Sti_Prodrive

Looking to go and buy the misses a BMW 3 series, need some advice can anyone tell me what to look out for other then the usual stuff. I’ve never had a German car before so this will be the first in the family so any tips would be great.. It’s going to be a 52 plate BMW 320 m sport with 1 owner & 66,000miles on the clock full leathers n road tax is going to finish at the end of this month. With this sort of miles on a petrol car what are you meant to look out for? What should be ticked in the service book? Does BMW have any common faults to watch out for? feel free to add anymore Q

rifleman

steer clear of 6 cylinder e46 beemers.they have loads of problems(maf's,crank and cam sensors and need software updates.also problem with engine bay looms that have to be changed. my mate having loads of greif with his 330i sport.when he started checking the forums found loads of common problems with them.

Sti_Prodrive

arrr man any chance of knowing where your mate get's hes information?? Which forum room?

rifleman

just put in e46 bmw common faults into google mate.was surprised myself.its only a couple of years that are bad for some reason.

zip106

Mr M. Boy will be along soon.... just hang on a mo..

Wish

iTrader: (2)

Ive got a 320d and love the engine .. Ok its not the fastest thing on the road, but as a
A-B kind of car its excellent.

Good Luck with your search

bighead

iTrader: (1)

nice plate Wish ..how much did that cost

Sti_Prodrive

dam, i tho BMW are good car's.. im very much supriced to hear this.. Hmm

By da Wish thats a very nice looking car pal!!
I WISH I HAD THAT SORT OF MONEY TO BUY ONE IN THAT SHAPE

yellowvanman

Strange, I've owned my E46 330i Sport for over a year, it's a cracking car.
We had some suspension bushes replaced on the front as soon as we got it, and it's not missed a beat since. Drives very smoothly, and if you turn the traction control off it can be good fun as well.

All car have problems from time to time, one bad example does not make a bad car.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I had an E46 2001 for five years and 60,000 miles - fantastic car. Didn't miss a beat.

As soon as I sold it I wish I hadn't.

BlkKnight

e46 facelift 330d 99k on the clock - going strong. Only problem's been a flat battery.

Good enth site is

BMW Land - BMW Forum : Drivers Chat Talk Discussion BMW Forum for UK BMW car owners 3 5 6 7 series Questions, Answers and help

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Looking around the forums I am not finding this to be a particularly big or common problem.

Maybe I have missed a specific thread

paulr

I have a 2000 e36. Six years not a single problem. Bought at 12k, now on 95k. Only issue is a few (slightly) costly MOT's.

1. Make sure it has a full MOT. Brake pipes can be costly, plus the rear springs have a habit of going.
2. Service book (if its the same as mine, and if not the pricipal is the same)

Oil change
Inspection 1
Oil change
Inspection 2
Oil change
Inspection 1

etc,etc.

Brake fluid and coolant changes are listed separate. Make sure its had them done as well.

rifleman

these are the common problems as well as subframe bushes and wishbone bushes.
it only effects 2000-2002 models.have come across loads when worked in last garage before joining up again.if you search enough there are plenty of these problems being reported.vanos,maf,crank and cam sensors are the main problems.only use bmw parts as well as the pattern parts seem to fail very quickly.will get the links sorted for people to look at.

Leslie

I have had quite a few Beemers through the years. They have all been good cars, nice to drive and to ride in.

My favourite was the M3 Evolution. Lovely looking car and outstanding to drive.

Les

AllenJ

The Mrs has just bought a 320d M sport, 09 reg 4500 miles on the clock.

I have to admit, it's a really nice drive/ride both in town and on the motorway. It feels capable to just cruise but the power is there when needed and progressive through the range.

Spacious, decent MPG (43mpg - 55mpg) and the tax is on low band, £120/year.

Downside is the run-flat tyres, stay away from potholes and bumps as your bone will feel the grith of the road, or simply change the tyres.

Good luck

flat4phil

iTrader: (1)

Going back to your original post/ questions - you are brave asking about BM's on a Scooby forum! As you have already spied a nice E46 saloon I may as well continue to wet your appetite, well your wife's appetite as it were. They make fine, boring everyday cars, but are built to last and tolerate a huge amount of miles, before any major components fail/ wear out. The best engines are the 6-cyliders, and offer amaizing refinement, power to weight & torque delivery and reasonable 'everyday' fuel economy for a long while. I've had several 3 series over the years; E30 through to E46, and mostly bigger 6 cylinders, or the 4 pot 2 litre diesels in both 136 and 150bhp guise. To me they are perfect everyday drivers for family use and reliable to see you into big miles, thats more than 'around the clock' as folk used to say. My brother has his cherished 325i M-sport up for sale, and in this market, the car is going for a rediculously low price - I've thought long and hard about why I don't snap it up, even though I find BM's a bore to live with and have had a few, including Alpina and AC Schnitzer variants. The reports folk have branded around with earlier 330 diesel and petrol E46's again were cam sensors, or inlet manifold flap issues, even the odd diesel turbo failure - but in all isolated events - mostly dealer rectified and still shouldn't write off the brand. If we had several hours we could run through the pros and cons with Audi's, Merc's, Volvo's, and keep going; you get the picture. Pics of my bro's car:

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

As well as BMW land have a look at BMW Forum|Bimmerforums.co.uk|No1 forum for BMWs|BMW Forums|BMW Tuning - Powered by vBulletin loads of help out there.

5t.

bighead

iTrader: (1)

yr wrong ...it the V8 in the M3

robby

I've had 3 E46 3 series. 325i coupe (2001), 325ti (2002), 320i sport (2003) and the only thing to go wrong was with the 320i which was the rear spring snapping which is a common problem.
The spring snaps at the bottom, hidden by the cup so you can only tell by running your fingers around the bottom of the spring.
Only other "common" problems i've heard of with the E46s is the intake flaps on the 320d.

The steering gets a bit of getting used to as it's quite heavy compared to most other cars, the mpg isn't great on the 6 cyl with the 320 and 325 averaging around 24mpg (town).
They're a torquey car as you can be doing 60 and drop to 20 and not realise you're still in 5th and it still pulls

320i Sport


325Ti


325se Ci

rookymatt

iTrader: (15)

I'm a BMW tech (11 years now.......Jesus!!) and the straight six is arguably the best engine we make in my opinion!
The 2.0 version is actually a 2.2 but doesn't provide enough power to make it known.
The engine is mechanically sound (M54 version) This has been revised time after time from the original six pot in the E36 models!
Common faults.....
Front wishbone bushes splitting (making the steering jolt over bumps and under braking)
Rear coil springs snapping
Camshaft sensor faults (they are very easy to replace though)
The saloon version lights burn out the contact pins and wires. (they require a mod to sort them)
Otherwise it's a car like any other and can go wrong. However i think it's an extremely capable car that will give miles of trouble free motoring (PROVIDED IT'S MAINTAINED WELL) Don't let people put you off! I had a 330ci and it was lovely (totally regret selling it!!)
To the OP, if you are in the east/north london area i'd be happy to go over it for you.

Matteeboy

Matt - any/many issues you've come across on the 335d? Not heard many (older 35d engines seemed to eat swirl flaps and turbos - newer ones seem okay).

My warranty runs out in July and I'm just not sure whether to extend it (at £600 a year!) or not.

rookymatt

iTrader: (15)

Hi Matt, the 335d usually is very strong (the m57t2 eats the swirl flaps and breathes like a 40 a day housewife)
Not had any turbos go on them (any 335d). The 335 petrols are poo and eat turbo's but the 335d's do very well.
I'd say extend the warranty for other reasons (like electronic units failing, or other ancillary units)
The only 335d engine faults i've seen are the crankcase breathers are not very good in town traffic and cause oil to enter the intake track and cause oil leaks around the intake manifold and intercooler.
I'm happy to assist any of my fellow sn brothers on Any other BMW questions.

Matteeboy

Matt - cheers and sorry for the sneaky info request! My total town traffic driving time? About 1%. Might be okay.

rookymatt

iTrader: (15)

No problem, and Ha! You'll be fine then. Remap will see an extra 35bhp and buckets of torque btw. I'd only say to do it once you stop warranty though as bmw now have ways of knowing if the car is mapped (and they will pull your pants down if you book it in with a fault)

Matteeboy

Did think about mapping but I reckon the drivetrain is fairly stressed in the stock car let alone one with loads of extra oomph. Also heard a few tales of issues with traction control, accelerated inner tyre wear and other problems.

Tempting as it is, I think I'll leave it stock - TBH, it's quick enough for me and Mrs Matt anyway!