Considering a BMW E46 318i Auto Facelift, pros n cons?

[Jasondj]

Hi all

I no this is non Veedub related but i recon most of us had something else also.

Ive always loved them when they came out, especially the facelift.

Ive been hunting a auto Jetta/Golf mk4 for a while now and just cant seem to find one that was well taken care off.

The BMW is much more popular in auto than the Jetta/Golf mk4 and i found quite a few with low mileage, full history and showroom condition.

I sat in one the other day and my oh my the car felt good, build quality is excellent and solid.

They generally all fullhouse. My question is though​, like with all cars i guees what are there pros and cons.

I did however found out there shocks, rubber mounts, brakes and service parts are very cheap if not cheaper than the mk4. There fuel filter is much more though, close to a grand.

Im eyeing the 318i E46 auto facelift, not interested in the 6 cylinder versions as we do mostly traffic driving and will be do thirsty.

Thanks

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[The Shaikh]

e46 is the best looking Beema 3 series ever made IMO and the facelift is even better. How many KMs are on the one you want? I maybe wrong here but the 318i was not as common as the 320i and the 320i is not that thirsty in a matter of speaking. In terms of parts and spares there might be more lying around in the 320 area.

Send some pics of your one. Is it Msport, individual etc?

Here is some motivation

[THANAS]

All I know is that those 4 cyl motors are notoriously problematic. From experience.

[Jasondj]

Thats just porn, wow! I'm still shopping around. Ive seen some with low mileage around 100k on the clock for R55k then some with 220 on the clock for R40k normal 318i. We do 90% of the time peak traffic driving and thought the 6 cylinder would be much more thirsty.

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[jimbo]

I have a colleague who had the facelifted E46 318i Touring which gave him nothing but trouble.
Eventually ended with a hole in the engine block...

Apparently the 4 cylinder engine used in the 318i wasn't particularly reliable.

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[Jasondj]

Damn ok. I know the problem with buying secondhand is buying someone else's problems. Like my father always said, theres a reason why someone is selling it or traded it in. 320d any better. I tend to stay away from diesel cars. Can be pricey to fix

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[MouseGTI]

Friend of mine has one. 318i manual though. He's had one problem with his. Crankshaft sensor or something which he bought from BMW for R2200, that was it. He's had to do less work than I had to on either of my pgtis or the B7....(edit: cost less than work I've needed done)

Good cars. Not sure about the auto though. I know he wanted an auto but decided against it when he got the manual for a good price.

[The Shaikh]

Older cars.... avoid auto

[Jasondj]

The car will be used by the other half. We want a auto also easier in peak traffic. Phoned a few BMW spares places in Cape Town and no one has stock of the auto box and if they do get them they sell for between 5.5k and 7k witch is not to bad.

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[ChefDJ]

For E46 you want a 2001 model and up (facelift).

Stay away from 318i and 320d.

Get 320i, 330i or 330d. Auto on high mileage might be problematic, but still more reliable than 318i.

A cheap 3 series is going to be a very expensive 3 series.

[Jasondj]

Hmm, wonder if i should rather just stay away from the 3 series at all. 90% of the facelifts for sale in my price range is 318i. There is a 320i but very high mileage. Would of loved one but not going to kill myself on petrol to get a model thats little more reliable. Always wise to get some info before a person buy something.

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[ChefDJ]

There will be literally no difference in fuel consumption between the 318i and 320i. If anything, the 320i might even be lighter seeing as it has to work less to get the weight of the car going.

If fuel consumption is your biggest purchasing factor, get a 3.0d or a newer E90 320d.

Or a Polo TDI.

[Unobeat]

Hmm, wonder if i should rather just stay away from the 3 series at all. 90% of the facelifts for sale in my price range is 318i. There is a 320i but very high mileage. Would of loved one but not going to kill myself on petrol to get a model thats little more reliable. Always wise to get some info before a person buy something.

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Maybe state your budget and what kind of car you require with spe level.
Seeing your replies, i know you want a Auto as it will be daily for MRS.

[Unobeat]

There will be literally no difference in fuel consumption between the 318i and 320i. If anything, the 320i might even be lighter seeing as it has to work less to get the weight of the car going.

If fuel consumption is your biggest purchasing factor, get a 3.0d or a newer E90 320d.

Or a Polo TDI.

This would be a nice option, but he wants a Auto
The E90 320/330d seem to be good value for money.

I know Arbee had a neat 330d that was modded and he drove till over 190 000km with not a lot of issues and did a lot of trips to KZN.

[HendrikCTI]

Good friend of mine has a 320i. That thing has fuel economy of 15km per liter highway driving at 120kmh according to him.
Manual transmission and I think 137 000km on the odo when he bought it a couple of month ago. They are plenty on the road. So scrapyards can easily supply you with parts if needed. Hopefully not at BMW prices.

[Jasondj]

Budget for cash is around 50k. I saw on google also many saying the 320 is beter buy and fuel economy more or less the same as the 318i

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[The Shaikh]

Maybe this thread can help you, its a bit old but if you see what others have done, replaced or are going through with their cars then you might be able to prepare yourself and your wallet.

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=34

[Jasondj]

Damn, scary stuff. So basically buying a high mileage one will be better then most of the stuff has been replaced hopefully

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[ChefDJ]

Never be afraid of high mileage.

If I were you, looking for a decent daily which needs to be reliable above all else, and secondly economical, I would hunt around to see what people you know are selling (friends, family, known forum members) before just walking into a dealer with 50k and saying "here have that, you have a car I want".

[HendrikCTI]

Just buy a Japanese branded car en get it over and done with.

[amstel18]

Be patient.

There are well looked after vehicles in the private market.

Parts are easily obtainable for these cars these days. Hell, Goldwagen stock most of it now.

not to sound like a douche, but maybe narrow down your areas when searching on gumtree.

There's certain areas in CT which I will never consider going to look at a vehicle again. Won't mention names, but whenever I was searching for vehicles, 9/10 cars were rubbish.

Advertised as MINT condition. The term mint condition has different definitions certain places.

FLAMESUIT on. I know I shouldn't generalise, but that's just past experience.

[Jasondj]

Yeah am being patient. Theres a 320 e46 facelift that looks awesome on pictures in the Winelands im planning on going to view maybe tonight. 45k full history but then again, some stealerships take short cuts so full historybin todays world means nothing. There is also a 2003 Jatta 4 2.0 full spec auto on gumtree with 200k on the clock looking spotless but price is little high 57k for a private sale. Car has been on gumtree for over a month now, every other day the ad gets reposted Some dealers selling them for lower the 2.0 models.

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[iLy]

e.

There's certain areas in CT which I will never consider going to look at a vehicle again. Won't mention names, but whenever I was searching for vehicles, 9/10 cars were rubbish.

Advertised as MINT condition. The term mint condition has different definitions certain places.

FLAMESUIT on. I know I shouldn't generalise, but that's just past experience.

Agreed 100%.

Been there done that, drove many miles in some areas to see parts advertised as clean, mint etc and it was the total opposite

[Jasondj]

I viewed a Golf 4 auto a while back and was advertised as in very good condition. Got there, it was smoking, some electric windows not working, rust and a lot of damage in side. I told the guy he is little high priced compared to other golfs and he said no his is in very good condition. Was in a rural area

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[DangerBoy]

Just remember, that if you go the mk4 route... Parts are readily available, but flippen costly....I just spent close to R14k in one month for parts and labour on my mk4