My sister just spent over $900 getting repairs done on her 2006 Accord with about the same number of miles. Cars break. I guarantee it's no where near as enjoyable to drive as an E46.
Sorry to be offtopic but does anybody know of a way to log back into an Instagram account..? I somehow lost my account password. I would love any tips you can offer me
@Major Rudy Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and im in the hacking process now. Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
That's a good statement. And yeah bmws are reliable depending on how you take care of it. Most of these cars have a known issue. For instance my s54 is known for it's vanos and rod bearings. Though if I leave it and keep running it, I can literally tear up my head. Then you'll find an 80 dollar broken timing chain guide ends up costing you 3000 dollars for another motor. Other than that I've probably dumped over 5k into my m3 most of it being either suspension, maintenance, or restoration.
I work on my E46 328i and E46 M3 myself because they’re very easy to work on. Owning these cars are very cheap to own because almost everything that can possibly go wrong on them are easily fixable. I don’t think I can ever part with these cars because they’re fun to drive and I can fix them myself.
I bought a 2002 325i for 1600 dollars as my first car. Car had 215000 miles and I’ve since put 8500 miles on it in 6 months, and not had any issues mechanically. I’ve put around 250 dollars into it since (that includes 2 oil changes and a new set of plugs as well as a new air filter). Main issues with it when purchased were warped rotors, bad LCA bushings, and 2 bad window regulators, all of which have been fixed for very cheap. All In all I’m super happy with my purchase. I think I owe the reliability of the car to the previous owner. I found a service record in the glovebox from 9 months before I bought the car for 1800 dollars purely in preventative work, and the car was obviously cared for and well maintained which is reflected I’m not only it’s condition, but how it drives. I can honestly say that I love this car. I had no intention of buying a BMW, but when this popped up and fit my criteria (cheap and manual transmission) I just couldn’t refuse. I’m so glad I didn’t. I now plan on saving and hopefully buying another E46, but this time a 330i/Ci.
It didn't fly to his drive did it. BMW starters are pretty binary in operation (they work or don't like most electronic items). I've been trailered twice because one that worked fine to get me somewhere didn't work when I got back in the car. 125k on average so 99k does seem a bit low for one. YMMV I guess....literally.
Had the EWS module go out on mine not too long ago. Same symptoms. Tried new batter and bump starting the car but it would fight to turn on. 250 and an hour of labor to reprogram the computer and she was starting on her own again
lol $700 i changed all the vacuum hoses and the starter and cleaned everything the whole intake manifold inside and out for $100, its not that hard just time cosuming as you have to take off the whole intake area to get to the starter when i found ouuut the minium to work on a bmw is $125 an hour diy isnt so bad and people say its hard to work on bmws and i think its quite easy besides the one thing the starter everything else ive done or changed was quite simple or a quick fix
Are you a mechanic yourself or just experienced with cars? Because last week I had to replace the blower resistor behind and next to the glove box. Getting the glove box and screws out from the unit was easy. But boii.. Getting out a "stuck" metal and plastic unit that has been in place for many years is so hard to pull out.
No I'm not a mechanic but I've been doing all my own work to my cars since I was 16 I've never had a blower go out in any of my cars in my lifetime thank goodness
@@Spaange you mean the hedgehog? Done that last year on my 99 318i E46 only its via the drivers footwell on RHD, still have to remove the underside of the steering for access same as the glovebox. Nevertheless it's buried in there good and was a royal bitch to change. Think it took me most of the day as most of it was spent swearing at it lol. The starter motor was a 30min DIY. Can't recall actual time but I know it was quick and easy.
e46's are super easy to work on, did a ton of work on mine, not really reliability related, just maintenance, clutch rear main seal, oil pan gasket, a handful of other seals, and it was honestly easier than any honda ive ever worked on
Whem my starter broke i remove it myself for 30min ,dismantle it and findout the coil that turns on thenstarter is fault. Bought new for 20$ and everything back.Didn't call tow truck,didn' sleep and eat while the mecanics repair my car.I get my hands dirty and did't hate that great car.
Working on BMW is actually incredibly easy. They are put together so well that they actually come apart very well. They're just Layered. you have to take a lot of crap apart to get what you were going to work on. And having small hands sometimes helps. But there are tutorials almost everywhere on RU-vid. And there are many blogs that you can print out the tutorials with full-color photographs. I have a 2005 M3 and redid my entire cooling system and police and tensioners using a 35-page print out. It was a snap. Your 330i E46 is almost identical to my E46 M3 in many respects. They share a lot of common parts too. So I know that they are really easy to work on. Anything after 2006, you need a lot of diagnostic crap because it's so computerized. E46 was the last Model a shade tree mechanic and really fix easily.
Fuel pump is very easy to replace, it's under the back passenger side seat. Replaced mine on my 2002 BMW 330ci. Got the fuel pump from the junkyard for $75.
Starter on my e46, $86 and an afternoon of work. New Battery, $35 from the Blemished Battery store, new rims, (new to me Craigslist), $80. New rubber, $260. New Struts and strut tower bearings, $250. (Monroe sensi trac and SKJ strut mounts). 10 piece front suspension kit, $170. (control arms, control arm bracket/bushing, etc), lifetime alignment $ $150. (asked for the $25 off coupon). Cost of car, $800. (craigslist,145K miles). oil change and tranny oil change I don't count as that's maintenance instead of repair. Moral of the story, if you shop around and have the time and know how you too can tool around in BMW for a little over $1,800.
I just bought a e46 sedan 325i facelift for 900 bucks and the transmission is buggy, I think its because the fluid was likely never changed. Every single other part of the car is perfectly fine though. It's not the car, its the owner.
Actually the E46 platform is not that bad. I own a "cheap" 330ci with 301000km and the only things that went bad since i own it (have it for 60 k km) were some bushings in the rear suspension, the coolant expansion tank, front lower control arm and some clips at the sunroof. Of course my headliner is sagging. ;-)
However, I replaced the CCV system, the headcover gasket, the water pump, thermostat, sparkplugs, vanos gaskets (Bisan Systems), shifter bushings, rear shocks, shock bushings and some other bits for preventive maintenance.😂
I have had two German autos VW and absolutely love them. I hope you are feeling better. Thanks for sharing another fantastic show 🍺☕️🥓🍩🥓☕️🍺cheers mate.
I hate the "cheap BMWs are expensive, period, the end, no changing my mind" mentality. I bought an '02 330ci and it's amazing, because I didn't go into it expecting it to have no issues, nor did I go into it with the mindset that it would be outrageously expensive to fix. I've had my car for 2 months now and the only issues I've had are wheel speed sensors, and consumables. The vacuum lines are known to go bad over time, especially with the "m" series engines, as well as starters, you should've expected that going in to it. As much as I'd hate to be that guy, but seriously, do some work on your car yourself, I get the starter, but the vacuum lines are relatively easy and accessible.
For sure, working on BMWs yourself can save a ton of money. Just didn't have any interest doing the starter, not a fun job. But absolutely, would've been much cheaper had I done it myself.
I'm currently replacing the head gasket from my 330Ci, also head is bend. Mine has 310.000 km, last owner neglected it and I'm trying to get everything fixed.
At this age the keys will go too, but the key gives warning its the same but sometimes it does start when this happens it starts after turning the key on and off a couple of times you know its the key and not something else.
Hopefully, the coolant and heater pipes have already been replaced. Otherwise, you might be wishing that they got replaced this time around. Those pipes run along the engine block and are only accessible by removing the intake manifold.
If the Battery is empty the starter makes clicking noises and dont Turn the Engine. Just a tip Mate ;) like this Video and Greta from Germany and BTW you Need a Voltmeter do you can easy Check your Voltage ;)
Old BMWs are known to be reliable. My father had his 1996 BMW E36 318is valuable at 3.000€, the car had 130.000km and the only problem it gave in 20+ years of ownership was the battery that died once. It all depends on the owner and how they treat them, and still, these cars can take a beating. Especially big engined like the 330
I had an ‘’01, 5 speed, sunroof delete, sport package. Bought it in ‘11 with 99k, for $6200, put 50k and did a bunch of work on oil, sold it for $5k and bought an FRS. I miss that car a lot, but love my Scion
Got a 40k miles phase 1 e46 330ci steptronic, and even if I don’t like the auto, it’s acceptable. Manual cars are always high mileage or riced or non existent sonI settles for this one. Also oxford green is beautiful
90s and early 00s bmw's are not to bad. Its the overtechnical new/young ones you have to watch out for. And the E46 is one of the best "modern" bmw's ever made. But you do have to baby it if you wanna put some serious miles on it. I've seen a few with 300k + miles on them.
That’s an awesome car! Just be patient with it. That’s the same color our e46 330ci race car was before we painted it white. Also love the Thumb Wars “noooooooo” anyone else know what that was from??
I have an E46 320i and I had a big problem that took me a long time to figure out. I checked the battery, the starter and even replaced the ignition switch. No crank and no start. I discovered by accident that the fault was in the immobilizer. It had a broken capacitor. The repair cost €0.50 but took two years to discover.
That trunk handle - find a cheap one on eBay, spray it flat black, bolt it on and call it good. That’s what I did to my grey 330Ci and it looked factory...saved about $170 over a new replacement part
They really aren't much cheaper. I'd say more expensive to buy and own a property in the US. We pay much lower property taxes on average in the UK and the average house price is fairly similar for both countries.
Great video! Yeah BMWs are a big responsibility, parts are so damn expensive and things break constantly. But in the right conditions, those cars are amazing.
A 2003 5spd manual with 99k for $2500 and $900 Into it isn’t too bad. My ‘05 E46 sedan has 221k and runs like a champ. These cars are impossible to flip and should really be bought for fun. Supe them up and enjoy. Great engineering and plenty of reason to get under the hood of you like that.
I used to be a serial BMW owner. But each new one was less reliable than the one that preceded it. The last one visited the dealership 26 times during the warranty period so I sold it 100 miles before the warranty ran out. I bought a Buick Regal (Opel Insignia) GS and it has 193 K on it now. Never stranded me or failed to start and in the seven years I have owned it only off the road for three days for repairs. 1. ABS sensor 2. A/C condenser. Damaged by road debris. 3. Alternator
There’s no such thing as a cheap BMW. Makes me crack up. Even if your engine is good, all the door handles and window regulators will keep you busy non stop lol. 2 years, 6 door handles on mine. And that’s for 2 doors. I’ve come to realize, either your rich and buy new with warranty, or your a mechanic that can fix stuff. Otherwise your gonna pay money every month for something else...
I had a 330d for 2 years no problem then i had a e60 535 no problems a e90 no problems and now a f30 328i n no problems so u prob just bought from shit owner
Lol my 04 325i was the same thing spent 10 solid hours on it starter, vacuum lines, coolant lines, vanos rebuilt, valve cover gasket new plugs. To descover that my cats are clogged!!!!
@@HelloRoad but I'm to far along to quit now.. it will be a solid car. I'm just going to drill them out.. I live in the Texas of Canada, they don't emissions test our vehicles
Don't hesitate to go after market for most of your parts. You'll find that many of the German aftermarket are not aftermarket at all. It's the exact same part without a BMW box. Or things like gas struts for the hood and trunk are by The dirt cheapest Amazon Chinese made stuff. It's fine. It's just fine. Just use your head when you're buying parts made in Asia. For engine components stick to German or USA made. But I've bought Asian made side view mirrors variation made running lights on the corners they were already Depo. I got a set of the most beautiful gloss black kidney grills that were made in Asia that were far better than the German made crappy ones that game with the car. My HID fog lights are from Asia and they are just dandy 6000k bright and beautiful. I buy almost everything I need from Amazon or Ebay. And the rest on some of the larger dedicated BMW Supply sites. All my pulley tensioners Etc exact same part made by a company called Ina that supplies the parts to BMW. So I just bought these Ina parts without BMW box for pennies on the dollar. German made ..exact same part. I bought them on eBay for almost nothing brand new. My thermostat was American made, I bought on Amazon brand new for $25 instead of the $90 BMW version. My thermostat is every bit as good as German one if not better. Gaskets O-rings nuts and bolts all on Amazon just get the part numbers off of a website called Real oem.com. Do a search using the part numbers for every single things that you need for your car. I would just do searches using part numbers that you obtained from realoem.com and find the cheapest source start the internet. It will likely be Amazon or Ebay
Hello guys, I'm planing to buy a bmw 330i 2005 for it being my first car that I own, the thing is, is it expensive to do the oil service?, colling system etc, the common things. I want to know because I live in México and people tell me that its expensive to have the car well maintained.
Little does he know what is to follow.... vanos piston rings and rattle, valve cover gasket failure, oil leak from every gasket, window regulators, lifter tick... but gotta love them
i have had my 2002 330xi for 5 years haven't had to fix anything... bought from a mechanic ...207k miles but replaced engine has only 100k miles edit also its a 5 speed
Dude why would you go buy a new battery after trying to jump it and charge it. More than 11 volts isn’t even extremely low although it is low.. but after all that you should have figured it was the starter
Same man! Literally bought mine from one of my buddies and had another friend drive it 800 miles and then I drove the last 300 (not great at manuals) and so its pretty much what I've learned to drive manual on lol I love it
When you tried to start the car did the key feel locked when you tried to turn it? Because my e46 325ci does the same since the steering wheel can be locked just wiggle the steering wheel while having they key in and it will unlock the turn over being able to fully turn the ignition on
I've always thought about getting a cheap BMW... well not as cheap as you got one for and this time of perturbs me from doing that 😅 I'd really just want it to have a nice comfy car with some sort of power that could be used for long drives for fun... I've always heard that BMW was second to Mercedes in the reliability area of luxury cars. Maybe a Mercedes would be a better choice for what i want? Awesome video as always by the way
Hard to say-some have decent luck with their BMWs. My 740iL is pretty reliable, but when it does finally break it's going to be expensive. When buying any older european luxury car I think you just need to prepare for the possibility of larger repair bills. Thanks again for watching! :) :)
Look for an E39 540i. They are the perfect daily, comfortable ride, and decent power to have fun. Plus it's an older BMW and with my personal experience they are much more reliable than the newer models.
@@Mysticfateee if the V8 is not economical, than BMW offers many inline six engines that get great gas mileage. I don't live in the US so I can't speak on their gas prices
Like you I have right now 8 cars most I bought at auction, that means unseen and untested, but very cheap cars. Can always flip them with some profit, not much, but it's just for the fun of it. We need to consider that his prices are California prices. A battery for $ 204.00????? Change a starter and some vacuum lines, $700 bucks? Man get out of that state.
Yes things are a bit more expensive here in Los Angeles! However, they did also have a $169 battery, I just opted for a better one. I also neglected to mention that the shop also fixed a major power steering leak, did oil change, among a few other things. Good luck with your flips!
That's a nice looking 330ci, totally love those style 72 18'' wheels and you're right, manual transmission is so much fun in this car. Funny video as well 😂.
Hello there from 2022. Had an E46 for like 10 years, set it on fire by accident, but it did break down alot, so might have been subconscious acting on my part. Never again! Oh wait.... I bought another one last month.
Be glad you could afford to have someone replace your starter. I hear that is a really nasty job for shade-tree mechanics. Very difficult to get at. I bought a new battery at Walmart. It's freaking awesome. Not Chinese. USA made and cheaper than anything else I could find. It is super strong. I have a lot of lights thst come on (E46 M3) as long as my doors are open... like my aftermarket halos and running lights. It doesn't matter how bad I abuse this new battery. Every time I go to start the engine it turns over once or twice and springs right into life. This has been the strongest battery I have owned so far. They call the size H7 now.
I have a 05 325i e46 and I love it. 2800$ 130k if you find a solid one that’s been taken care of, they will last a long time. Currently at 170k a year and a half later
@@steezymissfire8818 BMWs aren't so bad if you can work on em yourself. I'm 18 and driving an 08 Fusion, rocker panel on the passenger side is starting to bubble at the very bottom. I'm about to start working but don't suppose I'll be able to save enough money for a newer car this summer. I'm thinking the move is sell the fusion for hopefully at least $2k (137k miles currently) and hopefully I'll have saved enough that it'll get me a better car with 2k or so added. My dad bought the fusion for $3k with 136k in November, it's got no issues besides the interior door handle broke haha. I think the tire tread is getting low too, little past Lincoln's head but, one day I want to own a BMW! I'll wait until I'm living on my own haha
There is a lot of bmw distmantlers in my area so whenever I need cheap parts I go to them because you can barter prices and even trade things. They sell cars too usually pretty nice ones. I’d check you’re area for something like that
Personally wouldn't own a 330ci as they are shit on fuel.. but are fairly powerful... here in UK petrol is £1.20 - £1.30 a litre so not really the kind of car you wanna drive daily if you like having money.... I'll stick with my 320cd gets over 50mpg on motorways even doing 90 to 100 mph... think the 330ci averages around 20mpg... lol
Had an E36, bought it for 1600 € and wasted around 2500 € repairing it in a year time, then selling it for 1300€. The curse of these old beemers is rust, somehow they had very shitty corosion protection or none at all.. So the rocker panels and rear wheel arches basically rott away on every car that has been driven in winter. I Avoid these old cars now, especially the E39s are rust buckets unless you live in a hot dry climate. Rotten body is an endless money pit, don't be stupid.
I have a well maintained 2005 330ci with only 83k miles that I've recently come to the realization I need to finally sell in the near future...not sure how to DM on youtube but if you can figure it out and are interested let me know. Good luck on your search either way. The e46 was an amazing first car for me :)
