E46 5spd Wagon

[AtoZDetailing]

Hey fellas, I`m looking into picking up an e46 wagon with a 5 speed. Anybody here own or have owned one? Reliability? things to look out for?

Thanks!

[Stokdgs]

What year ? What model ??

All German Cars will require a lot of maintenance that will cost more than just getting a tune up on a Honda Civic, etc....

They are reliable as any other German car and better than some German cars..

They are driver`s cars and will handle really good, but sometimes at the expense of buying a lot of tires, because of the increased grip you have to play with on some models with the Sport Pkg and bigger wider wheels and tires, etc..

I would want to look at all the maintenance records, how many of the Factory Inspections were done and the paperwork for each Inspection showing what was done and what was needed and not done..

How many miles on the car will determine a lot...

It is rare to find a stick shift BMW wagon, for sure... Make sure you know when the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, and throwout bearing was replaced...

How often the oil and filter was changed is another indicator of how long this car will last..

You would want to have documents you can personally read before you ever sign anything - read and understand all maintenance records before you do anything..

If you are really serious still, I would take it to the best BMW Shop (Independent if possible, (look under BIMRS.com) and you will have to put out some money to get it Inspected, unless the Seller will pay for it... You want an Independent Shop with a great reputation to do this...

I had an 2003 E39 M5 Wagon that the Ex got in the divorce, and I can tell you there was nothing more fun and faster than that bad boy... But, it was expensive to maintain..

Good luck !
Dan F

[AtoZDetailing]

What year ? What model ??

All German Cars will require a lot of maintenance that will cost more than just getting a tune up on a Honda Civic, etc....

They are reliable as any other German car and better than some German cars..

They are driver`s cars and will handle really good, but sometimes at the expense of buying a lot of tires, because of the increased grip you have to play with on some models with the Sport Pkg and bigger wider wheels and tires, etc..

I would want to look at all the maintenance records, how many of the Factory Inspections were done and the paperwork for each Inspection showing what was done and what was needed and not done..

How many miles on the car will determine a lot...

It is rare to find a stick shift BMW wagon, for sure... Make sure you know when the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, and throwout bearing was replaced...

How often the oil and filter was changed is another indicator of how long this car will last..

You would want to have documents you can personally read before you ever sign anything - read and understand all maintenance records before you do anything..

If you are really serious still, I would take it to the best BMW Shop (Independent if possible, (look under BIMRS.com) and you will have to put out some money to get it Inspected, unless the Seller will pay for it... You want an Independent Shop with a great reputation to do this...

I had an 2003 E39 M5 Wagon that the Ex got in the divorce, and I can tell you there was nothing more fun and faster than that bad boy... But, it was expensive to maintain..

Good luck !
Dan F

It`s an 04 325 wagon. 250km which is high, but as long as records are there i`m not too concerned. Asking $6500 (lololololol) It`s been on kijiji for a while so i think $4500 is more realistic. I was reading up on reliability issues and I didn`t come across anything to bad. Mostly water pumps, cv boots, etc. A lot of DIY work

[Stokdgs]

AtoZ -

Tks for your reply -

I have always loved the E46 and E39 platforms more than any of the newer ones...

For sure at that high mileage, the entire front end and rear end suspension parts would need to have been, or will have to be replaced, Im thinking...

The plastic radiator, cooling system parts, and I believe I read somewhere that the E46 models had some Oil Filter Housing Leak that may apply here, not sure..

Perhaps the ignition coils, and a good tune up are in order, to be safe..

The driveshaft guibo should have been replaced by now or if not, should be looked at..

A good leakdown test of the cylinders done by someone who knows how to do this, should help you get an idea of how much wear is inside the cylinders and valvetrain..

If this engine has Vanos, then there are parts that may need to be looked at for wear as well..

The speakers in the stereo are normally not very good sounding, but a company called Bavarian Sound Werks(bavsound.com) has replacements for all of them.. They are not cheap, but will make the system sound better, if you are inclined to want to have good tunes... They also make an Ipod adapter for this..

Good luck with this !
Dan F

[Todd@RUPES]

Don`t know too much about them, but I wanna see pics if you get it and detail it!!!

[AtoZDetailing]

AtoZ -

Tks for your reply -

I have always loved the E46 and E39 platforms more than any of the newer ones...

For sure at that high mileage, the entire front end and rear end suspension parts would need to have been, or will have to be replaced, Im thinking...

The plastic radiator, cooling system parts, and I believe I read somewhere that the E46 models had some Oil Filter Housing Leak that may apply here, not sure..

Perhaps the ignition coils, and a good tune up are in order, to be safe..

The driveshaft guibo should have been replaced by now or if not, should be looked at..

A good leakdown test of the cylinders done by someone who knows how to do this, should help you get an idea of how much wear is inside the cylinders and valvetrain..

If this engine has Vanos, then there are parts that may need to be looked at for wear as well..

The speakers in the stereo are normally not very good sounding, but a company called Bavarian Sound Werks has replacements for all of them.. They are not cheap, but will make the system sound better, if you are inclined to want to have good tunes... They also make an Ipod adapter for this..

Good luck with this !
Dan F

Thanks Dan! I`d take it to BMW for a ppi either way.

Don`t know too much about them, but I wanna see pics if you get it and detail it!!!

Haha, I think I would detail it before I get it registered!