BMW e46 318i A/T buying advice

$m@Rt@$$

$m@Rt@$$

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Hi everyone,

So I am looking at getting a 2004 e46 318i for my long commutes to work everyday. It has 113000km on the clock which is low for these cars. The price feels relatively correct for it. The car has full service history with BMW up until 100k and is in quite good shape. Apparently the water pump and its plumbing has been replaced as well as one of the cylinder heads (not at BMW though) because it was spitting water on higher RPMs.

I spoke to the workshop manager from BMW at the local dealership and he said these cars are totally bulletproof and if the work has been carried out properly it will be good to go for many more miles. The repair from this shop does carry a 6 month or 10 000km warranty.

Yay, nay or stay away?
 
$m@Rt@$$ said:
Hi everyone,

So I am looking at getting a 2004 e46 318i for my long commutes to work everyday. It has 113000km on the clock which is low for these cars. The price feels relatively correct for it. The car has full service history with BMW up until 100k and is in quite good shape. Apparently the water pump and its plumbing has been replaced as well as one of the cylinder heads (not at BMW though) because it was spitting water on higher RPMs.

I spoke to the workshop manager from BMW at the local dealership and he said these cars are totally bulletproof and if the work has been carried out properly it will be good to go for many more miles. The repair from this shop does carry a 6 month or 10 000km warranty.

Yay, nay or stay away?
Click to expand...

:confused:

Anyway, if the water works have been done and the head gasket just means that it blew a gasket before for running hot. Should not be an issue though if fixed properly.

I would be more concerned about the mileage though. That's only about 30km's per day for the last 10 years.
 
Pitbull said:
:confused:

Anyway, if the water works have been done and the head gasket just means that it blew a gasket before for running hot. Should not be an issue though if fixed properly.

I would be more concerned about the mileage though. That's only about 30km's per day for the last 10 years.
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I have no doubt that it is the true milage. BMW's said it was there at the end of last year for its 105k service.
 
E46 are generally good cars and should something break, replacement parts are cheap at GoldWagen.
 
$m@Rt@$$ said:
I have no doubt that it is the true milage. BMW's said it was there at the end of last year for its 105k service.
Click to expand...

Not saying it isn't. But that is then bumper to bumper traffic commuting. And probably the reason the gasket went in the first place. I would want a car that has been traveling a little more on a daily commute. That is just me though.
 
Pitbull said:
Not saying it isn't. But that is then bumper to bumper traffic commuting. And probably the reason the gasket went in the first place. I would want a car that has been traveling a little more on a daily commute. That is just me though.
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Okay I see what you mean :) 90% of my driving is highway driving @ 120km/h. I just don't want it to konk out on my after a while.
 
Rickster said:
E46 are generally good cars and should something break, replacement parts are cheap at GoldWagen.
Click to expand...


I thought Beemer parts would be expensive like all the German car makes. Hopefully I won't need to make a trip to GoldWagen :p
 
We had our e46 BMW 323i for 14 years and recently sold her for an upgrade, 2000 model, had 300 000km on the clock, over the 14 years we had her, we replaced only the radiator and the power steering pump. Of course we bought batteries and tyres and all the normal wear and tear parts. We hadn't really maintained her that well, just the normal services and such. Nothing special and that car never gave us a moments hassle and I regret selling it. It was an absolute star! That being said you could get a dud, you could get a diamond in the rough.
 
The E46 is relatively bulletproof. I put on 355 000km on a 328i no problem.

The only thing that would bother me is the 318i engine in an autobox. It will be quite lazy.
 
Pitbull said:
Not saying it isn't. But that is then bumper to bumper traffic commuting. And probably the reason the gasket went in the first place. I would want a car that has been traveling a little more on a daily commute. That is just me though.
Click to expand...

You might be surprised..

I used to do 35kms every day, and at least 30kms of it was highway driving....
 
ToxicBunny said:
You might be surprised..

I used to do 35kms every day, and at least 30kms of it was highway driving....
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True, you do get the exceptions. As a general rule though I try and avoid second hand cars with low KM's. Traffic driving can wear a car down pretty damn quickly.
 
Pitbull said:
True, you do get the exceptions. As a general rule though I try and avoid second hand cars with low KM's. Traffic driving can wear a car down pretty damn quickly.
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Agreed... but at 100000kms+, any low mileage traffic driving would have taken its toll on the vehicle by then and been fixed.
 
The fuel consumption will be higher than you may expect.
Also, a very low vehicle to get into and out off.

But still a fabulous drive.
 
Still have one, same year E46 touring. Currently just under 170000Km. We use it as runaround, mixed driving around 10l per 100km.
Engine is good but water pump and expansion tank are problematic, they usually go around 120000Km.
Around same time you will need to replace lower control arms.
Otherwise very nice vehicle, will keep ours for many more years.
 
aleksandar said:
Still have one, same year E46 touring. Currently just under 170000Km. We use it as runaround, mixed driving around 10l per 100km.
Engine is good but water pump and expansion tank are problematic, they usually go around 120000Km.
Around same time you will need to replace lower control arms.
Otherwise very nice vehicle, will keep ours for many more years.
Click to expand...

Thats what I don't want to hear. But that is rather normal on most cars.
 
Well if you find good independent mechanic these fixes will not cost arm and a leg. Most of the parts you can get from generic suppliers and Bosch (good quality parts). And if you are handy well then it will cost your nothing.

This is part of normal maintenance and at this mileage car probably looks and feels much better than similar priced newer entry models. Leave some money for emergency fixes but if car is properly maintained and did not have major issues before you should be good to go. (my car is manual so I do not have experience with automatic transmission)

Funny thing is my bmw leaks a bit of oil, not much but my two landy's do not :-)



$m@Rt@$$ said:
Thats what I don't want to hear. But that is rather normal on most cars.
Click to expand...
 
Lies.. your Landy's are just clever and they're leaking oil through your bmw :p
 
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