If i wanna get a second hand E46, what kind of condition of car i should really look?

[Chris_will57]

IC...thanks for all the info ... It really gives a BIG helping hand

Cheers!!

 

[acidburn]

Hmmmm..... I'm from Penang...And i dont not know any foreman... Can someone recomend me ?

Dont worry about Penang lah...Lots of shops u can walk in...The most well known is "CS". He used to work with AB service centre bout 20 years and now open and run by his own. :listen: Once u join the monthly TT, u will find lots of useful information sharing by the uncle, aunty and the old timers who had used BMW for > 20 years. :top:

 

[QD250]

Brother,

good luck on your search. Anyway, buying a car is like getting married. You can't expect 100% perfect. Even a perfect wife also got flaws what......

 

[alxy]

Bro Chris, u definitely need to do a lot of research if you want the best odds of not getting a lemon. Otherwise it will be down mostly to your luck. I have always liked bimmers and knew a fair bit about them already before I got mine. And even before getting mine, I already had my mechanic in mind already (thanks to my other bimmer owning friends). So that helped a lot in that I could bring the car for him to check before I confirmed the purchase.

I guess what you need to do is find out more about BMW in general, so that you really know what you want and what to look for. You say 318 now, but maybe after some time, you would be hankering for a 325 at least

Then find a reputable mechanic. Ask your friends if you don't know anyone. That will help a lot when you think you have found your dream car.

Lastly, DO NOT MAKE A RASH DECISION! That one is hardest of all. I know I myself almost made a few impulse decisions on the spot. The lure of the blue and white propeller is hard to resist. But you have to if you want to avoid making a costly mistake. Remember one thing: cars will only drop in price as time goes on, so why rush to make a decision? Trust me, there are lots of cars out there, you just need to make the effort to find them.

Good luck bro!

 

[Chris_will57]

Dont worry about Penang lah...Lots of shops u can walk in...The most well known is "CS". He used to work with AB service centre bout 20 years and now open and run by his own. :listen: Once u join the monthly TT, u will find lots of useful information sharing by the uncle, aunty and the old timers who had used BMW for > 20 years. :top:

Where / who is "CS" .... n what is AS service centre? Is the some term or a name ?Sorry coz i'm totally new in automotive world... And really thanks for everyone here who is willing to give so much of info n guide me ...

 

[Chris_will57]

Brother,

good luck on your search. Anyway, buying a car is like getting married. You can't expect 100% perfect. Even a perfect wife also got flaws what......

Bro QD250.... I do agree with you ...dont worry . I'm not looking for 100% perfect ... just to get some knowledge and know more about my "wife" so that i can get a better "marriage" haha... Thanks

 

[Chris_will57]

Bro Chris, u definitely need to do a lot of research if you want the best odds of not getting a lemon. Otherwise it will be down mostly to your luck. I have always liked bimmers and knew a fair bit about them already before I got mine. And even before getting mine, I already had my mechanic in mind already (thanks to my other bimmer owning friends). So that helped a lot in that I could bring the car for him to check before I confirmed the purchase.

I guess what you need to do is find out more about BMW in general, so that you really know what you want and what to look for. You say 318 now, but maybe after some time, you would be hankering for a 325 at least

Then find a reputable mechanic. Ask your friends if you don't know anyone. That will help a lot when you think you have found your dream car.

Lastly, DO NOT MAKE A RASH DECISION! That one is hardest of all. I know I myself almost made a few impulse decisions on the spot. The lure of the blue and white propeller is hard to resist. But you have to if you want to avoid making a costly mistake. Remember one thing: cars will only drop in price as time goes on, so why rush to make a decision? Trust me, there are lots of cars out there, you just need to make the effort to find them.

Good luck bro!

Thanks Bro alxy,

I know what should i do now ... The things tat i can do now is know a foreman, shop as much as car dealer i as i can so that i will know the different of a car whether its a good car o not, n also join the TT session n learn more about BMW 1st... is it what i need n what i can do now ? i mean for this early stage? ( Correct me if i misunderstand anything about how i can start)

N i do agree that ppl will make a rash decision ... few month b4 i was just doing research n almost 90 % going to buy a Mazda RX-8.... but after a few days of thinking i've made up my mind what kind of car that i really wan n what kind of car that i really need.

 

[Chris_will57]

Oh..i at least know that AB stand for Auto Bavaria... but still dont know what is CS tht u mean brother acidburn

 

[alxy]

Thanks Bro alxy,

I know what should i do now ... The things tat i can do now is know a foreman, shop as much as car dealer i as i can so that i will know the different of a car whether its a good car o not, n also join the TT session n learn more about BMW 1st... is it what i need n what i can do now ? i mean for this early stage? ( Correct me if i misunderstand anything about how i can start)

N i do agree that ppl will make a rash decision ... few month b4 i was just doing research n almost 90 % going to buy a Mazda RX-8.... but after a few days of thinking i've made up my mind what kind of car that i really wan n what kind of car that i really need.

Yup! That's the gist of it! Just to get you started, if you limit your search to just the E46 318, then know that there are 2 engines you can get. For the pre-facelift, it would be 1.9l and face-lift would be 2.0l. Big difference in power figures.

 

[Chris_will57]

Thanks !!! Anyway...lately couldn't open the whole BMWClub website, don't know is my browser problem or what ? Anyway that's for the info Bro alxy... mind to tell me the different of this pre-facelift and face-lift? Thanks... And c u guys all TT ..Chaos

 

[alxy]

Thanks !!! Anyway...lately couldn't open the whole BMWClub website, don't know is my browser problem or what ? Anyway that's for the info Bro alxy... mind to tell me the different of this pre-facelift and face-lift? Thanks... And c u guys all TT ..Chaos

Quite a bit of difference le. Besides the engine which I mentioned, externally also different. Main thing is the eagle-eye for the facelift (not to be confused with angel-eye). Best thing is, go and have a look for yourself!

 

[Chris_will57]

Ok... Will look for it !! ^_^

 

[acidburn]

Hello my little chris_will57

Please click at below link and I explain to u what is the different between pre-facelift and facelift E46.
http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=408&page=180

1. ACS-3 E46 - Facelift
2. SMG E46 - Facelift
3. Lemonade E46 - pre-facelift ( Look at front nose, front boot, front light and signal )
4. Breyton E46 - pre-facelift ( Short nose, straight bonet, light angle, down signal )
5. M Sport E46 - Facelift ( wide nose, slanted bonet, light angle, tick signal )

 

[astroboy]

Let me lend a hand here... I got tired of clicking in and out..

1. ACS-3 E46 - Facelift

2. SMG E46 - Facelift

3. Lemonade E46 - pre-facelift ( Look at front nose, front boot, front light and signal )

4. Breyton E46 - pre-facelift ( Short nose, straight bonet, light angle, down signal )

5. M Sport E46 - Facelift ( wide nose, slanted bonet, light angle, tick signal )

I hate to hijack this thread man... but mind if I ask why the last 2 cars' wheel fender gap is different? The maroon Breyton is a litttle to low for KL road and my main entrance ramp. While the M-Sport wheel fender gap is just nice. I believe they both on 18" wheels..

 

[acidburn]

Hey astroboy,

FYI the maroon breyton is using 19" rims with eibach sports spring.
While the M-sport is using stock M-Sport spring with 18" rims.
Others illusion might come from pre-facelift + M-Tech I bumper and
facelift + SMG II Bumper.

 

[astroboy]

I saw an E46 SMG 325i yesterday. From the outside is just a subtle unimpressive dark blue M-Sport look but the silvery reflective pedals behind the steering caught my attention. On closer examination, it has a pedal shifter behind the steering and the gear knob is like a manual stick except the top is imprinted with -,+,R,N

I was told that's not an automatic car, instead its an SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox). The reflective polished metal finish surrounding the gear knob is so eye catching. Cool!

How much do these baby cost?

Something like this but its without the //M la.

 

[astroboy]

Part of my technical consideration on E46.

I notice the earlier CKD E46 comes with this and after goggling around, got to know this thing is called "Air Pump". After 2002, BMW decided to exclude this. It seem the primary use of the air pump system is to clean the exhaust fume in the exhaust manifold so the emission is cleaner. The complete system comes with an air filter, few hoses, valve, air pump, motor, bla.. bla.. bla... :stupid:

The UDM itself already got so many things to maintain and I really don't need another environmental friendly gadget in the car that does not help the performance of the car and will cost thousands to repair or maintain.

Has anyone remove this from their 2001-2002 E46?

Does this thing help or adversely affecting the performance of the car?

 

[acidburn]

Hey astroboy,

FYI normal E46 also can fix up the pedal shifter. It is not a big deal seems only 2 wires parallel from shiftronic gear which was +/- and hook up at pedal shifter left and right and attach to your steering. Wallaaaa....!! Just switch your gear knob to S Mode......But don't expect the pick up like SMG lah... Its still shiftronic version at different location.