Just picked up my first e46 this past weekend, and have already learned a lot thanks to every one here. I wanted to start a thread to chronicle all the work that I will be doing to the car. This wont be a build thread, as I wont be doing a lot to it, just normal up keep.
The car is a 99 323 with 172k on the clock. I am the second owner. First owner was an old man who babied the crap out of this car and always, ALWAYS, took it to the dealer for everything. Battery, oil changes, tires... everything. So it has been really well maintained.
I have a small amount of work to do soon, but nothing major. I need to take care of the diff mounts, an o2 sensor, and a window regulator. That's all. Everything else is great on this car. Shocks and struts are in great shape, front end is nice and tight, AC is way too cold.
I will admit that I was a little apprehensive going into this.... I have had 3 BMW's previously (I come from a long history of Mercedes), and all of them have been horrible money pits.... But that has more to do with the fact that the PO's did nothing to those cars, but tear them to pieces. I have always admired and wanted an e46, and I have to say, I am glad that I took the chance on it. I couldn't have found a better one if I tried.
So far, the only thing that has been done to it, is that it has wheels off of a 5 series. The pictures do not do the wheels justice, they look much better in person, and the offset is perfect for my taste.
My only plans for now are to fix the few things that need attention, and tint the windows (mostly to keep the Florida sun at bay). I will probably do much more in the future, but for now, it's just a daily driver/family hauler. I would like to lower it a little, but I really don't want to screw with the ride quality. I love it.
The car is a 99 323 with 172k on the clock. I am the second owner. First owner was an old man who babied the crap out of this car and always, ALWAYS, took it to the dealer for everything. Battery, oil changes, tires... everything. So it has been really well maintained.
I have a small amount of work to do soon, but nothing major. I need to take care of the diff mounts, an o2 sensor, and a window regulator. That's all. Everything else is great on this car. Shocks and struts are in great shape, front end is nice and tight, AC is way too cold.
I will admit that I was a little apprehensive going into this.... I have had 3 BMW's previously (I come from a long history of Mercedes), and all of them have been horrible money pits.... But that has more to do with the fact that the PO's did nothing to those cars, but tear them to pieces. I have always admired and wanted an e46, and I have to say, I am glad that I took the chance on it. I couldn't have found a better one if I tried.
So far, the only thing that has been done to it, is that it has wheels off of a 5 series. The pictures do not do the wheels justice, they look much better in person, and the offset is perfect for my taste.
My only plans for now are to fix the few things that need attention, and tint the windows (mostly to keep the Florida sun at bay). I will probably do much more in the future, but for now, it's just a daily driver/family hauler. I would like to lower it a little, but I really don't want to screw with the ride quality. I love it.