Found a nice 06 330ci ZHP..zhp crew please chime in..

So im in the market for a newer ride. Just got tired of shelling out $$$ for older bmw's so its time for an upgrade. I found a 06 330ci zhp with alcantara interior for $15k with 95k miles on the clock. Is this a good deal??..im new to E46's and how reliable are the zhp models??..are there any buyers guides?

That's not too bad. Assuming it's a manual it'll be good. I bet you'll need to put $1500-$2000 into it after purchase.

You need that. Get it inspected by someone that understands the issues with these cars and you will be good. A bit much, but, that year is the last of the best.

A little overpriced in my opinion for that many miles. But I dont know how the prices are in your location. Also are you getting any maintenance history?
There are some threads here giving you information on what to look for on an e46 before to buy. PPI is very recommended.
Being an 06(last year of production), all the quirks are rectified so you shouldnt be worried about the recalls and all.
These are reliable cars provided you keep it maintained. Coming from an e36 you should know about these cars.


With that amount you might be able to get a year or two older M3. Look in the classified section here.

Good luck.

an '06 is a newer BMW?

$15,000 is not a good deal. It would have to be immaculate with all options and no wear to be close to that price range. With 95,000 miles I doubt it.

Too expensive, even in my location.

Originally Posted by Alex323Ci

an '06 is a newer BMW?

$15,000 is not a good deal. It would have to be immaculate with all options and no wear to be close to that price range. With 95,000 miles I doubt it.

Yes for me it is a newer bmw..coming from an 1986 635csi. It is fully loaded from the looks of the pics online except for Nav. Im going to go test drive it soon.

added pics

I agree with all the above that say it's too pricey for that many miles. With these cars, maintenance comes in mileage intervals and at nearly 100k, you'll need ~ $2,000 in preventative maintenance done to it the first year or you will have problems. Even if that car has documented proof that EVERYTHING has been done, it's still too pricey (although less so).

Originally Posted by trj

A little overpriced in my opinion for that many miles. But I dont know how the prices are in your location. Also are you getting any maintenance history?
There are some threads here giving you information on what to look for on an e46 before to buy. PPI is very recommended.
Being an 06(last year of production), all the quirks are rectified so you shouldnt be worried about the recalls and all.
These are reliable cars provided you keep it maintained. Coming from an e36 you should know about these cars.


With that amount you might be able to get a year or two older M3. Look in the classified section here.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Alex323Ci

an '06 is a newer BMW?

$15,000 is not a good deal. It would have to be immaculate with all options and no wear to be close to that price range. With 95,000 miles I doubt it.

This forum fantasizes about low zhp resale value, but it isn't the case. That seems like a good deal to me!

Alex, you know what he meant. 06 is the newest of the E46s and is a relatively rare year for anything but the M3.

OP, that is a beautiful color and it seems to be a good deal. ZHPs don't really cost any more to maintain than a normal 330.

Originally Posted by DTMkarnage

So im in the market for a newer ride. Just got tired of shelling out $$$ for older bmw's so its time for an upgrade. I found a 06 330ci zhp with alcantara interior for $15k with 95k miles on the clock. Is this a good deal??..im new to E46's and how reliable are the zhp models??..are there any buyers guides?

Honestly thats not a bad deal! I mean if you can work the dealer down a little that would be great but considering how well taken care of it it is looks beautiful to me very good good shape, I would pull the trigger and just give it a go zhp models rarely come around (atleast for me I never see them forsale in san diego)

Originally Posted by DTMkarnage

Yes for me it is a newer bmw..coming from an 1986 635csi. It is fully loaded from the looks of the pics online except for Nav. Im going to go test drive it soon.

I know I was just messiin' around with you about being newer. The E46 is already 7-14yrs old, and E9x series already old.

Give it a test drive and check the upkeep on it. At close to 100,000 miles it will need several things fixed and easily make that price jump even more. It's a 330 and they last for the most part. But again it's a 330 with a option package and plenty are coming up much lower priced than that lately on the forum. But area makes a big change in price. People with the second to third hand bought Performance Package on a 330 thinking it's some highly unobtainable car asking higher than normal prices is just comical. So they like to hype the car to get it to reach higher prices. But on a forum like this dedicated to the E46 you won't find this able to take hold. We know about the E46s in detail.
Go to zhpmafia site if you want to hear it's worth $15,000 dollars.

But what someone is willing to pay at a certain time is what a car is "worth". So after it has a PPI think it over and don't jump the gun.
Only thing I notice in the new photos posted is it has had the shift knob changed. What color is that? if it's an INDIVIDUAL color special purchased it could be worth that $15k to the right buyer.

Please read this article .

http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index.php?title=BMW_E46

To own an E46 you should be prepared to spend about 2000/year on maintenance

Overpriced. I paid $16,000 for my ZHP almost 2 years ago with 63,000 miles and it was the exact package I wanted. Get a PPI done as others mentioned, it might need a bit of work.

Mileage is up there (152k kms) But it looks clean and the reason its more its b/c from dealer. Nice color, int. looks good. Def. check the maint. history, cooling system, vcg, and oh def check oil leaking around the oil filter housing (gasket)...

I didn't notice it before, but what's with the shift knob? I've seen it before, but it's not the usual ZHP knob.

Originally Posted by EverydayGetaway

I didn't notice it before, but what's with the shift knob? I've seen it before, but it's not the usual ZHP knob.

I think that is the BMW performance shift knob

sent from my HTC EVO+ using Bimmer App

Thanks for all the input..I made an appointment on Monday to go see the car. Im going to look at everything you guys told me about and ill let you know what happens. Feel free to add more comments.

Don't listen to anyone telling you you'll need to put 2000 worth of maintenance into the car. I've owned my 2003 325ci for over a year and I MAYBE put 300 bucks worth of parts into it. If you have to put 2000 worth of labor and parts into any car you shouldn't be buying it!

drive it look at it and if you like it make him an offer.

Originally Posted by jerseyzillest

Don't listen to anyone telling you you'll need to put 2000 worth of maintenance into the car. I've owned my 2003 325ci for over a year and I MAYBE put 300 bucks worth of parts into it. If you have to put 2000 worth of labor and parts into any car you shouldn't be buying it!

drive it look at it and if you like it make him an offer.

you shouldn't be giving advice.

That makes no sense whatsoever. How old are you? just curious