E46 318i(2.0) or E90 320i?

[tcboy]

Dear bros/sifus,As the title states, i am yet to own my UDM. I am currently in a dilemma torn between the E46 318i (2.0, N42B20 engine) or the E90 320i. Of course my decision is swaying towards the E46 as $$ is one the main factors.However i am also being adviced by friends to go for the later E90, as car is newer, thus less risk of failures. Being literally new to UMD owership; i would like to hear from sifus and your recommendations.Btw, I'm in Penang, if they are any bros/sis wanna let go their E46 do let me know

 

[siva93]

Hi tcboy! How do you do. I am not a pro sifu yet. haha. Just a beginner myself but I would love to share my experience ever since I came here. One thing you can do is do some research in this forum. Trust me it is going to be much faster than waiting for people to reply. Cause there are many threads in E46 and also E90. So it would be useful there.


However let's get back to the topic. Different people different opinion bro honestly. One will say e92 better. One more will say nah E60 better. One might even say E30 best. Get behind the wheel and feel for yourself, learn the mechanics and compare the difference. One more thing would be your budget. If you can list down exactly what is your budget then that can help you better.


Hence, if your still interested in E46. I did a survey comparing 318i and also 325i. I felt the 325i was much more better of course being a 2500cc engine but also that the owner well maintains the car. But when I test drive the 318i today, I was so depressed due to the lack of power for a 1800cc I felt it was terribly underpowered. If you don't mind paying for roadtax and fuel people suggested to me 3000. I also would recommend 3000cc but I would know myself yet. for now 325i.


Just my 0.001 cent

 

[tcboy]

yes, i agree poison everywhere. I'll definately be doing some reading as well.
As much as i yearn for a powerful 325, 330; the cost of road tax is not something i am willing to fork out. Hence the 318 2.0 is more of my choice.
You are right bro, i test drove the 318 1.9, and the car felt under powered. The later N42B20 and N46B20 engines in 318 would do fine as my daily communte. 2.0 is the max i'm willing to for now ...

Now, since I am considering my options of a used 9-10yr older E46, would that mean there is a likely higher risk of tranmission & enginer failures? as opposed to a newer 5 - 6 yrs old E90

 

[siva93]

yes, i agree poison everywhere. I'll definately be doing some reading as well.
As much as i yearn for a powerful 325, 330; the cost of road tax is not something i am willing to fork out. Hence the 318 2.0 is more of my choice.
You are right bro, i test drove the 318 1.9, and the car felt under powered. The later N42B20 and N46B20 engines in 318 would do fine as my daily communte. 2.0 is the max i'm willing to for now ...

Now, since I am considering my options of a used 9-10yr older E46, would that mean there is a likely higher risk of tranmission & enginer failures? as opposed to a newer 5 - 6 yrs old E90

Haha trust me there is much more poison that awaits us. Haha. Anyways if you feel that 1.9 is fine that its no problem.


Well you may find yourself in that problem if the car is not well maintained i guess? Am I right sifus??

 

[terry8]

I think you just missed Amoisky's 318 which was just sold and WingZee's great looking 325

 

[gendong]

to each his own bros..... take ur time, decide on what is right for you. all the best.

 

[siva93]

I think you just missed Amoisky's 318 which was just sold and WingZee's great looking 325

eh sky's 46 was 1.8??? Not 2.5 m sport?? But wingzee 46 was nice.........

 

[gendong]

Sky was a 2.0 bro. Her current ride is a 3.0

 

[astroboy]

Engine a side, E46 lower arm bushing seems prone to failure. E90 featured a completely redesigned lightweight lower arm assembly [used by F30 too] which seems to solve the lower arm bushing failure issue and of course, handling improved too.

E46 lower arm, existed since the creation of motor vehicle.

E90 lower arm, this is the future!

 

[wingzee]

Test drive both and come back with your side of story and then ask the rest of the abangs here.

Basically IMO, E46 is the last gen of raw BMW 3er driving experience. E90 is more refined and lack the "raw" feeling. But of course, refinement comes at a price, over 30-40k premium over the E46. The question is, since this is your first UDM, and you're not sure whether are you gonna keep it for long, is it worth plunging into the UDM world by getting a E90 which in some cases can get you 2 E46s, or just get a E46 which is twice cheaper compared to the E90? A normal non-M-sport 318 is as cheap as RM35k nowadays. Dilemma oh dilemma.

 

[mizhan]

Choose between the E90 320i and an E46 325i. Pls forget the E46 318i.

 

[astroboy]

I personally skipped E46, jumped from E36 to E90, that's where you will appreciate the noticeable advancement in automotive tech.

ABS for instance, is the 3rd generation, even though a Continental OEM product, pulse per sec is at such a high frequency that it hardly fight back with your leg. DSC is finally matured now and reacting at lightning speed to keep the vehicle safe, just to name a few. Oh! Forgot to mention the 2-stage air bag.. now u know why these later generation can get many stars in crash test results..

Should I continue with the RFT?! :4:

 

[AmoiSky]

Tcboy,

all i can is jangan menyesal kemudian hari.. My previous 318i is 2.0 coz Japan got the first facelift model then only Malaysia got it a year later. It was an okay car but when you go rempit/drive/trailing these people from behind, that's when you wonder why i did not get a bigger cc? Roadtax is only once a year commitment as compared to monthly commitment and for workshop visits.. Trust me, even if go for 325, it is still worth the rm8++ of roadtax. Why dont you divide the roadtax to 12 months? So, roadtax shouldn't be your major point to choose your dream car.. Some even said that the 318's parts are more expensive than a 325.. This you can search from e46 parts and service costs thread and do the comparison..

All the best and learn from others who learned the hard way, the truth about BMWs.. Good luck!!

P/s: get a 330 if you can stretch your budget or just settle for 325 first before you start venturing to the dark side.. Hehehe.. You will smell racunz everywhere in this forum..

 

[kw930]

Aside from the roadtax, how about the fuel consumption of E46 (especially 320 above)? Try searching the forum but seems like not much discussion on it. Heard from my friend that his E60 quite a heavy drinker (7-8km/l), so not so suitable as a daily use car.

 

[tcboy]

sweet! thank you to all the bros for the poison... ok, so now maybe i should be considering between E46 325i vs E90 320i ... lol

Anyway, I'm gonna try to test drive the 325, since it's a 6 cyclinder and thats one of the many joys of owning an ODM then decide again from there. Yes, i've also heard that a 325i can somewhat be more economical to run than a 318i in fuel consumption, is that true?

About the wear & tear on lower arm - are there any tell tale signs that I can look out for to spot a faulty one when i inspect the car for purchase? oil leakage marks maybe?

oh ya, somewhat i noticed when browing used E46; 9 out of 10 units have a very bad interior condition. The rubber/plastics on the door handle and trim looks very worn out and dry. The console area with the handbrake also have plastics peeling off. Is this normal for a 8 - 10 yr old car? or just a simple case of negligence from the previous owner.

 

[wingzee]

sweet! thank you to all the bros for the poison... ok, so now maybe i should be considering between E46 325i vs E90 320i ... lol

Anyway, I'm gonna try to test drive the 325, since it's a 6 cyclinder and thats one of the many joys of owning an ODM then decide again from there. Yes, i've also heard that a 325i can somewhat be more economical to run than a 318i in fuel consumption, is that true?

About the wear & tear on lower arm - are there any tell tale signs that I can look out for to spot a faulty one when i inspect the car for purchase? oil leakage marks maybe?

oh ya, somewhat i noticed when browing used E46; 9 out of 10 units have a very bad interior condition. The rubber/plastics on the door handle and trim looks very worn out and dry. The console area with the handbrake also have plastics peeling off. Is this normal for a 8 - 10 yr old car? or just a simple case of negligence from the previous owner.

I was clocking 11L/100km on average for my ex-E46. 9.xL/100km on highways. You can judge from there. Worn out bushings on lower arms can be detected by moving wheels on 12-6 direction and then 3-9. And yes interior panels worm out is common as subject to wear & tear. However, depends on how previous owner took care of it as well. My previous E46 looked just like brand new when I first got it. No peeling or whatsoever. The same for the original leather seats. No cracks or tear just normal usage marks.

All-in-all, if you wanted a balance between power & not paying that much of roadtax, your best bet is the E46 320i (2.2L 6cyl) or 325i (2.5L 6cyl). E90-wise the 320 is actually a 2.0L N46 engine hence 325i is your best option. RM874 roadtax per annum for the 2.5 is only RM2.50 per day. Less few packs of ciggies or some nasi lemaks or teh tarik should save you that amount of money every day.

 

[astroboy]

..

P/s: get a 330 if you can stretch your budget or just settle for 325 first before you start venturing to the dark side.. Hehehe.. You will smell racunz everywhere in this forum..

Terus E92 335i je.. if can't afford E92 4L //M3. If even that's too much, then next in line is E46 3.2L //M3 :4:

Must always remember to drive at the driver's comfortable pace, and not the car because they are many season drivers here that can reach destination way earlier than an //M car can, even with stock entry spec UDM.

For me, my stock 320i is capable of 200kph and yet, how often can I take corners at those speed? So do I need an even faster car?

Worry about people cucuk and want to out run others? don't stop at 328i or even 330i, refer to my 1st sentence above.. :4: