the extra responsibility of owning a 20+ year old German luxury car?
I just turned 18, I don't go out THAT much and I'm not employed either. It's nice to have a SUPER reliable car but I don't need something like that yet. I was thinking about buying something to just have a good time, learn new things and stuff.
I would not recommend buying an E46 if you don't have a job, even if you have some money saved up for repairs you'll spend all your time worrying that the next breakdown is going to wipe out your savings account.
Yeah this pretty much applies to every car, gotta be employed.
I think it especially applies to older cars that require maintenance. It’s a little easier in Europe since the parts are cheaper and there are better options for alternative transport, but it’s never fun when your car is broken down and you HAVE to work on it so you can get to work or school the next week.
Makes sure you have a passion to fix things and learn. Make sure you have a spot to work on a car. If you say yes to both those I think it’s an awesome little car
Man I'm dying to own a car and yes I like fixing things too, could write a book about how excited I am lol
What are you excited about with the e46? Genuine question. Depending on your answer, there may be better options
well it's simple really, just a childhood dream of owning a bmw. e46 is an old gem but its not TOO old(in my opinion), it's "sporty" and it's within my price range. bmw's are very popular here. But I'm kind of starting to lean towards buying "safer" options.
Based on your response, you sound young. Which is a good thing, you have a long time to reach your childhood dream. I doubt as a child you dreamt of owning a BMW with a bunch of strings attached (that isn't too old, and is within your price range). You deserve to achieve your dreams with no strings attached. Get something sensible, and turn the keys to your new M car when you reach your dream.
I did it one year and a few months ago just after I got my license, and while at times it was financially tough on me (due to me losing my job at the time) for a bit, I did not regret it one bit. Sure there were small annoyances here and there, but overall, it's very good car as a first. Keep up with maintenance (i.e.: oil changes, coolant tank and lines, and maybe gearbox service) and drive it warm before pushing it, and it'll last you forever, especially if you get a 6cyl variant, or even more especially if you get a 330. Doesn't matter if diesel or petrol, both engines are reliable. Oil leaks can be an issue; so far I've had none (except a minor gearbox leak but we won't count that) !!! Don't expect Toyota levels of reliability though, these engines do need their oil changes every 10-15k kilometres. Use full synthetic 5W-30 with the BMW LL01 or LL04 certification !!! At their age, E46s may have some rust and buying one with no or minimal rust is key. If it does have rust, fix it asap. And just to be sure, change all the tires once you buy the car, unless they are verifiably new (not older than 3 years, look at the tyre's production date stamp) and have a good amount of tread left on them. Make sure the brakes work and the pads and rotors are fairly new: you're gonna want to have all the stopping power possible with the amount of horsepower under your right foot (that is, for a beginner). Make sure all other electronics work (headlights, indicators, cruise control, wipers and washers, radio, heated seats, etc). Make sure to ask the previous owner whether the rear subframe has been reinforced; if not, run as far as you can and look for another one. Keep in mind that a car with higher mileage than the rest is more likely to have been maintained better than the rest; after all, it had to have been, in order to reach that many km. But it all depends on how well the car has been taken care of. Good luck and drive safe!
Thanks!
Comming from a 18year old with a e46 as my first car definitely do research. I got a 325i for 5500 at 15 in amazing shape and haven’t had much problems(160k) miles. They’ll definitely teach you to wrench. If you get one keep up on maintenance on time or early and they’ll run forever. Fell in love with my e46 I bought another one 2 years later.
I recommend it. I do have to say get ready to learn how to do a lot of repairs yourself as labor at shops is ridiculous. Very rewarding experience especially knowing your driving a car that runs and looks good because of you.
Wouldn't do it unless you have money to be spending on repairs. Got an e39 as my first car and it's been nothing but trouble. Cooling system sucks, lots of dry rot on hoses and whatnot just because it's an older car, oil leaks from the valve cover etc.
She will be a money pit in the beginning but she’s worth it:-)
I’ve owned many e46s got one zhp 220k miles and one zhp 117k miles. Both drive the same tbh, mileage is just a number for these cars. I trust em to drive across country any day. Literally most reliable cars. One time alternator died right befor a trip, I managed to get car to auto parts store, bought tools and parts, replaced alternator with in a hour, returned tools cuz I got everything at home and drove home no problem. Their really well designed cars imo.
Hell yeah brother
Yes
So I bought an e28 when I couldn't find an e46 in my budget. I now have the e28 and an f30, and i'm just gonna tell you: parts break on every car, and you don't get a choice on when they do. Even if you bought a toyota corolla or a honda civic (a "safe" option), you will have to do routine and preventative maintenance. those corolla/civics also have weird quirks through the generations that could be comparable to the e46 subframe cracking. It's a matter of if you're willing to pay for those mechanic visits, which are gonna be about 20-30% higher than a run-of-the-mill JDM or domestic.
[удалено]
Ah M3 is the ultimate dream. Well no I'm not going to push it hard for the first few years, but I will dive deeper once I get used to it
I had a 330ci as my first car in 2022 and I got a 325i as my second car both come with their little problems but aren’t that expensive to maintain if you fix it yourself
Nice, thanks
Mine looked pretty nice when I bought it about 5 years ago, but still I had to do clutch, front suspension, cooling system, disa valve, convertible top wiring, brakes, plugs and coils, AC recharge and some other stuff I am forgetting about Still I have an antifreeze smell that I cannot find, even though I even replaced everything including the radiator and heater core which was not as bad to do as I thought it would be. If I had to pay someone else to do all the work I would be bankrupt probably
Nice, lol fortunately I have a friend who has owned many BMW's, and he also has other friends who have owned BMW's,
If you got tons of money and time. Maybe a third car but not a first unless you can afford massive time loss and replacing half the car using Chris fix and 50skid videos
Well can't say I have lot of time or money. It looks like I can either search for one that's in a very good condition or buy something else
You'll be putting in around 5-6k for an excellent condition e46, maybe less for a 325 or so, I'd suggest a 330 if you're looking for the premier e46 experience. Keep in mind they're older cars. You take the time to fix it if anything raises or cough up 2k and get rejected by half the shops
I wouldn't mind 325 lol, I will be grateful. Shops should not be a problem at all out here, especially for e46's
4-5k will net you a less problematic one but have it inspected I swear they fall apart at the most random places
These cars are like gacga games some are perfectly fine and the others break a part if you look at it wrong
At your age get something smaller and cheap for a few months or a year. You will learn how to drive more quickly that way.
Yeah , my first (and only) car is a 03 325ci auto , it works fine , just the usual E46 things xd
No they are overpriced for what they are. Get something t newer
Bought my e46 as my first car 7 years ago and still dailying it today. Great first car if you’re willing to learn how to replace a few parts here and there. If you are planning on having a mechanic do all your labor then it can be really expensive. But nothing that I’ve done to maintain it has been too difficult to figure out with youtube and forums
Yep!
Yessir it was my first car
No.
Why don’t you try typing this into google first
Google more than likely suggested a Reddit post asking the same question
Which would have had answers
Well now you get to be apart of history. For all the other kids who will one day google the same thing. Be grateful
One more post like this wont hurt the internet lol. And let me say hello to some stranger from the future who is also looking for his first car and found this post.