What To Look For When BUYING A BMW | BMW e46 

Years ago, I bought a 2005 320i with the small 2.2 litre 6 cylinder engine. I bought it as a second car to use during the winter. It had over 150,000 miles and required a new power steering pump, cooling system expansion tank, and a brake job. I paid $2200 for the car, and $1240 for repairs. Since then, it's been nothing but pure driving enjoyment and I've put over 100,000 miles on it. Don't expect to buy a ten year old 3 series bimmer, and not have to fix a few things, but once you've done that, you'll have a great car to drive.

I have 2002 bmw 325 xi , i brought 3 years ago for 4000 dollars. Perfect condition 107000 miles. Just changed fuel pump. Best car i ever drove hands down

This is a fantastic video! Great job Evan! Car looks great!

Good video. Just wanted to add that is really important to ask the last owner if the water pump was replaced at least once. This pumps are prone to fail after 30k miles and if the car has ever overheated is a real problem. The cylinder head will actually bend or twist pulling the head bolts and damaging the bolts threads on the block leaving you with no other choice but to re-thread them with a kit. And yes is beter to do them all !!!

100% Valuable information, thanks.

Love your channel! Thanks for sharing

I just bought a 264,000 mile 2003 325i black for only $600 runs and drives quite well, cold a/c, working cruise control, interior is a little beat up but overall good shape, all windows work, only light on dash is brake pad wear, driven 1500 miles already

Very helpful video

Thanks for making these videos bro. You make good content. You're a legend.

Thx a lot

Good video, I have had two of these and they all develop most of the problems mentioned here at some point. The OFH gasket leak is a higher pressure oil leak and will have to be dealt with pretty quickly. The oil pools in that waffling thats on top of the engine block. I also have the oil pan gasket leak that is a bear to fix, it's not as common though. The entire subframe has to be dropped and Im in the process of doing it now... ugh..

I got my 330ci 3 months ago I’ve changed Transmission pan gasket, trans oil ,trans filter ,oil pan gasket ,oil filter housing gasket, oil filter, oil filter o ring, thermostat, upper coolant hose and the skinny hose that connects to the coolant tank, coolant tank , coolant tank bracket , automatic trans thermostat, mass airflow sensor, air filter, VALVE cover gasket, intake boots upper n lower, i think that’s it, I’m repairing my driver door handle rn, i got the car for cheap as i knew it had problems. I did it all myself except the oil pan gasket , i had help wit that. Don’t buy an e46 unless u can work on it ur self .... now I’m waiting for a disa valve gasket, then i can pass smog , 2 1/2 - 3 months later ... 😂🤙🏽 e46 life

Thank you so much for this video, it helped me a lot!

Great cars... I have owned over 10 E46s so carried out some of the most common jobs, with videos. ;)

Note: Power steering reservoir leak is common and can leak on the alternator causing that to fail as well.

I bought myself a 2000 330D for 1000 euros. Invested another 800 to get it running perfectly. Really great car that handled many days of -20 celcius winter drifting without any major issues...apart from ABS, but you can disconnect that hehe. Recommending everyone to buy brand new ABS sensors to prevent brake pad and disc wear from faulty sensors causing braking.

Welp to late for me now , I just got a 5 series and looking into videos about it after I purchase

Thanks The a pillar can leak water into the computer that controls the door locks etc near or under the glove box

just bought a 2001 325i for 900$ cad with 260k km. has lots of cosmetic issues but cant wait until it looks beautiful

The subframe with manual transmission is a serious problem with this model. Also don't ever overheat the engine which can happen easily, if you do the engine is usually toast due to head bolts being destroyed

You forgot to mention two other places of an oil leak as some people would not see or catch you got a front main seal and even a rear main seal and most of all there's a tiny little corner if you own a sedan the corner side and the passenger side in the front near the housing I was a passenger Axle

Ecv valve there is always a trouble code related to that .. high end plastic disposable car let say

I appreciate you for this video bro because I just bought her 325I and there is an engine light but the car is in good condition and I really don’t want to get rid of it I love the car I fell in love with the car

I'm buying a 2001 325ci with 92k original miles for $4000 has ujoint issue and needs camshaft position sensor and wiper motor replaced other than that car is solid

Nice steering wheel. I can see you added the BMW i Series emblem. 👍🏼

You shouldve add that if you were to buy a pre-facelift 320 and higher(basicly the 6cylinder models), if the rear-axle has been fixed throughout the recall back in the day because (at least here in germany), they tend to literally brake loose. Iirc this issue was fixed with the LCI/facelift models. Its pretty crucial if you ask me. But i didnt know about the leaking issues, thanks for that :) Also, i love your steering wheel!

Any opinions on the G30s yet?

The rear vent windows on the coupe is a pain in the ass to close if it’s stuck out.

My 2002 has different bumper for light round for light

You can smell oil leaks from inside the car with the engine running. The most common faults normally drip onto hot parts and can be smelt. Most e46 leaks tbh lol

Your steering wheel is nice.

Looking at picking up a 2005 330i has 180k miles but looks well kept, hoping to look at it next couple of days, and stoked on this vid thank you!!

How much did you get that 330 for anyway

What headlights are those?

My car just got totaled w few weeks ago. Insurance money just hit and im about to go look at one this weekend. Wish me luck!

I prefer my e46 over my e90 335i all day every day. It’s all about being consistent with maintenance with Bavarians. Mainly look out for coolant leaks and oil leaks. Sooo much plastic in these cars even the new ones that are susceptible to cracking or breaking as well as gaskets all over the place. Most of the jobs are diy and could be done with minimal to moderate mechanical experience. Always carry an obd2 scanner when purchasing a vehicle to see what codes are being throwed. I carry my think obd2 scanner which was 30 bums on amazon and it had proven invaluable when purchasing vehicles.

Gifted a 01 330i just did expansion tank thermostat new air filter box cabin air filter Maf sensor just need help figuring out why my Abs light is on

My bmw e46 was leaking oil , coolant and fluid brakes.. everything that could leak was leaking xD

I am planning to get a 2001 E46 this week , it says no accidents , manual transmission, 5 owners and 165000miles with engine tuned supercharger essttuning asking price is 18000 is it a good rate for this??

The jacking point

I have a 2002 330xi I bought in Canada it has 124000 km 7000$ I got 2000 $ stereo system up grade I herd they have crappie coolant system the shitty thing is I don't have a garage so it's outside and it's snowing here I feel bad my baby

Tell me sum i don’t know

Just telling the new mechanic that all European cars come with a pan because they all leak. Good thing about oily motors is less broken or stuck bolts. :)

How’s that enon head unit ? Thinkin bout gettin one later

Can this apply to bmw 528i ? Model 2011 .. (Maybe changes changes anything)

Leaking coolant biggest issue on my e46

I have a 323ci and it looks exactly like this car, is mine an e46 too?..stupid question I know lol

What do you guys think of a 316i ?

You obviously haven’t owned a e46 long enough.... other problems- fan clutch, pulleys, oil pan leaks, rear shocks leaks, control arms, rear tail lamp plug burn out, ccv leak, vacuum leaks, sifva valve rattle, mass flow sensor faults..... God I love my 330i

would be much better with a flashlight lol

Im buying an e46 325xi tomorrow and im scared to death! I know im gonna regret this

Its a 20yr old car what to expect

That's not the thermostat....

Great job 330ic owner 4over to much maintenance

4 ads in 12min video, jesus man

Step 1. Look for a e34

If you are looking for a BMW that not leaking oil, then good luck of finding one. Buying a used BMW is taking high risk because it's known for money pit. If you can't live with that, stay away from BMW.

Man if you want a non issue car go buy you a brand new one.I mean its a 2002 what you expect its all wear and tear.

then i suggest u go buy new car

German engineering...BS! Plastic tanks crimped onto the aluminum radiator, plastic water pump housing, plastic thermostat housing. Guess what happens after about 10 years...yeah catastrophic water leaks. In our case, not just a leak, like the upper radiator hose neck snapped off! Instant total coolant loss, instant overheat before wife could pull over. Overheating wasn't the worst of it, warped head and blown head gasket. Repair shop says $5,400 to fix! Wife loves the car. I would rather cut the top off, fill it full of dirt, park it on the front lawn and grow flowers in the passenger compartment.