something like this ?

Incase link doesn’t work

330 estate 2002 auto petrol

Is it going to eat petrol ? (I know its a 3.0l petrol!)

Any real life tales of woe ?

It looks fun !

For example

I had a mondeo st220 3L V6….

It did 19/20 atound town and I saw 30 on a motorway run. VED was £445 (or there abouts)

So not a direct comparison but I reckon the fuel wil be similar, and the VED as expensive!

However i reckon it’d be quite nice to drive!!
Mate had a 325i touring and that was fairly bloody rapid!

Nice to drive, quite small inside (certainly no bigger than a Focus of the same age), expect mid 20s mpg. Most of them are rusting now, check the wheel arches, particularly the front.

I didn’t have an E46 330 but did have a 325.

Fuel was pretty good – it mostly did longer trips (70 mile daily commute) and average 31.7mpg. Mine was a manual though but with a 5 speed box.

Running costs were fairly hefty, but I did 35k over the two years I had it.

In the time that I had it, I had:

2 pairs of rear tyres (circa £300 each time)
1 pair of front ttres
2 sets of rear springs
2 x rear shocks
2 sets for front wishbones
1 x thermostat
1 x radiator
1 x water pump
1 x coolant tank
1 x set of aux pulleys
1 x set of discs and pads
1 x set of new brake lines (expensive – fuel tank out jobbie)
1 x fuel pump
1 x Inspection 1
1 x Oil service
1 x brake fluid change

The cooling system on this era of BMW are notoriously weak – the plastic impellor on the fule pumps fail, the thermostats fail, coolant tanks split and the bottoms of radiatiors sag.

They also eat suspension parts – cracked rear springs are pretty common and wishbones are a consumable / disposable item.

They are really sensitive to wheel alignment too – a Kwik Fit jobbie isnt’t up to scratch. It needs to be a proper lazer four wheel one – BM will releive you of £250 or so (unless on offer) and a good indy about £100. Having tried to do it on the cheap, you’ll get a crap job.

The rear brake lines corroed and needed replacing which was quite pricey – they run over the fuel tank which needs to be dropped. This is quite a common issue on these now.

The only good news is that there are loads of good independent specialists that can help keep costs down. Second hand parts are plentiful too from the likes of Quarry Motors.

The biggest thing on the E46 these days is rust – they are notorious for rusting at the arches. From the inside out due to a silly lip that collects mud and water.

They are really good cars though – mine wasn’t the best and had had a hard life (think it was the familt run around). It drove nicelt though, was reasonably quick and sounded good.

If you do lots of short journeys, the auto may be a bit juicy. I currently have an E90 330 auto which does around 25mpg on short town trips but will happily do 33 or so on a longer run.

I had an E91 330i. Fantastic car and the engine was the highlight. High 30s on average over a long run and low 20s around town. I’d have another abd given their prices, if we needed a second car, an e46 330i would feature high on my list.

Had a few of them. They’re lovely, expect around 25mpg in the real world. Autos nicer but thirstier. Bushes last about 60k. Sound delicious. had 5 330 petrols in one form or another. Never had a problem with any of them mechanically.

I had a 330 petrol (newer shape than op) for about 4 months while I was waiting for my company lease car. It was lovely very capable and ate miles almost as quick as it ate petrol. Id happily have another.

Got a 2001 manual 330i touring, great car, as other have said not huge, but enough for us with two kids. over about 25k we have averaged 33.4mpg on the computer, I reckon about 31 in real terms, but my wife drives it mostly…

is a lovely engine, much prefer a big engine to the newer turbo charged engines, that’s personal taste though.

As mentioend they do have a tendancy to eat suspension components, but nowadays parts arent too expensive, the mehle parts are good value and much more robust than original or cheap pattern parts. over the 3 years we’ve had it I’ve done:
– front wishbones and lollipop bushes
– water pump
– variocam seals
– rocker cover seal
– rear subframe bushes all round

other than that jsut servicing, and a spare set of winter wheels, as they are truly aweful in snow/ice, but very good on winter tyres.

Ours isn’t a sport model otherwise i’d offer it you it as we might be emigrating soon.

Steptronic auto sport saloon here. It’s been great for the 8 years I’ve owned it, with only wear and tear parts being replaced. I have a k&n filter in mine and it averages about 33mpg – my town/mway ratio is about 50/50 5000 miles a year. My last fully loaded interior trip to Afan from London it averaged 36mpg. It’s a lovely motorway criuser is the 3L straight six.

Mines for sale £1850.

Kryton57 – Member
Steptronic auto sport saloon here. It’s been great for the 8 years I’ve owned it, with only wear and tear parts being replaced. I have a k&n filter in mine and it averages about 33mpg – my town/mway ratio is about 50/50 5000 miles a year. My last fully loaded interior trip to Afan from London it averaged 36mpg. It’s a lovely motorway criuser is the 3L straight six.

Mines for sale £1850.

You have mail !

I’ve got one ( e46 330i touring auto)
What loddrick said!

On that age, I’d get the water pump / expansion tank / stat and belts done.
I’d also consider doing the auto box fluid too.

Mine was bought as a 3rd vehicle, but has done more miles than mrsj’s or my other motor has done put together in the 7 months we’ve had it 🙂

Great fun and superbly relaxing to drive.

Mine has done 79k and has only required, lollipops and drop links in 4 years of ownership. It’s predecessor (an 05 330Ci) required nothing in 7 years -and 50k miles.

Water pump, expansion tanks – cheap and nasty original – and the front air con secondary motor are good calls. Also the gearbox – allegedly getting the fluid changed every 80k doubles its life.

I’ve had all that done btw op 😉

thanks guys for help and information great colour Daffy

Very close to getting an E91 325i late ’09.

Test drove today-lovely. Any user experiences? Same 3.0L engine just lower state of tune.

Very close to getting an E91 325i late ’09.

Check the VED, once past 2006 big petrols and diesel autos can get very dear – as in +£450pa.

Its £225 PA; happy days!

So far enjoying it and fuel wise not really noticed it being more expensive to run than our old car.

Enjoy your new toy !

Cheers!

Just wondering If I can use my winter tyre/alloy combo of my old E46 (205/50R17) with this new car (225/45R17). Might need some 12mm spacers.

Or just drive my old E46 if it looks snowy and flog it in spring….

Mindmap- that’s a pretty big list of parts!

I was looking at an E46 thinking they were fairly bulletproof

Think I’m going to have to reconsider, I can’t afford bills like that every few months

I was hoping to get something rwd as my previous 3 cars have been and I like it a lot more than fwd

No idea what to go for now

With regards to rust, anything after Feb/Mar 2004 has a 12 year anti perforation warranty so should just about still be covered.
Had my 05 repaired by BMW at no cost with a slight bubble on one rear arch.
The criteria is that it must not have been caused by exterior damage (stone chip etc) but arches are fairly common and not usually caused by chips.

In 6 years with mine I’ve only had 1 rear spring, brakes and pads and front wishbone bushes.
It’s not a 3.0L petrol auto though