Knowing your E numbers is a rite of passage in BMW circles. No one talks about marks, so for the record, the 3 Series under the spotlight here is the E46 of 1999 to 2006 (or, whisper it, the Mk4).
Two decades on and the E46 is still a handsome car, while one in tip-top condition is very desirable. Saloon, coupé, convertible, estate (named the Touring) and even a hatchback (the Compact): there are as many bodystyles as there are days in the working week.
Convertibles are highly desirable, in plentiful supply and tipped to be future classics but saloons are most common. Petrols outnumber diesels, too, while gearboxes are split equally between automatic and manual.
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Prices range from £500 for giveaway diesels to £20,000 for the best low-mileage convertibles. Good runners are available from around £2500 and cars you won’t be embarrassed to park on your driveway from £5000.
If the high-performance M3 is too flash, there’s always the 330d Sport automatic, a Q-car if ever there was one with, depending on the model year, up to 201bhp and 288lb ft of torque. It can do 0-62mph in 7.4sec but really shows its colours through the gears, all while averaging 40mpg.
Its diesel sibling, the 320d, is more plentiful and, with 148bhp and 243lb ft, reasonably quick. Especially in London, where people are anxious to sell before the ULEZ is expanded to encompass everything within the North and South Circular roads, many are keenly priced, too. We saw a 2005 320d ES Touring with 125,000 miles, a full service history and no known faults on sale for just £850.
The diesels are good, but the petrols are better. The batting opens with a couple of four-pot tiddlers, the 316i and 318i, that are now few and far between. The fun starts with the six-cylinder 320i, which, from the 2000 model year, makes 168bhp. Then you have the slightly more powerful 323i and 328i that were discontinued in 2000 and replaced by the still more powerful 325i (189bhp) and 330i (228bhp). This last model can crack 0-62mph in 7.0sec while being turbine-smooth along the way.
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If my E39 is anything to go by the revised engines (2.5/3.0) are Euro4/ULEZ compliant.
As an owner of an e46 compact, there are some glaring obvious things you have missed.
The M54 straight sixes have oil recirculation problems. The Cylonic Crankcase Ventilation valve oftern fails creating a vacuum leak. The lower intake pipe often cracks, again creating a vacuum leak. The myriad of vacuum hoses deteriorate fast creating, you guessed it, vacuum leaks. These vacuum leaks lead to the oil control rings on the pistons to not be seated correctly so they increase oil blowby. As the CCV fails, this leads to rapidly increased oil consumption.
The Dual length Intake modulation valve (DISA) often fails causing a rattling idle and loss of low down power.
The VANOS unit (BMW's equivalent to Honda's VTEC system) often has perishing seals which causes an oil leak and increased consumption as well as loss of power at the top end.
The coolant expansion tank often cracks and creates a leak.
Radiators are known to bow and then crack which causes a coolant leak.
At this age, changing Oil Filter Housing gasket and Valve cover gasket would be a good thing to do, as these can perish leading to more oil leaks.
Interior wise, the Power Window Regulators are a known weak point and often fail. This can be very fiddly and annoying to replace. Other than that, it's quite basic (in a good way).
Most e46s will be absolute rust buckets. Check that before anything else. The compacts are built in a different factory and have different undersealing - they are actually quite resilient in comparison!
They are easy to work on though and there is a mass of parts and knowledge online and on the various fora