BMW E46's--An education is requested

TL,DR: What are the pros and cons of each variant of the E46 convertible? Problem points of each? Strong points? Big wear items? What should I look for during a test drive? Anything else?

After much deliberation, consideration, and internal debating, I had decided that my next car needs to be RWD, manual, and a convertible. For the sake of my relationship, it needs to be something that my fiancé is comfortable in driving long distances and that can fit all of our stuff. Since I have a habit of packing a guitar every time, this requires more space than a Corvette, S2000, or Z3/4 can supply.

My search for RWD, Convertible, Manual, with 4 seats led me to a disappointing, but not unexpected result of only Mustangs, Camaro’s, and BMW’s. Camaro’s are all too old or too expensive. Mustangs are too expensive for what I want. BMW’s? Well, there are a lot of those. And I like BMW’s.

With that in mind, I have decided that my next car will be an E46 convertible. So which one do I want? I’m open to any of them—323 all the way up to M3. Is there one that is a significantly better value than the others? Did they get better at a specific year? What are the pros and cons of each? Problem points of each? Strong points? Big wear items? What should I look for during a test drive?
I’ll be driving this about 80-160 miles a week, mostly highway. This will include winter driving. My only requirement is that the interior is NOT grey.

Also, what is the deal with the hardtops? How much are the used? Should I strive to find an example with hardtop included, or would I be okay finding one on craigslist, etc.?

TL,DR: What are the pros and cons of each variant of the E46 convertible? Problem points of each? Strong points? Big wear items? What should I look for during a test drive? Anything else?

E46 330xi auto sedan owner for 4 years, son drives it, we did the radiator, expansion tank, etc at 100K, did change a starter (under the intake) otherwise it has been perfect.

Our kid could learn to avoid potholes though.

The only E46 specific issue worth noting is that the '99-00 M52 cars (323/328) had an abnormally high rate of rear subframe mount failure. This was remedied in '01 with the switch to the M54 (325/330). There was a class-action lawsuit about it that led to a recall. E46 M3's are known to have some rod bearing issues, I think there may have even been a recall for that too. Coupes/convertibles have a weird tendency to crack the rear springs. Buy the newest one you can, they got better as they went along; a 6-speed was introduced across the range in '04. Hardtops are pretty damn expensive used, so if you can get one with the car that is not a bad thing at all.

Otherwise, typical BMW stuff. 100k cooling system, great to drive, etc.

I've had an '01 330ci vert for a couple years now. I've put 25k on it. A couple times the passenger air bag light came on. You need a scanner tool to reset it. My rear springs broke. They are expensive but easy to replace (specific to the vert with the sport package). My water pump went bad and just this week one of the idler pulley bearings went bad. Not trouble free, but not a big deal either.

So does that mean that a Vert without ZSP or ZHP won't have the broken spring issue, or are those not the "sport packages" that you're talking about? How much was it to replace?

In reply to mtn:

I'm not an expert, but the sport package lowered the car a little and used different wheels and tires. Its not the same as the other packages you mentioned, and I may be wrong but I don't think those were available in '01.
I think the broken spring problem isn't limited to the sport package vert, but again I could be wrong. I looked for other cheaper alternatives, but in the end I bought the correct springs for the application and they ran $280 for the pair.

Check this link out. But be aware that things changed year to year as well.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2001/bmw/3_series/packages_options/

No advice on the convertibles, but my '03 ZHP is nothing short of incredible. The handling, power and sound are truly amazing for something as practical as it is.

So far what I am learning is that I want an 04-06.

EDIT: I'm seeing that the 323's were offered with 15" wheels. Would those fit on the 325/328/330? In the winter, less wheel and more tire is a good thing.

IMO, I would go with a 330 or lower model rather than an M3, mostly because the M3 has a lot of differences from the lower end 3 series that can add up to many more dollars spent on the car.

We've had a 330i sedan that is at 97k miles now.

With these cars there isn't a huge amount to worry about. The cooling system has a few failure points, radiator, radiator expansion tank and water pump could possibly fail around 100k miles. The CCV system tends to gum up around that time too depending on how you drive the car. All of the struts and shocks were toast by 80k miles.

We had an alternator go, but it was in there for 10 years and 97k miles by the time it went.

mtn wrote: So far what I am learning is that I want an 04-06. EDIT: I'm seeing that the 323's were offered with 15" wheels. Would those fit on the 325/328/330? In the winter, less wheel and more tire is a good thing.

I use a 16" wheel for my wife's snow tires on her 330i and I don't think anything smaller will fit.

What is the [non-dealer] cost to replace the cooling system?

Parts are between $400-600 depending on what you replace, figure for non-dealer to replace all of the parts would be $1000 total parts and labor.

Watching this thread with extreme interest. I'm in the hunt to replace my departed Miata. Due to our recent relocation and other changes in life, while I haven't ruled out a 2 seater, a 4 seater will be infinitely more useful and practical. I don't have to have RWD, but want something that handles really well. My DD is a '10 Prius and that's cars' handling is fantastically dreadful. Most FWD 4 seat convertibles have some fun factor from beinga 'vert, but are fairly limp wristed handling....Sebring, Volvo, etc... MINI is a ton of fun, but reliability is ????

For RWD, my thoughts are exactly the same as mtn. I want to keep my budget to $10k or less. A Camaro in that price range will be old/beat, same for the Mustang (and the Fox/SN95 interior is uber-cheap feeling/looking). A Wrangler would be fun for family use, but obviously have zero handling characteristics. So that leaves me with BMW. I know an E46 'vert would be a great solution if I can find a good example in my price range. As long as the suspension is not worn, how is the handling feel? I don't expect them to feel like the Miatas, MR2s or even 'Vettes I'm used to, but want it to put a smile on my face.

They handle well overall. The E46 is a good platform, even the vert feels pretty tight. The car is setup to understeer pretty heavily from the factory, but that's mostly because all the wheel setups come staggered. On the street though you'll find that it has good steering feel and the suspension is comfortable, but also communicative. The sport package or ZHP package is recommended for enthusiasts as it is a little firmer setup, but only in a good way. For the manuals you want to remove the clutch delay valve.

For the convertible the added weight of the top and mechanical hardware for raising and lowering it as well as a little bit of trunk space loss are the drawbacks.

I did all the shocks and struts on my wife's car as well as lower control arms and lower control arm bushings (the kit I bought had the control arms included so I just swapped them, it didn't really need them done at that time) at 85kish and at 97k it rides like new.

I would avoid the 99-01s (323, 328, early 330). There are a lot of little things that were changed, and personally I think the "facelift" looks better, at least on the sedans.

I was looking for a 330i, but I caved when I found a really good condition 325i for a good price. I love it. I've had it for over a year, and I wouldn't even consider selling it, which is something significant for me. Usually by now I'm looking for the next car.

They look great with the 255/35/18 ZHP meat out back

If there is one thing I hate about the ZHP it is those wheels. Cleaning them is such a bitch and they are really really heavy.

Let's throw performance out the window for right now, because I'm sure that any of them will be plenty fast and fun around the on-ramps. This is 99.99% a daily driver. Is there a compelling reason NOT to get the ZSP or ZHP packages? Does one package eat tires for some reason?

Harvey wrote: If there is one thing I hate about the ZHP it is those wheels. Cleaning them is such a bitch and they are really really heavy.

Yes cleaning them is a royal PITA

mtn wrote: Let's throw performance out the window for right now, because I'm sure that any of them will be plenty fast and fun around the on-ramps. This is 99.99% a daily driver. Is there a compelling reason NOT to get the ZSP or ZHP packages? Does one package eat tires for some reason?

I have never heard of any issues particular to the various sport or performance packages. If anything the changes are fairly minor for the sport package. The ZHP package is a little bit more involved, but again it's tweaks to everything rather than major changes.

At the same time my E36 DD is getting crappier and higher miles, I keep seeing E46's getting more reasonable in price. So this is relevant to my interests (except for the convertible part). Lots of good information so far.

I highly recommend ZSP (aka sport package) because the sport seats are SUBLIME. They also came with different wheels and slightly firmer suspension, but that's it. ZHP had quite a few more upgrades and is worth a lot more as a result.

To answer your question about the 15" wheels: they will fit anything except a 330/M3. 323/325/328 all had the same brakes, but 330 and M3 had bigger brakes that will only clear 16's or bigger.

My brother had a ZHP and loved it. Look at it as a middle step between the comfy, but soft 330i, and the harder, more visceral M3. His only issue was it only got 25mpg or so, and he has a long commute. (100 miles per day)

It's hard to ignore E46 cars, as they provide a great driving experience with an interior far superior to the E36 and E30 cars.

Joe Gearin wrote: My brother had a ZHP and loved it. Look at it as a middle step between the comfy, but soft 330i, and the harder, more visceral M3. His only issue was it only got 25mpg or so, and he has a long commute. (100 miles per day) It's hard to ignore E46 cars, as they provide a great driving experience with an interior far superior to the E36 and E30 cars.

How fast is he driving? My roundtrip commute is, for now, 80 miles a day 2 days a week, and 14 miles a day 3 days a week.