Once you get this done up, if you get that OEM looking head unit with carplay, and the wireless charging pad thing, you'll miss very little to nothing from newer BMWs. Gorgeous cars! I have an unhealthy obsession with that era of BMW.
@@ameliaautomotive I've just discovered these absolute wizards in Enfield called Carphonics. They can convert your OEM nav head unit to run carplay without the need for an aftermarket unit. Also, give the Induktiv wireless charging pad a go!
Had 2 of these. Probably my favourite car in 20+ years. Golden age for BMW. Agree facelift led lights were a must for me too. Hope you get this back on the road. Often get tempted to get another one of these and do it up. Such a good car. Drive mine all over Europe. Good times. Hopefully you'll get as much enjoyment out of yours as I did mine.
After 10 years of ownership I recently traded in my black '56 330Ci M-Sport for a tuned Audi S5 and couldn't be happier. I loved my E46 but in the end the constant oil and coolant leaks, electrical problems and it getting soaking wet inside in winter took the joy out of owning and driving it. If I had the space and time I'd like to have kept it as a project car as they will surely become a modern classic. Hope you get yours sorted.
I bought one about a decade ago for £11k. It passed the AA HPI check, seemed fine, engine was smooth etc. had nothing but problems with it, brake calipers, subframe, suspension etc. Engine was great. Perfect car for two weeks then something else broke and I sold it to WBAC for £500. When they auctioned it... they did their own HPI at BCA and it was a cat B write off and should have been crushed... yet they still auctioned it off despite this and it was on a dealer forecourt a week later for £10k. So much for the HPI check I paid for. If you want a nice sound for free drill some swiss cheese holes in the front cold side part of the airbox, sounds great under full throttle if you do that.
These are great cars. I bought a silver 330 Sport Coupe in 09, which I drove for 10 years. I always kept on top of servicing, and nothing significant went wrong until the 10th year when it was 14 years old with 125k miles, when literally everything below chasis started to corrode. Initially, the rear wheel arches were the first to bubble, but then the rear metal brake lines needed replacing, along with a tonne of suspension and steering components. I was on a mission to save it and finished up spending around 2k fixing those issues, but the rear wheel arches were unsolvable......rust just kept coming back. A car like this, of this age and mileage, you're going to get those undercarriage problems, guaranteed. I would say there's no point spending money on repainting because, the undercarriage will let you down. I would have loved to have sourced another one of these, with low milage and one owner garage-kept, but realistically, this would be next to impossible. My ideal would have been the M3 E46, but, same potential corrosion problems......and even harder to find. I sold the E46 back in 2019, and drove around in a normal boring car for a few years.....then figured the modern day equivalent to the E46 M3 would be the M2 Competition......after all, plenty of people do agree that the M2 is the spiritual successor to the E46 M3, so it made sense, especially as it isn't my daily, and it is garaged. But, if I happened to stumble upon another E46 330 Sport that was in unbelievably great condition with unbelievably low milage with 1 or 2 owners and no undercarriage corrosion issues, I literally wouldn't think twice about buying it. Absolutely fantastic cars, and sheer joy to drive. Still miss it.
I remember test driving E46 330i coupes in manual back in 2018 (my dream at the time). Most cars in 3-4k range were very tired , already showing the implications of old age. I loved that model but most were falling apart and looked unloved. The prices of the really good ones were ridiculous (5-6k in old money). After a while I opted for much newer model E92 325i manual, and had very issues (practically none). As much as I love older cars (sub 2007) and would love to have one as a toy, I always end up with reality check and stick to the newer less than 8 years old cars to minimize headaches. Today, there are not many fun cars on the same budget and I think you need to fork out at least 12-15k to get something interesting. The N52 cars are getting old now, the N53 does not have the best reputation , The N55 starts at 10k + in E9X etc. Golf Mk6 is inferior to MK7, and V8's of the 2009-2011 vintage are just too thirsty and demand nearly 700 in VOD. It's sad times for those who are on the budget. However, if money is not a problem then we live in the best times for highest performance and luxury without having to own a supercar..
Love your enthusiasm. My 330CI convertible has 267K miles on it. I bought it to tinker with and it has been fun. Don’t worry about all BMW doubters - while not perfect they are a lot of fun. Mine has the special BMW manual soft top option - i.e. it is broken but I leave the top down all summer. 😅
Hope the best for your nice E46: About the oil light on your dash, did you change the oil pressure sensor? It's pretty common they fail. Its an easy and cheap fix. ( If the yellow oil light turns on it is probably the oil level sensor underneath the oil pan) Otherwise the M54 engines are one of the best and more reliable engines BMW has produced.
Being a later E46 it may have a GM transmission rather than a ZF,regardless find out if and when the fluid was last changed,if no service record/invoice get it changed(with filter&new gasket of course)this will be expensive but ignore and take a risk.Owner of 2001 330ci coupe for over 5 years.
I have an 05 convertible and had my share of gremlins pop up early on after purchase. Although mine has a standard 6 speed transmission (no issues there) there's a bunch of stuff that can pop up on e46's that can seem scary at first but are most likely juts bad rubber seals, missing nut, gaskets or some faulty sensor. BTW, all easy DIY fixes. If the car is throwing codes look into that first. I had pesky P0171 and P0174 lean air-to-fuel ratio codes that didn't go away after replacing the MAF and fuel pressure regulator. So after a second opinion from a fellow e46 owner I replaced a $6 gasket that goes between the air filter intake and MAF and.. TA! Problem solved. Regarding your engine oil light, is it a solid light or a flickering light? Is the engine oil level low, or too high? Anyway if no codes are coming up but the oil light comes on but the engine is not overheating or running rough, I would look/see if it has the correct oil dipstick and or if the twin rubber gaskets are not cracked or missing. Also check the oil pressure sensor. If you're smelling burnt oil after driving a bit it's most likely a bad valve cover gasket. Also, check this guys out. They've provided answers to common e46 issues.www.e46fanatics.com/threads/yellow-oil-light-saga.1320971/#post-19191708
I've always hated the rear lights on an E46. Seems to me that the person designing the boot lid lights wasn't talking to the person designing the rear wing lights. I've got the M54B30 engine in my manual E60. Bought it on 84k miles in 2011. It's now on 203k miles and the engine's been pretty much faultless (apart from dropping coils a few times).
Funny - that’s my favourite thing! Love them especially with the face lifted lights Glad you’ve had such a good run with yours. Hoping to get over 200 with this!! Fingers crossed haha.
Good video, its catch 22 isnt it! I had a 2014 335d, financed, best car I have ever owned. Was looking at a m340d on PCP until I had a sudden thought, why chuck £3000 deposit down and pay £500 per month for the next 4 years when I can spend £3000 on a 330ci and maintain as a I go
See I did this. The E46 went so wrong that I then had to buy a newer car the 335d. Now have the E46 that I can’t sell because I’ve spend so much money on it haha 😝
Sorry to say but that is what they do. Owning one without a good warranty and good local specialist is not a great idea. I owned two and was gald to see the money pits go. Best of luck with reparing yours.
You bought a 20 year old BMW generation that previously had very low values in its life and are now frustrated that it's giving you issues and costing you money? Especially mechanical ones regarding suspension? It's hard to find a well looked after E46 of any variant, certainly a 330ci. I know about this as I had a 330ci sport manual from 175k to 190k miles and had to replace the entire suspension and decided to rejuvenate the engine with VANOS, O2 sensors, cleaned injectors etc including a welded internal brace and RACP reinforcement. I struggle to feel sympathy for youtubers like yourselves with E46 issues when we have no idea what kind of history or oil changes and services the car had before you choose to purchase it.
Had a 2002 318i SE. Drank oil. Was only 9 years old when i got it and when i looked back it had a history of oil leaks from 6 months old. I think BMW design stuff to fail after a period of time. Horrible dealers too.
Your phone and tv probably have mono audio. My 2.1 speakers and my headphones play your voice just on the right side and when there's music it plays on both sides. So it's probably something to do with the way you recorded yourself speaking@@ameliaautomotive
I just checked out your other videos. in the Ranger Rover one the audio comes from the left side when you use that microphone on the shirt. When there's music playing or the audio comes from the camera in a few shots both sides have audio. Def a problem with your microphone@@ameliaautomotive
Once you get this done up, if you get that OEM looking head unit with carplay, and the wireless charging pad thing, you'll miss very little to nothing from newer BMWs. Gorgeous cars! I have an unhealthy obsession with that era of BMW.
Definitely want CarPlay! But the wireless pads never seem to work for me!
@@ameliaautomotive I've just discovered these absolute wizards in Enfield called Carphonics. They can convert your OEM nav head unit to run carplay without the need for an aftermarket unit.
Also, give the Induktiv wireless charging pad a go!
Never going to un-see that Ministry of Sound logo now 😄
Had 2 of these. Probably my favourite car in 20+ years. Golden age for BMW. Agree facelift led lights were a must for me too. Hope you get this back on the road. Often get tempted to get another one of these and do it up. Such a good car. Drive mine all over Europe. Good times. Hopefully you'll get as much enjoyment out of yours as I did mine.
After 10 years of ownership I recently traded in my black '56 330Ci M-Sport for a tuned Audi S5 and couldn't be happier. I loved my E46 but in the end the constant oil and coolant leaks, electrical problems and it getting soaking wet inside in winter took the joy out of owning and driving it. If I had the space and time I'd like to have kept it as a project car as they will surely become a modern classic. Hope you get yours sorted.
I bought one about a decade ago for £11k. It passed the AA HPI check, seemed fine, engine was smooth etc. had nothing but problems with it, brake calipers, subframe, suspension etc. Engine was great. Perfect car for two weeks then something else broke and I sold it to WBAC for £500.
When they auctioned it... they did their own HPI at BCA and it was a cat B write off and should have been crushed... yet they still auctioned it off despite this and it was on a dealer forecourt a week later for £10k.
So much for the HPI check I paid for.
If you want a nice sound for free drill some swiss cheese holes in the front cold side part of the airbox, sounds great under full throttle if you do that.
I’m so glad you shared this journey! Hopefully we can see you get her back on the road!!
Thank you!! Fingers crossed 😅
These are great cars. I bought a silver 330 Sport Coupe in 09, which I drove for 10 years. I always kept on top of servicing, and nothing significant went wrong until the 10th year when it was 14 years old with 125k miles, when literally everything below chasis started to corrode. Initially, the rear wheel arches were the first to bubble, but then the rear metal brake lines needed replacing, along with a tonne of suspension and steering components. I was on a mission to save it and finished up spending around 2k fixing those issues, but the rear wheel arches were unsolvable......rust just kept coming back.
A car like this, of this age and mileage, you're going to get those undercarriage problems, guaranteed. I would say there's no point spending money on repainting because, the undercarriage will let you down.
I would have loved to have sourced another one of these, with low milage and one owner garage-kept, but realistically, this would be next to impossible. My ideal would have been the M3 E46, but, same potential corrosion problems......and even harder to find.
I sold the E46 back in 2019, and drove around in a normal boring car for a few years.....then figured the modern day equivalent to the E46 M3 would be the M2 Competition......after all, plenty of people do agree that the M2 is the spiritual successor to the E46 M3, so it made sense, especially as it isn't my daily, and it is garaged.
But, if I happened to stumble upon another E46 330 Sport that was in unbelievably great condition with unbelievably low milage with 1 or 2 owners and no undercarriage corrosion issues, I literally wouldn't think twice about buying it. Absolutely fantastic cars, and sheer joy to drive. Still miss it.
I remember test driving E46 330i coupes in manual back in 2018 (my dream at the time). Most cars in 3-4k range were very tired , already showing the implications of old age. I loved that model but most were falling apart and looked unloved. The prices of the really good ones were ridiculous (5-6k in old money). After a while I opted for much newer model E92 325i manual, and had very issues (practically none). As much as I love older cars (sub 2007) and would love to have one as a toy, I always end up with reality check and stick to the newer less than 8 years old cars to minimize headaches. Today, there are not many fun cars on the same budget and I think you need to fork out at least 12-15k to get something interesting. The N52 cars are getting old now, the N53 does not have the best reputation , The N55 starts at 10k + in E9X etc. Golf Mk6 is inferior to MK7, and V8's of the 2009-2011 vintage are just too thirsty and demand nearly 700 in VOD.
It's sad times for those who are on the budget. However, if money is not a problem then we live in the best times for highest performance and luxury without having to own a supercar..
Nice quality and presentation, the mono sound is absolutely killer though wearing headphones.
I do apologise. I’ve found the issue and fixed it for the more recent videos. Thank you for the feedback!
Love your enthusiasm. My 330CI convertible has 267K miles on it. I bought it to tinker with and it has been fun. Don’t worry about all BMW doubters - while not perfect they are a lot of fun. Mine has the special BMW manual soft top option - i.e. it is broken but I leave the top down all summer. 😅
Ah love to hear about your high mileage hero!! Hope mine gets to that mileage. When it’s working you just can’t beat driving it!!
Xenon’s we’re on pre facelift as well
Do love the E46 - my friend at work has a 330ci too
Hope the best for your nice E46: About the oil light on your dash, did you change the oil pressure sensor? It's pretty common they fail. Its an easy and cheap fix. ( If the yellow oil light turns on it is probably the oil level sensor underneath the oil pan) Otherwise the M54 engines are one of the best and more reliable engines BMW has produced.
Being a later E46 it may have a GM transmission rather than a ZF,regardless find out if and when the fluid was last changed,if no service record/invoice get it changed(with filter&new gasket of course)this will be expensive but ignore and take a risk.Owner of 2001 330ci coupe for over 5 years.
Ah thanks for the advice. Will take that into account 😊
I have an 05 convertible and had my share of gremlins pop up early on after purchase. Although mine has a standard 6 speed transmission (no issues there) there's a bunch of stuff that can pop up on e46's that can seem scary at first but are most likely juts bad rubber seals, missing nut, gaskets or some faulty sensor. BTW, all easy DIY fixes. If the car is throwing codes look into that first.
I had pesky P0171 and P0174 lean air-to-fuel ratio codes that didn't go away after replacing the MAF and fuel pressure regulator. So after a second opinion from a fellow e46 owner I replaced a $6 gasket that goes between the air filter intake and MAF and.. TA! Problem solved. Regarding your engine oil light, is it a solid light or a flickering light? Is the engine oil level low, or too high? Anyway if no codes are coming up but the oil light comes on but the engine is not overheating or running rough, I would look/see if it has the correct oil dipstick and or if the twin rubber gaskets are not cracked or missing. Also check the oil pressure sensor. If you're smelling burnt oil after driving a bit it's most likely a bad valve cover gasket. Also, check this guys out. They've provided answers to common e46 issues.www.e46fanatics.com/threads/yellow-oil-light-saga.1320971/#post-19191708
Just got my e46 and there great cars It’s funny mentioning about them being low to the ground because mine is the same so annoying sometimes😂
Look at the engine oil pump. If not addressed could cause a catastrophic engine failure.
Yes to an update on the mk2
Absolutely!! 😊
I've always hated the rear lights on an E46. Seems to me that the person designing the boot lid lights wasn't talking to the person designing the rear wing lights.
I've got the M54B30 engine in my manual E60.
Bought it on 84k miles in 2011. It's now on 203k miles and the engine's been pretty much faultless (apart from dropping coils a few times).
Funny - that’s my favourite thing! Love them especially with the face lifted lights
Glad you’ve had such a good run with yours. Hoping to get over 200 with this!! Fingers crossed haha.
Sadly with these cars if you are not willing to wrench and work on these yourself they are simply not worth owning. Good luck with it!
Good video, its catch 22 isnt it! I had a 2014 335d, financed, best car I have ever owned. Was looking at a m340d on PCP until I had a sudden thought, why chuck £3000 deposit down and pay £500 per month for the next 4 years when I can spend £3000 on a 330ci and maintain as a I go
See I did this. The E46 went so wrong that I then had to buy a newer car the 335d. Now have the E46 that I can’t sell because I’ve spend so much money on it haha 😝
@@ameliaautomotive and now you've got yourself the dream garage! Never sell it, you never know what the prices may be one day
Sorry to say but that is what they do.
Owning one without a good warranty and good local specialist is not a great idea.
I owned two and was gald to see the money pits go.
Best of luck with reparing yours.
You haven’t said what was wrong with the gearbox, and how did you fix it?
It basically shows a cog error. Turn the car on and off and it fixes itself. Happens a lot but nobody seems to know the answer yet!
my coupe was most reliable car i owned at 170k. but mine wasn't an auto...
I hope she fixes them herself, I've enough of the whole snowflake thing.
Usually it's because of bad oil level sensor
How do you afford them both ?
Work in Marketing and probably spend more money than I should on cars. Would rather that over holidays etc. 🤣
Got your priorities right then! 😂
If anyone is interested in doing a review on my e46 330ci, convertible m-sport let me know. Thanks
You bought a 20 year old BMW generation that previously had very low values in its life and are now frustrated that it's giving you issues and costing you money? Especially mechanical ones regarding suspension?
It's hard to find a well looked after E46 of any variant, certainly a 330ci.
I know about this as I had a 330ci sport manual from 175k to 190k miles and had to replace the entire suspension and decided to rejuvenate the engine with VANOS, O2 sensors, cleaned injectors etc including a welded internal brace and RACP reinforcement.
I struggle to feel sympathy for youtubers like yourselves with E46 issues when we have no idea what kind of history or oil changes and services the car had before you choose to purchase it.
Exactly maintenance is key on these cars. Keep on top and baby the car they are fine.
Like any second hand car then
urs may be a ZHP! correct?
My left ear feels lonely 😢
Is the 335 stock?
For now yes! 😊
@@ameliaautomotive that’s cool. I have a 17 340 Touring, also stock
@@ameliaautomotiveHow do you Compare driving experience 330i e46 vs 335i e92?
how do you afford all the insurance on your cars its bad enough with one car
The older cars are cheap yearly. The BMW’s are more but we have multi over and I’m over 25 now so prices have gone down a bit.
Had a 2002 318i SE. Drank oil. Was only 9 years old when i got it and when i looked back it had a history of oil leaks from 6 months old. I think BMW design stuff to fail after a period of time. Horrible dealers too.
Not a great engine in that model. The M54 is better
PRIMARK please , or shoe zone please .
My right ear feels lonely when you talk. Mono sound?
What device are you listening on? A few people have said this. I’m wondering if it’s headphones as TV and phone is working okay for me.
Your phone and tv probably have mono audio. My 2.1 speakers and my headphones play your voice just on the right side and when there's music it plays on both sides. So it's probably something to do with the way you recorded yourself speaking@@ameliaautomotive
I just checked out your other videos. in the Ranger Rover one the audio comes from the left side when you use that microphone on the shirt. When there's music playing or the audio comes from the camera in a few shots both sides have audio. Def a problem with your microphone@@ameliaautomotive
@@br4kecheckdah! Thank you for doing that. Appreciated - I’ll have to look into this! Must be a setting on the mic
So you bought a high mileage E46 without doing the necessary checks & you resent having to spend the money to fix it? Snafu 🙄
The one on your right is your problem child
£1000 to replace a rad?
Plus all hoses no doubt
till u get to it, it´s gonna end up eaten by rust!!
Hope not! 😭
Do you drive barefoot
"BMW = Big Money Waste" - BMW driver of 5 years