e36 330ci in need of some TLC

[fiveohwblow]

Originally Posted by Mr Pete

Maintain it! I wish I still had my E46 330ci. Such a fantastic car even with the steptronic, but sounded amazing. God I miss it…

They do have an excellent sound, even factory. Deep tone.

[Mr Pete]

Originally Posted by fiveohwblow

They do have an excellent sound, even factory. Deep tone.

I put on a Eisenmann axleback, and it sounded good. Got a cheap used one off the e46fanatics forum haha the good ol days

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by fiveohwblow

They do have an excellent sound, even factory. Deep tone.

Agree, when my son starts up his X3 it sounds excellent even with the stock exhaust. So deep and still has that Inline-6 growl.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I have a 2005 330ciC. Bought it from a friend with 99,980 miles on it. It needed new mirror glass, a few missing interior parts. Minor stuff. I've now passed it by 132,000 since Sept. 2019. The starter did go TU a week after I bought it. That's it. Minor oil leak near the front crank seal that wets up the power steering hose.

The interior on the E46 likes to peel its paint. That car has the sport package, which is what you want. If you get it for free, or a few thousand, it's worth it. It does look a little neglected. What is the maintenance history?

The maintenance history is "sometimes".

It's been sitting in their garage for quite a while, don't think it's been driven in over 4 years so I was very surprised that it even started and I was able to take it out of the garage. But I'd essentially inherit it and take it off their hands. My brother in-law who used to drive it is interested in sharing the costs to rehab it - said it could be his car to drive anytime he's in town (which isn't often....).

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

It sounds like you do not work on your own cars. If that is true, then you'll probably be taken aback by the prices for taking care of the mechanical side of things. BMWs last easily to 300,000 miles and we'll into 20 years of existence if they are properly taken care of and maintained by either a BMW specialist, or by an owner/DIY'er that knows how to work on BMWs. I right now have a 24 year old Z3 owned since new, and owned an E30 since new for 18 years and 250,000 miles. I DIY all my stuff, so it's affordable to keep Bimmers for long periods and high miles.

But if you are going to pay for the mechanical restoration, that is going to require financial commitment on your part and when added up, will most likely be beyond the value of the car in its current state. Letting it sit in a garage for that long is classified as neglect. I doubt it was well maintained, sadly. 115,000 miles is nothing for a BMW and nothing on an E46 chassis; that E46 should be in better shape than it is for that little amount of miles. If you get the mechanicals up to par, the car will easily go 250,000 miles, if you want to take it that far and assuming there's no goss mechanical issues with it. If you invest in it now to correct the negligent ownership, it's only worth doing if you are going to take it to 200,000 or more miles. What event(s) led to the haphazard or ad-hoc 4-year storage?

I currently have 4 BMWs (all 3-series or variants of) and add the E30, my total chassis miles is over 1.1 million miles. Of that total, the driven miles is 980,000, so I speak from extensive experience. Just wanted to qualify so you know I'm not BS'ing you.

You are correct - I've never been much of a DIYer. I've owned mostly new cars for most of my life (with the exception of my first 2 cars - a 93 maxima and a 00 maxima). So the extent of my DIY experience is oil changes and spark plugs, and a few small cosmetic things like headlight replacement, and a tail tidy on a bike.

My brother in law who used to daily this car ended up buying an f13 650i coupe, then moved away - leaving this car at his parents house, who then refused to sell it for whatever reason (I'd qualify them as hoarders). But they also never drove it, and so it's been literally collecting dust.

If I do go through the process, the goal is to keep it indefinitely. Definitely not looking at this as a fixer upper to flip. The way I see it there's 2 ways I can go about this process:
1) Have a mechanic bring the mechanics up to par, and then continue progress on my own as a learning opportunity
2) Just have everything done professionally

I think that all will depend on how much time I have to be able to spend on it, but it may be a combination of #1 and #2.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

But if you are going to pay for the mechanical restoration, that is going to require financial commitment on your part and when added up, will most likely be beyond the value of the car in its current state.

I'm not sure why this is relevant. If he takes a (free) car worth maybe 1k and puts 3k-4k into it and it's a decent DD, that's a 3-4k e46 which isn't bad in today's market.

What's the alternative--if he takes a car with one foot in the grave and pushes it all the way in, that's one less nice color, ZSP e46 coupe on the road and the cost of getting a similar one goes up accordingly.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

and puts 3k-4k into it

There's the rub. How much work does it need, and who decides the difference between need, should, want, could, ought to, might as well...

[Mani59]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

You are correct - I've never been much of a DIYer. I've owned mostly new cars for most of my life (with the exception of my first 2 cars - a 93 maxima and a 00 maxima). So the extent of my DIY experience is oil changes and spark plugs, and a few small cosmetic things like headlight replacement, and a tail tidy on a bike.

My brother in law who used to daily this car ended up buying an f13 650i coupe, then moved away - leaving this car at his parents house, who then refused to sell it for whatever reason (I'd qualify them as hoarders). But they also never drove it, and so it's been literally collecting dust.

If I do go through the process, the goal is to keep it indefinitely. Definitely not looking at this as a fixer upper to flip. The way I see it there's 2 ways I can go about this process:
1) Have a mechanic bring the mechanics up to par, and then continue progress on my own as a learning opportunity
2) Just have everything done professionally

I think that all will depend on how much time I have to be able to spend on it, but it may be a combination of #1 and #2.

I am very much like you in terms of I am not much of a DIY'er either.
Having said that, I have done some super basic stuff on my E39 like change out the parking sensors and such like.

My E46 (saloon) is a summer car only so does not get used much. I've probably spent about £3,000 on it in terms of maintenance, preventative maintenance, repairs and bodywork since I took ownership of it 3 years ago. As you can guess, my independent specialist looks after everything mechanically and whilst some things are expensive, I prefer for a professional to do it whilst safe in the knowledge that it has been done properly. As I mentioned though, I am not a DIY'er.

So I would go with option 2

Hopefully this may inspire you!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Mani59

I am very much like you in terms of I am not much of a DIY'er either.
Having said that, I have done some super basic stuff on my E39 like change out the parking sensors and such like.

My E46 (saloon) is a summer car only so does not get used much. I've probably spent about £3,000 on it in terms of maintenance, preventative maintenance, repairs and bodywork since I took ownership of it 3 years ago. As you can guess, my independent specialist looks after everything mechanically and whilst some things are expensive, I prefer for a professional to do it whilst safe in the knowledge that it has been done properly. As I mentioned though, I am not a DIY'er.

So I would go with option 2

Hopefully this may inspire you!

Thanks for that perspective! I share similar concerns with DIY... I'm not totally confident I can do things safely... Wouldn't want random parts falling out from underneath the engine bay while driving

Beautiful car btw.... inspiration for me!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

There's the rub. How much work does it need, and who decides the difference between need, should, want, could, ought to, might as well...

Yeah I mean the first step is to assess how much work is needed. If it ends up being $15k worth of work then of course I'd have to reassess. But I don't mind sinking a bit of money into it over the next couple years to rehab it, and then spending a bit on ongoing maintenance as a summer driver. As I mentioned above, I'm not really looking at this as an investment or a fixer upper to flip... I'm looking at this as something I'd like to keep and have a little fun with.

None of the work is a need or even a should. Everything is a want.

[smchuck]

Originally Posted by Mr Pete

Maintain it! I wish I still had my E46 330ci. Such a fantastic car even with the steptronic, but sounded amazing. God I miss it…

I have a 2017 240i that I’ve been taking to the track. As I’ve become more experience on the track the 230 just can’t keep up without some expensive mods. Instead, I recently purchased an e46 330 that was salvaged and I’ve been rebuilding. Will be a lot cheaper and overall better as a track car than the 230.

[noppon1412]

I used to have an E36, it was a very good car. And it looks beautiful all the time.

[W///]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yeah I mean the first step is to assess how much work is needed. If it ends up being $15k worth of work then of course I'd have to reassess. But I don't mind sinking a bit of money into it over the next couple years to rehab it, and then spending a bit on ongoing maintenance as a summer driver. As I mentioned above, I'm not really looking at this as an investment or a fixer upper to flip... I'm looking at this as something I'd like to keep and have a little fun with.

None of the work is a need or even a should. Everything is a want.

My first car was an E46 328i sedan (manual) and that's actually how I learned how to work on cars. Since it's a project car for you, you could start with the basics like all fluids and cooling system to begin with. It's not awfully difficult to do and there are plenty of DIY. I can't think of way to bond with a car.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by W///

My first car was an E46 328i sedan (manual) and that's actually how I learned how to work on cars. Since it's a project car for you, you could start with the basics like all fluids and cooling system to begin with. It's not awfully difficult to do and there are plenty of DIY. I can't think of way to bond with a car.

Yeah I'd like to do some of the basics on my own at least.

[Darth One]

That M54 is one of the smoothest engines you’ll ever have the pleasure of driving. And in one of the most classically beautiful coupe bodies, in the absolute best color (if I’m right that that’s topasblau). Buy-in is free, and you’re willing to learn to do the work. Where’s the downside?

The steptronic isn’t bad for a daily cruiser, and that thing is slow regardless, so who cares if it’s not manual?

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Darth One

That M54 is one of the smoothest engines you’ll ever have the pleasure of driving. And in one of the most classically beautiful coupe bodies, in the absolute best color (if I’m right that that’s topasblau). Buy-in is free, and you’re willing to learn to do the work. Where’s the downside?

The steptronic isn’t bad for a daily cruiser, and that thing is slow regardless, so who cares if it’s not manual?

No downside at all... except maybe my wife complaining about the 3rd garage spot being taken up. She doesn't get it...

[W///]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yeah I'd like to do some of the basics on my own at least.

Things I think you could easily learn to do: Plugs, valve cover gasket, fluids, cooling system

Things you could let mechanics take care of: Suspension refresh and bushings

The one thing I'd get checked before you get in too deep is the subframe mounting points for cracks. Should have been checked/fixed during the recall, but I'd have someone take a look at it before you get in too deep.

[bariszop]

It doesn't look bad, it just needs a big overhaul, especially the engine as it's been sat for years. wendy's lunch time surveyzop.com

[IcewaterPete]

You’ve gotta keep that one and fix it up. You’ll have a fun time doing it whether you do the work or have a pro do it. Just think of the fun you can have with that car!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by IcewaterPete

You’ve gotta keep that one and fix it up. You’ll have a fun time doing it whether you do the work or have a pro do it. Just think of the fun you can have with that car!

Yeah definitely planning to hold on to it... and definitely on my list of to-dos....