IS A BUDGET BMW 3 SERIES E46 WORTH BUYING? 

Don’t miss your chance to get 15% off Carly! Just click this link and my discount code “JOEL24” will be automatically applied to your order: bit.ly/Carly_Joel You can use Carly’s scanner and free version of the app with any car that has an OBD2 port. Visit mycarly.com to check if advanced features, like coding or manufacturer-level diagnostics, will work with your car. Some features are only available with their yearly license.

I got my e46 330ci convertible. It's hands down the best car I've ever owned, driven and worked on I can't see myself selling it anytime soon

Hey Joel, the E46 is literally the car that broke me. I bought it for 6000 euro and it cost me +22k in 4 years in stuff breaking and me believing it'll be better than new! That car was awesome fun! But together with learning about nasty lying cheating mechanics, I learned about the dangers of sociapaths. What a sore topic for me! I don't think I ever recovered from the financial and emotional damage, but I still love that moneypit E46 😅😅😅 Be warned Matthew. It's a box full of tempting snakes! 😅

I've had my 2004 330cd from new. Over spent on options and is still a great car.

I’ve had a 2004 facelift 330 Vert for 10 years now. Searched high and low for a rare Imola Red car. It’s totally unmolested, has taken me all over France on numerous summer holidays and although I have had many other cars in time, I can’t ever see me selling it. It’s a total dream to drive and the straight 6 engines sounds amazing!

I had an O2 plate 318Ci for 14 years until recently. Other than regular servicing, mechanically, it only needed one coil pack. Few other bits and pieces which isn’t unreasonable for a 22 year old car. Still looked good and went well. Don’t dismiss the smaller engines if it’s just a good looking, well mannered, car that you’re after.

Great content! Well structured and nice with the fun facts - keep it up Joel

Very timely. I bought a lovely 325i manual touring just on Monday. Rare spec. Such a great looking car (still) and super smooth to drive. I'm delighted with it.

I bought a 2002 E46 325 ci in January , same colour spec, only 3 owners from new and full service history. Really pleased so far ,lovely exhaust sound and drives well over the narrow country roads where I live .

Thanks again for reviewing my shed again Joel! It may not be a 330 but to be honest I’m more than happy with the performance and sound it gives! 170bhp is definitely enough to have some fun in, even with the weight of the convertible. And yes I agree it isn’t in the nicest condition cosmetically, seeing those scratches on the rear bumper made me cringe 😂. Hopefully these things will be fixed at some point but I’m just going to say they add character!

The E46 is so costly it even broke your video! 😂😂😂 10:19, how ironic and perfect 😂

I wouldn't totally reject this car because it does at least have 6 cylinders but the 330ci is such a nicer proposition in my opinion.

Love your long term reports Joel

A friend has the 328i and would let me use it while he was on holiday so it wasn’t just sat on the drive for a couple of weeks. Was such a treat when my car was a mk3 diesel golf. Happy days.

Great review mate loved the close up shots around the interior to get under the skin of the car

I had a 325ci coupe prefacelift for over two years and loved it still the best car I’ve owned.

"I like to get inside and press every button, I hope you like the format" HECK YEAAAH! 😂

Lovely video mate, was hoping you'd make a video about one of these. I've been watching you since the z4 days, of which you heavily influenced me to buy😂. It was the 2nd best purchase in my life. You said in a video get the 3.0 over the 2.5 which I didn't do because the good condition 3.0s were out of my price range but even the 2.5 was an absolute joy to drive, especially since this was my first car. Skip a year or 2 and my z4 started having serious oil and suspension issues. In comes the completely random E46 325ci individual converted to a 3Litre an old classmate of mine was selling. Engine and suspension were completely rebuilt, basically making it drive as if it were brand new with some modifications. On top of that, we came to a deal in which i traded in my z4 with dead suspension for the e46 with extra payment from my side ofc. Never understood the hype behind the E46 since i was more of a z4 guy at the time but i wanted to upgrade to a car in which i could actually bring some friends with me so they wouldnt have to taxi me around because of my 2 seater. Best purchase of my life and now I fully understand the hype about this car. Its customized to drive like a race car for the road. I've got it for about 2 years now and still going strong💪. I don't think i'll ever sell it unless i absolutely have to and even then my dad in his 60s would probably want it. If you ever happen to be in the south of the netherlands on your way to the Nürburgring or something I'd happily let you review it. We even have plenty of beautiful roads here for a good video.

Perfect timing. I'm after a nice 330ci, so this was very helpful.

I've had so many BMW's and they've all been amazing and challenging cars. They always have little niggles but they're just so loveable and they are the ultimate driving machines.

Glad to see a BMW on your channel again!

Always wondered when you would feature one of these on the channel

That was entertaining to watch

Funnily enough I bought a 2004 325Ci convertible, in the same beautiful Mystic Blue, a few months ago. Now that the rain is finally stopping I can enjoy it in the sunshine! It's only done 86k miles, and I've been refreshing various parts of it in between the showers so it's good for the summer. Got the extended Nappa leather in light yellow (still looks beige to me, which is fine...) and birch wood trim. They are a great looking car, and as you say there is good parts availability and so much information about them online to help with maintenance. I'm hoping my one will provide some fun summer driving :) Thanks for the video Joel!

330ci is the one you want for slightly more cash! Plenty of torque and suit an auto box down to the ground too. My old 330ci Cabrio was a much more enjoyable drop-top than the E30 325i I had alongside it. Far more usable too.

DAVE, your my wife now!. This is a beautiful BMW great colour and love the tan interior. The styling dosent go out of fashion

I had this shape 320i saloon with that same 2.2L 6-cylinder when I was 20. It was a NUTS car then and seems to be going up in value now. All my friends had Corsas and Fiestas and I had that… my insurance was cheaper than all of theirs too - to their amazement!

Great video Joel, tell the owner to get the aircon done as dropping the hood isn't always the answer when you are in a heatwave, I was in the south of France a few years ago and had to put the hood up as it was like driving in a furness

Great video! If you ever fancy reviewing a 325ci convertible than feel free to contact me. Mines done 69k miles and it’s in immaculate condition for its age. Again it’s 2004 with stacks of history with it. Along with a pretty cool story behind it all how I got it. Again great video

Now you need to try out an F12 640d, its silky smooth 3l straight six diesel, work of art roof function, not that I am biassed😎 Great video, thanks Joel.

I loved my 330Ci coupe, the m54 in all its guises is superb. The 2.2 in this is not bad, have it in my e39 5er..

Great review Joel. E46s were available with cupholders as an option, they do look genuine but faded extremely badly. The gear lever is standard E46 M Sport fare, it is a really lovely and the throw is much shorter than the non M Sport lever (though still too long). The earlier 320i/Cis were a 2.0 litre, but were the bullet proof M52 straight six. For the petrol engines, only the 316i/Ci/ti and 318i/Ci/ti had four cylinders. How much better things were back in those days, when you only needed to go to a 320i to get a straight six. Far cry from today. Even E46s with fixed roofs are noisy at the best of times, it's the worst thing about them really from a driving / usability perspective. They're such a joy to drive apart from that, though.

Great review Joel... This is definitely your strong suit 👍 Ps. What horrid cupholders 🤣

I have a 2005 325ci Coupe. Had it for 11 years now and no plan on selling it. Completely original and well looked after. Back when I got it the E46 was considered old and outdated compared to the new 3 series generation F30. The future styling of BMW cars after that kinda made the E46 achieve classic bmw status

Wrong engine. The 330ci is a peach. Dont compromise if you can

on my e46 cabrio just finished 2 weeks ago doing the rear subframe bushings and rear restoration...it drives pretty sweet now

Had one . 325 Ci and sold it for a 3.0si Z4. E46’s are great cars, A period when BMW was at its best. The shut of the door when you close it, is amazing. Proper BMW’s Great vid

Love it

Hey Joel...I just want to let you know that one day i will forgive you for selling your Black Z4 e85. I am close..... Love the channel !

I had an E46 convertible ,brilliant cars

I have an 05 320 M sport coupe that i have had since 2016 , now on 96k miles . Its pretty and sounds glorious, but she is firm . I dont really use it and is on sorn waiting for its new mot for the summer . Its not bad on fuel and quick enough , handles like a dream . However i dont use it much and there are those in the family that say get rid , but its pretty and sounds fab . So the annual mind game is on ....

Go for the larger capicity engines if you can. I have a 53 plate 330Ci convertable in mystic blue , beige leather and 6 speed manual. Its a keeper 🎉😂

Yes absolutely

ive owned multiple e46 amazing cars mostly 330ci m54. just bought an e46 m3 2001 carbon black w/black nappa leather 6 speed manual carbon black black leather

I would love for you todo a review on my car a 2015 330d xdrive stage 2 😊

There awesome cars, e46 is the sweet spot for design and style, personally petrol with a straight 6 motor is the one to go for

Love the longer format - looking forward to a car with personal significance

Well, I owned one with the same 3.0 as in my current Z4. Great cars, buy it if it's a good one 😀. Anything but the 3.0 is boring though. There are tons of them in Europe, parts are still cheap and available. This may change in the future.

I was pleasantly surprised when I bought my newish BMW 3 Series touring, yep a manual handbrake!

Ive had many cars now in my 40s but for the last 7 years ive owned a e46 330ci m sport 2006 Topaz blue beige interior auto box best car ever owned, she always needs work but once your on top of mechanicals and service them there great cars and the engine is well the best BMW did NA straight 6, wings go but loads parts online as Joel said and ive had mine on the motorway upto 38mpg shell 99 fuel.

check your crankshaft position sensor, mine stalled too despite giving it a lot of gas

Finally an SUV free vid

My immaculate 330ci coupe got written off last year, so sad. Unbelievable cars so good, way better with the 3.0 tho!

You're a great reviewer mate. Natural.

A lot of the rattling you will be hearing will be chassis flex, my uncle has the e46 m3 convertible, and the engine is amazing and roof down the sound track is glorious. However the chassis flex does somewhat ruin the party, when you get to a corner you never quite have the confidence to push it. They make good cruisers rather than sporty throw around cars.

I don't mind which you do it vlog or not

Hey Joel, I have a 2003 E46 330Ci M Sport convertible (Auto) that I have almost finished restoring. It's a completely different animal to the 320. Welcome to have a go if you would like to feature it on your channel. Regards, RH

4:25 pre 2000 it was still straight 6, the M52 2.0 inline 6

I think there may be an issue from 10:20 to 10:32. Great video anyway.

Just sold my 330ci for an Audi A5 , missing the beemer already 😢

i have the same colour combo but 330 ci ... yu cant compare its a much nicer diver than 325 or 318

Same M54 block in your old z4

If I recall all the e46 320i had 6 cylinders. The 320d had 4 cylinders.

Had the 330ci and an M3.

One of my mates had 2 e46 convertibles they were both very comfortable and quiet for the age that one defiantly looks a bit crashy from the video! One was a 318i 4cylinder that blew its engine at 120k the other was a 325i that he crashed

If you are ever in the Emerald Isle feel free to road test my E46 M3

Still a handsome looking thing but i have to say the ride in these cars is absolutely bone crunching! Couldn't wait to get rid of mine back in the day for that reason and for an endless series of reliability problems and breakdowns. Took a bath on it at only 8 years old/70k...

Joel I've gone and bought an s type 😂😂😂

No reason not too!

Out of interest do you prefer this e46 convertible or the 1 series convertible you reviewed? They seem related and more of the natural successor

Hey Joel, do you prefer this over the 125i cab purely based on the driving experience?

i got the 325ci, love it buy need an engine if anyone has a good 1?

4:27 thats wrong. the 320i is a 6 cylinder - a 2.0 liter m52tu engine.

no, they are dated old sheds. only ones worth having is a nice 330ci or the M3

Fun fact, not a single E46, not even the M3 came with cup holders. They're all aftermarket.

No I’m no stranger to the e46. I own two & doubt I will ever sell either! Not 4 speed automatic 5 speed automatic.

I drove my mates 330e the other week Great car, bags of performance, but duller than watching grass grow to drive Absolutely no feel through the steering And what's worse, the lane guidance stuff stops you taking the racing line 🤦 Unforgivable sin

I thought these first came out 98-99 not 97?

That interior is filthy! You would've though the owner would have cleaned it before having it reviewed!

I have 2 E46 330 cabriolets

Careful of Corrosion..

M52 is the goal, not M54.

What a baby.

And what else to buy in that money? The new mainstream cars are uncomfortable as f. Everything feels cheap. And the maintenance cost it's small compared the money that you need to spend for a new.

320i "preformance car" haha just messing

It’s hard to call 320 as a performance car lol

Its no longer worth it to buy a budget one. e46s are getting old and pretty much all of them have been abused heavily most of their life. I am restoring one on my channel and if your not ready to do extensive DIY repairs it doesn't make sense financially. But is do agree that e46s are really nice cars, there's just something special about them

First!

Said a regretful goodbye to my topaz blue 330Ci last week. Also said "The E46 RU-vid content seems to have died down, thankfully." Cheers, Joel. 😂😭

No don’t buy a cheap one with super high mileage like I did.

M300 PML was my m3 e46 I owned back in 2010. , convertible with a hard top , worse car I’ve ever owned

Love the content but e46 owners please do not buy Carly .. it's soo shitty compare to the good old tools with OBD cable (Inpa, ...). Error code are notoriously bad in Carly, Smart mecanic needs to be paid and offer useless information's. Can't erase airbag light correctly for example. Please avoid this ... (Ask me how I known ...)

No.

Easy answer! No! How on earth did you take 30 minutes to say so!

🤔worse than your cayenne this, last good BMW’s were built late 80’s , early 90’s

170hp "performance"

Notorious rot boxes the E46. The construction of the rear arches lends themselves to rampant rot. The sills where they meet the bottom of the front wings is another area for rot. The E30 had far superior build quality. The electric window switch in the E46 is cheap and nasty- like a novelty from a Christmas cracker- made in Taiwan. In addition, the PLASTIC union on the top rad hose is a disgraceful cynic piece of design. They let go and will leave you stranded at the side of the road- if it was rubber with a jubilee clip, it wouldn't fail.

What kind of p…

Immigrants did it. They made it rain all the time, too.

More driving less talking please