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Thread: Are post facelift E46 316i and 318i engines trash compared to previous enginges?

  1. #1
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    Question Are post facelift E46 316i and 318i engines trash compared to previous enginges?

    Hello everyone,

    Me and my brother are looking for our first car. However our budget is rather small and we don't want to drive an ugly ass car. The BMW E46 series (316i and 318i) is right within that budget and taxes on them (in Belgium) are rather ok. We both love cars, but we don't know shit about engines and the mechanical side of cars. We found a ton of E46 316i's and 318i's, almost all of them are the facelifted models. My brothers asked one of his friends who is really into the mechanical side of cars, especially BMW. He said that the facelifted models of 316i and 318i (2002 and so on) have trash engines that very often need repairs and replacements, he said to never buy a car with that engine.

    This leads to me wondering, is this true? Are those engines not worth buying? Need some advice from the pros! I look to spend at least 5 or more years with the car and obviously the least amount of costs.

    The prefacelifted models are a bit harder to find and I'm not sure if they are the Euronorm that I'm looking for.

    If anyone knows what Euronorm a 2001 BMW 316i/318i is from the beack of their head, please let me know.

    TIA,
    Arthur

  2. #2
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    It's true, those engines have lots of problems. The pre-facelift 4-cylinders are a bit better but lack power. Why not get a 6-cylinder?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raddee View Post
    It's true, those engines have lots of problems. The pre-facelift 4-cylinders are a bit better but lack power. Why not get a 6-cylinder?
    The problem is most 6 cilinders have 2000+cc. Tax on 2.1 is pretty ok but tax on 2.2 is instantly a bit more and my brother doesn't really want that. (As we split tax costs)

    Currently we are looking at some 318CI's, unfortunatley the prefacelift model only produces 118hp.
    Last edited by HeavenlyGoon; 08-18-2018 at 05:37 AM.

  4. #4
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    I’d go with a facelift model then. All cars have issues. The key is to find a bimmer that’s been properly maintained.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
    I’d go with a facelift model then. All cars have issues. The key is to find a bimmer that’s been properly maintained.
    How can you tell if it's well maintained. Currently looking at a 2000 320CI, 6 cilinders, 1991cc (tax advantage) and 150hp. Found one that has very clean exterior and interior (155.000km), but how do I tell if the engine is well maintained. The one I'm talking about is currently being sold by third owner, says he had oil change done in 2017, new water cooler, expansion tank, hoses, coolant. Says engine and transmission are in very good condition, only problem is a small hole in the catalyst.

    Sorry for being an absolute dummy about this.

  6. #6
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    The first thing to do is to ask for maintenance records. These will tell you how well the car has been maintained. The key issues are:
    - miles between oil/filter changes (10k kms is ideal)
    - coolant changes (60k kms)
    - changes in driveline lubricants (60k kms)
    - general condition of the car including the interior and the engine compartment

    Generally, when the owner maintains the mechanicals properly the owner will maintain the whole car properly.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
    The first thing to do is to ask for maintenance records. These will tell you how well the car has been maintained. The key issues are....
    Thanks a lot for this answer!

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