Hello, and some questions...

[TonyAngel]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and have just been bitten by the bug. I recently found myself shopping for a car for my son. We'd been looking for an old model Cherokee because it was in our price range and reputedly tough; but, my son has always loved BMW's. I've been telling him that getting one that we could afford would likely leave us spending a lot of time spending money and working on it, so he just accepted that a BMW was out of the question.

While shopping for a Cherokee, I ran across a 2001 325i with less than 75K miles on it being sold by the original owner. I checked things out and it isn't perfect, but they let me have it for $2K. I figured at that price, if it only runs for six months until he leaves for college, I'll just consider it a disposable car. I left my truck at their home and drove the 325 home to get my wife. All I can say is WOW. No, it isn't particularly quick, but it certainly has enough power to get you moving with traffic and man, does it handle.

So, now I have the bug. I think I've decided that I want to get some flavor of E46. What I'm leaning toward is some variant of the 330. My question is, is there any particular reason why I should avoid a 330 and just stick with a 325? Is there that much of a difference between the 330 and 325? I know that manuals are the preferred transmission, but are the autos really that bad?

[dworthy]

Welcome to the Forum!

2k for a MY-01 with 75k on the dash is a steal, or too good to be true. Even so with the money you will not be spending there's a lot you can do that is preventative to make the car run for another 75k pretty much worry free.
The main difference between the 325i and 330i is about 40hp, and perhaps lower insurance rates for the 325i. Also if you like to see what the car came with, plug in your last 7 digits of the vin here: www.bmwvin.com

A few question for you:
How much do you like to DIY?
Do you have basic hand tools?
Is there a local euro shop?

Parts at times can be a little hard to get and you may have to wait a day or 2 for local stores to get them in, but of course there is always amazon.

[TonyAngel]

dworthy, thanks for the welcome and the information. In answer to your questions, I'll say that I don't "like" to DIY, but will do what is necessary. I really don't believe it paying someone else to do something that I can do myself. I just recently had to yank the tranny out of my truck to have it rebuilt, then put it back in. As for tools, I have a pretty good assortment to include a nice size compressor and a decent selection of air tools. Been working on cars most of my life. Driveway mechanic, so to speak. There are a couple of euro shops near me that are reputed as being trustworthy.

As for the 325i that I just bought, "too good to be true" popped into my head as well; but on inspection, I found a minor (for now) oil leak that looks to be coming from the rear crank seal. There was too much oil in it and I suspect that was the cause. The control arm bushings seem like a change wouldn't hurt and this morning I noticed, when my son first started the car, that the cooling fan came on immediately. It's been a long time since the days of my youth and messing with BMWs, but I suspect, maybe, the water pump is going out. I'm guessing, $500 in parts. The car is still very tight though. No rattles or squeaks, not even when you close the doors with the windows down. The sunroof even operates very smoothly with no hesitation or jerking.

The car was literally owned by a lady who only drove the car to work, 1 mile away, everyday from the time she first bought the car in 2000. That is, until she bought her 5 series a few years ago. Since then the 325 has been relegated to "spare car" duty.

BTW, can you recommend a good bang for the buck code reader?

Thanks.

[dworthy]

The common spot for oil leaks are in order of failure:
1) Valve cover gasket
2) Oil Filter housing gasket
3) Oil pan gasket

I would use the mirror to look at the back of the head, as there is where it will start to seep, and this can look like a rear main seal going bad. Anything less than 1/2 a quart over is not a big deal, I would worry if it's 1/2 an inch above the "FULL" line.

The control arm bushing are very common to go bad, AKA the FCAB's. I have seen them fail at 60k, so that was to be expected. I would replace them with the following quality manufacturers: Lemfoerder or Meyle. Stay away from URO parts, as they seem like quality, but fail at a surprising rate.

If the A/C is switched on, the electrical fan will come on right away, also is this an auto or 5-speed?

I have a pocket reader, however if you want more than just the plain jane codes, I would suggest INPA. Normally all you need is a laptop and a cable, most sellers on Ebay who sell the D-CAN cable sells INPA with it.

[TonyAngel]

dworthy, thanks again. It's an auto, and yes, A/C was on. The car is running good, but I do have a light on. I'm gonna look into D-CAN + INPA. Seems like my Surface Pro is gonna come in handy as a diagnostic tool too. All I need to do now is get my own E46.

[MIKYZZ4]

If you are a smartphone owner and prefer a quick, easily accessible, handheld scan tool:http://support.mycarly.com/knowledge...app-fro-carly/

[TonyAngel]

MIKYZZ4, thank you very much! Those are also very reasonably priced.

[E36ic4Me]

I myself have both, a 325ci auto and a 330ci manual. The 325 is my daily driver, cruiser. It's quick enough and the auto is just fine. The 330 is noticeably zippier and the manual makes it more engaging. I love and respect both but if you want something a bit peppier, get the 330.

[TonyAngel]

Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but it was Mardi Gras season where I am and that is a busy time for me. Thanks for all of the advise. I'm just currently spending time trying to teach my son to keep his 325i running and doing some maintenance on it. I'm still keeping an eye out for a "toy" for myself. I've run across a few 330 manuals that have over 170,000 miles on them and they're asking around $3K. I still haven't run across that deal that I just can't say no to. My shopping has also resulted in a broadening of what I'm interested in. I've seen a couple of IS300s that looked interesting, as well as a few Miatas. I'm only looking at the Miatas because I have friends that have them just to run on our local track and they are, apparently, having a kick in the butt with them.

[diArdi]

I'm new to the e46 with my '06 325ci vert. I'm loving it and it's been a winter where I could drive home from work with the top down at least a few days a week. It's auto, which wasn't my first choice, but it isn't bad. Mine had 131,000 when I bought it in Nov. for $6500 and it looks and runs great! Just been doing some PMs and enjoying life with the top down again. If you are looking at Miatas, I would encourage you to look at Z3s. I had a '99 Z3 manual when I lived in Santa Barbara and I don't know if I'll ever enjoy a car as much as I did that one! To my mind, a more classic roadster look that the Miata, (or Z4, in my opinion), and just a blast to drive.

[TonyAngel]

I have looked at the Z3s, although I just bought an '06 E90. Honestly, now that the newness is wearing off, I've found myself absently thinking about selling it and getting an E46. The only redeeming factor to me, about the E90 325i, is that I can put a 330 manifold on it and boost horsepower significantly. Eh, I don't know what I'm going to do. Fact of the matter is that my new business is up and running in the black now, so I'm bored.

I really like the E46. The E90 is newer and more powerful, but....get this....I was walking out of the grocery store tonight with bags of groceries and was absently walking toward my car. Halfway paying attention, I walked up to a car hitting my FOB button to unlock the doors and heard doors unlock on the other side of the car that I was standing in front of, which was a Honda Accord. So...what does that tell you?

Anyway, congrats on the new car. If this is your first romp with the E46, take a look at the threads regarding the cooling system and pulleys.