Would This Car Scare You?

It made the girl on the porch cry...

Joey

I think (and I may be wrong here, as I'm not as versed on the E46 variants) that the 323i in the US was a 2.5L, imisleadingly numbered so as to create sufficient "space" between it and the 328i. When the 328i gave way to the 330i, the 323i became the 325i but retained the 2.5L engine. I do not believe there was a 2.3L I6 E46 offering in the US.

Would the 323 be better on gas mileage than the larger engined cars? This car would not be a track or autocross car, just a daily driver.

you are right, 02Pilot.. the 323 is really a 325.

I find it funny all these BMWs needed new window regulators. I was told mine needed them.. then I took the door apart and discovered all it needed was the old grease cleaned out of the tracks and new put in.

After a few years, the factory grease gets sticky rather than slippery and grabs the window sliders, popping them off of the arms and bending them while dropping the glass into the door.

Super easy fix

bravenrace wrote: In reply to Chris_V: Please elaborate on your first sentence.

Sport package cars have better suspensions and are a bit more "fun" to drive, even with the smaller engine. And the 325 badged 2.5 liter was tuned a bit more than the 323 badged 2.5. (181hp vs 168 and nearly a second quicker to 60 mph)

bravenrace wrote: For use as a DD. CL LInky.

I can tell you one thing. You will find NO drugs in that car. The buyer smoked, shot up, or snorted it all just before pricing that one!

Please elaborate on your first sentence.

I was kind of hoping for an explanation on THIS one:

barely maintained it, so it needed the new rear window regulators

I bet he didnt change his blinker fluid either.

Just messing around

GameboyRMH wrote: I assume you mean in terms of being dinged up by idiots in parking lots? Yes.

Solution: Reactive armor.

(mental image: dumbass slams door open into armor-equipped car. Armor "reacts" and slams the door shut so hard that it goes concave)

mad_machine wrote: I find it funny all these BMWs needed new window regulators. I was told mine needed them.. then I took the door apart and discovered all it needed was the old grease cleaned out of the tracks and new put in. After a few years, the factory grease gets sticky rather than slippery and grabs the window sliders, popping them off of the arms and bending them while dropping the glass into the door. Super easy fix

Depends on where you live. Usually the metal rope rusts through most of the way, and the frayed ends bind the mechanism and break something. Or, the rope just breaks altogether. Either way, it's the rope's fault.

bravenrace wrote: In reply to Woody: That could be, but I see a ton of verts when I do a search on a CI. Maybe they are just listing them wrong. I've also seen CiC for verts.

Based on the number of Cameros for sale worldwide, I'm not sure I'd use ad copy as an indicator of the correct way to identify a car.

bravenrace wrote: Would the 323 be better on gas mileage than the larger engined cars? This car would not be a track or autocross car, just a daily driver.

Not really. All the non-M I6 cars are more or less capable of ~30mpg on the highway (with a manual and a light foot and/or the excellent cruise control), mid-20s combined. Not much difference between similarly engined 3-series and 5-series either.

How can I tell it's been hit?

Rear 1/4 has orange peel, bumper doesn't quite match in color ... the dealergroup I worked @ (they owned 3 BMW franchises) we took in a lot of BMW's... they have great paint and it just doesn't look right to me.

I really like E46s and I'll probably own one someday, but I think if I do, I'll join BMWCCA first and then try to buy a car from a club member. I suspect that this hypothetical car would cost a little more, but would probably be maintained to a much higher standard. I also suspect that's where all the five speeds are.

Knurled wrote:

mad_machine wrote: I find it funny all these BMWs needed new window regulators. I was told mine needed them.. then I took the door apart and discovered all it needed was the old grease cleaned out of the tracks and new put in. After a few years, the factory grease gets sticky rather than slippery and grabs the window sliders, popping them off of the arms and bending them while dropping the glass into the door. Super easy fix

Depends on where you live. Usually the metal rope rusts through most of the way, and the frayed ends bind the mechanism and break something. Or, the rope just breaks altogether. Either way, it's the rope's fault.

what metal rope? My E36 uses a gear from the motor on the scissor arms.. no cable seems involved

02Pilot wrote: Not really. All the non-M I6 cars are more or less capable of ~30mpg on the highway (with a manual and a light foot and/or the excellent cruise control), mid-20s combined. Not much difference between similarly engined 3-series and 5-series either.

While that's true, the larger motor variants typically had a numerically lower rear diff (confirm before taking my word on it) that in fact helped them get better real-world hwy mileage.

Huh. I've never seen a scissors style regulator fail in anything. But, practically anything made in the last 15 years uses a cable style window, since it's very light, easy to package since the motor can go anywhere, and believe it or not they seem to keep in track a lot better.

Even manual windows just pull on a cable, nowadays.

NB: I've never seen a window problem in a BMW. Have done plenty of VWAG product as well as GM/Ford, though, since this is probably 80% of the cars I ever see. Late model VWAG are neat, the "window regulator" is actually the whole inside of the door, and on some models even includes the top half of the door. Expensive, yeah, but I get sick ideas of an A8 racer every time I hull one out just to fix a broken regulator. The doors weigh NOTHIN'

mad_machine wrote:

Knurled wrote:

mad_machine wrote: I find it funny all these BMWs needed new window regulators. I was told mine needed them.. then I took the door apart and discovered all it needed was the old grease cleaned out of the tracks and new put in. After a few years, the factory grease gets sticky rather than slippery and grabs the window sliders, popping them off of the arms and bending them while dropping the glass into the door. Super easy fix

Depends on where you live. Usually the metal rope rusts through most of the way, and the frayed ends bind the mechanism and break something. Or, the rope just breaks altogether. Either way, it's the rope's fault.

what metal rope? My E36 uses a gear from the motor on the scissor arms.. no cable seems involved

E46 uses a crappy plastic-housed motor with a steel cable "rope" on greased tracks. The rope very commonly breaks, the tracks gum up, and the motor fizzles. It's a trifecta of poor ($cheap$) design.

Would I be afraid of that car? Not until it broke. Then I'd be very afraid.

AutoXR wrote: How can I tell it's been hit? Rear 1/4 has orange peel, bumper doesn't quite match in color ... the dealergroup I worked @ (they owned 3 BMW franchises) we took in a lot of BMW's... they have great paint and it just doesn't look right to me.

You're kidding right?

So there is a story there, and the pic with the Hummer tells it all. You just have to look a little harder. You see, the BMW belongs to the dealers ex wife, and he kicked her ass out when she started using. But then he hooked up with the crack whore in the background, and she got nailed on the way home by a cop who saw her snorting at a red light. He followed her home with a warrant and they found the stash in the garage. So he told her to pack her shmit, which is why shes crying, and now he has to sell the old ladys car to pay the lawyer.

Vigo wrote:

Please elaborate on your first sentence.

I was kind of hoping for an explanation on THIS one:

barely maintained it, so it needed the new rear window regulators

I bet he didnt change his blinker fluid either. Just messing around

That wasn't my first sentence. ;)

the original owner (my wife's ex) custom ordered the car new, loved it so much that he put in premium fuel, and did oil changes, aaaaand that's about it. Barely maintained teh car, thinking he was treating it well because he put in premium fuel. If things broke he just left them, so when my stepson got it, it needed a battery, tires, a windsheild, both rear wheel bearings, brakes, and window regulators (the rear windows were taped in the up position). We also replaced the alternator, water pump, and heater blower motor, as they were all going bad (at 220k miles). As I said, luckily parts are cheap and the car is easy to work on. And the Sport package drives really well.

Javelin wrote: E46 uses a crappy plastic-housed motor with a steel cable "rope" on greased tracks. The rope very commonly breaks, the tracks gum up, and the motor fizzles. It's a trifecta of poor ($cheap$) design.

Yup. The assembly is $100 with a lifetime warranty from FCP Groton, but eventually they all break. it's really common on the E46, and slightly less common on the E39 and E38.

We also had to replace the front ones on my stepson's GFs E36. Cheap and flimsy.

I DD an 01 325it with over 150,000 on her. Doesn't scare me at all and I'm putting 700 miles or more a week on her. These cars are pretty robust. Take care of them like you'd take care of any car (assuming you take care of your cars) and they will treat you well.

But as others have said, find the best car you can, even if it costs a little more.

DrBoost wrote:

bravenrace wrote: For use as a DD. CL LInky.

I can tell you one thing. You will find NO drugs in that car. The buyer smoked, shot up, or snorted it all just before pricing that one!

I don't get this. Several people have made strong negative comments on the pricing but it's really not that bad. The only significantly cheaper ones I've seen are automatics or really beat.

I don't get that either. Around here that is a pretty fair price for that car if there are no surprises.