BMW E46 330ci

>>17726189
My brother has owned a '04 330ci for like five years now, great car. Keep on point with servicing and it'll run like a dream, but just make sure you or your mechanic check all the basic stuff before you buy it or you can end up paying an arm and a leg for genuine BE EM DOUBLEYOU parts.

all in all a fucking rad car. great engine, great road feel.

>>17726189
The m54 is pretty bulletproof.

for piece of mind I would do or the water pump, thermostat, ICV, PCV and coolant hoses. Then you will have no worries for about 60,000 miles.
If factoring that into the price puts it out of your budget look at a 328 or 325. both are really nice, have the same m54 engine with less displacement and can gain power with a tune and headers.

major thing on e46's is the subframe mounts tearing though. It isn't as big of a deal as people make it out; had a co worker with an m3 that drove a ripped floor for a year but it is a problem because its a hole in your chassis and rust can get in. reinforcement plates are cheap and can be epoxied in but be wary of it

>>17726189
make sure the subframe is ok and not cracked. make sure he's taken care of the cooling system. make sure it isn't rusted all to hell underneath.

>>17726189
This one has the engine that came before the N52 right? Reliable as all hell, you'll never have any trouble with it except for needing to replace the coolant hoses and water pump eventually.

>>17726241
Subframe should be fine man it's not an m3
Also
>rust on a 16 year old car
Maybe if he lives in fucking michigan or coastal maine

>>17726398
it's chicago. that's close enough.

>>17726494
I wasn't aware they salt their roads, then yeah check that undercarriage

>>17726398
It can still tear if its beat to fuck/hooned or everything is worn out and clunking/moving around.

>>17726231
About right, x2 being Chicago. It'll be easier to check just because you could see rust where it tore out if its torn. Also expect a open diff.

Personally I'd rather buy a MKV GTi. No point in a non ///M or E30 BMW.

>>17726189
it will never be an m3 though..
sprry kid

>>17726398
>michigan or coastal maine
or literally anywhere that gets snow, you fucking moron

>>17726991
You're a fucking autistic moron, fuck off
>hurr durr I'm gonna sperg out because he named two familiar places to represent salted roads