Should i swap out e46 that's given by parents to e39???

[anthonyhor]

Hi everyone, i'm now a uni student, and going to graduate end of this year, and start working next year...

After my mum upgraded from an e46 to an e60, she passed down her e46 318i (pre-facelift) to me...And im supposed to be driving the car to work for the next few years at least, but i got a thought about should i request to swap my current car to an e39??

Reasons not to swap:
1) less hassle (no need to hunt for another car, procedures and stuff) :smokin:
2) less maintenance for e46 compared to e39?? (if i were to change to an e39, it will be either 2000-2500cc range models: 520i, 523i, 525i) :stupid:

Reasons to swap:
1) e39 is one heck sweet ride :rock:
2) I'm very tall (over 6 feet ), and whenever i'm driving in my comfortable position, the passenger seat behind me will be useless as i'll need to adjust the seat all the way back for my leg to extend properly in an e46, thus need to cramp myself into a weird and uncomfortable position when fetching people around. :argh:
3) I already have the planning to get an e39 after i'm able to buy a first car by myself
4) it seems like kind of no point for me to be spending money on my current ride as i really dont plan to keep it really long, and these are the few issues in my current ride that's pending to be fixed: aircond coil clogged, low air flow and not aircond not cooling enough(need remove dashboard and sort it out,compressor seems to be still working), alarm system change (previous owner die die installed a china alarm system that doesnt work well with e46, delayed lock and everything), minor gear jerking for 3-5 minutes after more than one day didnt drive the car or when weather is cold (any idea what might be the prob, or is it normal??), some plastics in interior breaking (which i'd rather spend the money replacing interior on a car that i will be and want to keep long)

That's all i can think of right now, and hoping sifus here can help me look at this situation in ways that i left out that i should consider... :stupid:

Thanks in advance...

 

[tckhor]

Anthony,
I am surprised that a 21 year old like you is going for an E39. Seems like you are going old school with an E39.
A well kept E39 is not far from many of the current cars even today. Get rid of the E46 which is giving you so many problems and step up to a well-maintained E39. Also, the prices of E39s are getting very low now in the second hand market but their condition needs to be closely scrutinized.
You will definitely enjoy the sweet ride offered by an E39 as you mentioned. Good luck in your search.

 

[jarance]

father and son talking?

Anthony, your mum is going to be upset when you sell her car.

Aircon can be fixed for less than RM500 if the cooling coil is not leaking.

Take out the alarm if it is giving you problem. The immobilizer for a BMW is good enough to stop the thief.

For the GB, change the ATF and filter first. Maybe will cost you about RM600 to RM800.

Charge the above bill to your mum and pay her back when you get your first paycheck.

 

[Herbert]

My comments and/or suggestions:

1. e46. At least the conditions and/or repairs of the car are known. Surprised that the car wasn't properly maintained by your parent at the time when your mom was using it. Interior of the car can be fully restored and you need to budget about RM 5k to 6k for both interior and other repairs (air-con, mechanical etc etc).

2. e39. Obviously the e39 is a much more spacious compared to the e46. Having said that, e39 (six cylinders) would be more expensive to maintain for example general service (about 7.5 litres of lube). Would be rather difficult to find a well maintained e39 and even if you do find one, the e39 would be at least 13 to 16 years and many critical mechanical/electronics parts would have degraded and need replacement. To save cost you can do the replacement as and when it fails but then you would be visiting the workshop on a weekly basis. Another option is do up the car once and for all and for this, you would need about RM 8k to 10k.

3. Overall, the maintenance (general service, repairs & fuel consumption) of e46 would be lower than that of e39. Since you are just about to start work next year, take whatever spare time you can spare now and send the e46 for repair. If you need assistance as to the recommended workshops and/or tech knowledge, just post your questionnaires here.

 

[beemerback]

i agree with Herbert.

Any E39 in the market is not a new car. You could be spending more on repairs on a devil that you don't know.

Once you have graduated, save enough cash for downpayment and get a new car with 5 years warranty and service.