Hi guys, I need some information on this car, a BMW 330CI E46. For those of you who have knowledge on this & experience driving the beast, please help me.

If done a few surveys & the the 2nd hand price is around 80-100k depending on year & condition of the car. Im interested in a Automatic transmission. Can you guys help me out by telling me what would I be expecting if I purchase this car.

Firstly how much would Roadtax & Insurance cost for 1 year? How much for a full tank of fuel & how far can I go, assuming i'm light footed. Wear n tear of the car, rims, tires, maintainance, service, brake pads, engine oil, etc. I may have missed out many things, I would appreciate if you could help me through this.

I've looked at 4 cars lately, Civic 2.0, Lancer 2.0, RX-8, BMW330ci. All cars are priced at about the same range.

This post has been edited by Papercut117: Apr 24 2012, 07:10 PM

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1412292

ask here, bmw drivers.

road tax for 3.0 is about RM2k a year
tires for 17"-18" usually RM500-800 per piece.

are you going to be light footed? then just get a 318Ci will do

318i is underpowered. I believe if you drive it with a light foot, it wont move at all. An ex-colleague of mine says his e46 318 consumes more fuel than his old E36 328i, coz he always have to gun the throttle to make it move. I'd say 325 is more balanced in terms of power/fc/roadtax.

Oh btw, be prepared to fork out money for around 7L of fully-synthetic engine oil for each service

Get roadtax from Sarawak then

only civic and lancer in the same group. the rest totally different. so pls make up ur mind..what criteria that u'r looking for or the main purpose of u buying the car.

2K a year for Roadtax & Insurance together? Well i'm not going to be light footed all the time, the car is a beast, will speed at times also. Im currently driving a Satria, this will remain as my work car & the BMW will be my weekend/travelling car.

How much would it cost for a full tank and how far can I go on average? What do I need to change from time to time and how much would it cost? How is the wear n tear of the car like? From what I heard the air cond compressor costs a bomb. I would appreciate if you guys could include the price as well.

I know the Civic, Lancer, RX-8, BMW dont fit in the same category, but its in my list as price range is about the same. I love the BMW the most as its comfy, powerful, and looks awesome.

This post has been edited by Papercut117: Apr 25 2012, 07:05 AM

if you're financially very good then you may get it as you wish...but if financially just so and so better dont...once it break down..ur pocket gonna be a big hole and a few days you dont have a car to drive...

lancer & civic is the safest

330i maintenance will you instantly with its sudden gb problem,valvetronic problem & even engine wear(shot-lived engine parts) problem

Financially I would say i'm fine. I recently switched jobs, thats why im confident into purchasing a new car. The reason why BMW is on the list is because most likely its going to be a 9 year loan that i'm taking, so better take a good car. I already have a Satria which is being used daily for work, so the next car I buy is going to be used maybe twice a week only, just a weekend car.

I am aware that BMW maintenance is higher than Civics & Lacers, but my question is how much more? I've got a reliable workshop, workmanship costs should be low, just parts and frequency is im worried about.

This post has been edited by Papercut117: Apr 25 2012, 03:52 PM

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/foru...play.php?71-E46

all you need to know about e46 maintenance.

2k is only for the road tax.
good idea driving a proton daily and keeping high performance bimmer as weekend car.

i'd say the safest is to keep at least RM10k for maintenance of your car in the first year. when you are comfortable you can slowly use for mods.

best if you get the facelift version, if im not wrong year 2003-2006 for coupe. but very rare here.

pre FL on sale at BCM
http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/show...0ci-E46-UK-Spec

safer if get from direct owner, you know lah second hand car dealers.

This post has been edited by phas3r: Apr 25 2012, 04:46 PM

LOL. No money to pay road tax don't buy a 3.0 litre engine car. MyVi road tax is only RM90 (buy that instead)

This post has been edited by clawhammer: Apr 26 2012, 03:48 PM

im also pretty keen on getting a ci...but not the 330. was thinking of the 318 or 325 but i keep hearing horror stories on the gearboxes and another thing, the M series engines are more reliable then the N. thats what i heard anyways.

E46 6 cylinders all m54

N52 only on e9x

N42 and N46 are used on the E46 as well

so ex meh... my dad sold his last month 2001 at RM50k only

erm those cars with more than 10 years old still able to get loan ? even if its still managed to get loan, the downpayment should be quite high rite ? if the car is a 2 doors car, it will be even harder to get loan rite ? do correct me if im wrong. cheers

All cars would have a possibility of gearbox failure. If you're worried about this, buying a new car with warranty is the best solution

that may be true but the gearbox issue seems to be pretty common with the model. they dont sell new e46 anymore do they?

get a proper sports car if u want a weekend car, since u already have a daily drive. i assume u don't have much cash in hand, because u said u'll be taking a loan to buy the car, i'd advice u to save up some cash and buy something like a S2000 or a toyota MR2. these are easy and cheap to maintain cars. if u are not afraid of a challenge, the RX7 is the best

If you're looking for one, get this http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/show...0ci-E46-UK-Spec

Very well maintained for a 2001 car. Plenty of goodies (Bilstein B8, M3 SMG steering wheel /w paddle shifts, sunroof etc). 228-231bhp at your disposal. You can never go wrong with a 6cyl bimmer.

Full tank capacity is 63L with 8L being reserve IINM. Full tank? Do your math.

Owner is a BMW enthusiast and has a F10 350d and just recently acquired a 335i hence letting go of the 330Ci.

Test driven the car before gotten my 325i. Could not got my loan approved and roadtax is bit on the high side thus have to let it pass.

FYI, max loan tenor is 4 years with only 80% MOF. Interest rate is at 5-7% pa depending on bank.

On another note, if you are concerned about maintenance costs and parts, definitely higher than the Japs.

Speaking from experience of owning both a Jap and a conti.

Refer here for information on prices for parts replacement/repairs http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/show...tenance/page124

Good luck!

This post has been edited by teikwing: Apr 26 2012, 11:23 PM