Looking for a daily driver - E46 a good option?

[JimmyPop]

At the moment my Z4 is my daily driver but I'm conscious that I'm putting the miles on her. I've been thinking of buying another car as a daily driver to do me to work and back (about 20-30mile round trip) as well as more regular trips shopping, etc. I'm looking for something a few years old , reliable (duh!) probably with more than two seats and not costing much more than £3000. One of my options was an old E46, in fact I've been looking at a 325 Ci with 106000 miles on the clock for around £2000.

My reason for looking at this is that it's fairly cheap, as far as I'm aware reliable and has a straight six engine (something my Zed lacks!). It's also something I could also tinker with and probably mod with relative ease.

I was just wondering if anyone here has any advice, either on this car or on an old easily moddable runaround which would suit my needs and budget? Cheers!

 

[oli445]

In my experience dont bother! 30 miles a day isn't really a lot and by the time you factor in 2x insurance, road tax and service it's not worth it. I bought a 'cheap' second car a few years back and it cost me a fortune!

I had an E46 320cd m sport and it was a great car, but they will need money spending on bushes, brakes, tyres etc. Save your 2K and treat the Z

 

[JimmyPop]

Cheers for the advice. I suppose I was also hoping it would also be something I could tinker with/mod and potentially use as a track car. Might well just hold off at the moment.

 

[KERMIT1970]

£2000 for a 325ci ! Thats cheap ! I had one a few years ago , great car ,as long as it has service history & no rust on front wings.check all electrics work.cant go wrong with them !

 

[BMWZ4MC]

JimmyPop, I have an E46 320d that I use for work and it's a great car - completely reliable, really economical, and with plenty of torque it's reasonably quick too. Go for a later model with the common rail engine though and remove the swirl flaps.

If you're looking for something that you could you use for work and take on a track you should think about an E36 M3. If you were patient you should be able to find a reasonable one within your budget without too many chav additions.

The other alternative is to forget about a daily driver, and just get yourself a track car. With a little more saving you could buy a Westfield or another seven with a bike engine. That would satisfy your need to tinker too

 

[JimmyPop]

JimmyPop, I have an E46 320d that I use for work and it's a great car - completely reliable, really economical, and with plenty of torque it's reasonably quick too. Go for a later model with the common rail engine though and remove the swirl flaps.

If you're looking for something that you could you use for work and take on a track you should think about an E36 M3. If you were patient you should be able to find a reasonable one within your budget without too many chav additions.

The other alternative is to forget about a daily driver, and just get yourself a track car. With a little more saving you could buy a Westfield or another seven with a bike engine. That would satisfy your need to tinker too

I like your thinking - a 320d was one of my possibilities as well.

As for the track car - unlikely to happen over the next few years! I'm moving to the world of research for 2/3 years so expecting a salary drop and don't think The Bank of SWMBO would allow such a purchase...

 

[Adamski]

A well looked after E46 coupe would be a good choice. Some of the saloons with the M Sport body kit look great too. One of my colleagues had a 320d M Sport saloon. Looked great. MV2 alloys, leather interior etc. Running costs could be high though. The E46 compact might be worth a look too, cheaper than saloon or coupe, and a 325ti could easily be in budget, with low mileage etc?


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[bluestreak56]

Just bought an E46 Compact as a runaround and for my brother to learn on. I wont do 10 miles a week in it but even still it should be worthwhile once he passes his test.

As seen here : http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=36471

 

[deka]

had a 320cd m sport fab car and the torque is fab.... but as has been pointed out its not the buying of the car its running it, i did the same a few years ago and it was like the costs tripled not doubled.. best save your money then replace your z with a lower mileage one in a year or so

 

[Guiseley]

Don't do it - you'll look at the Zed every day you get into the 'other one', and you'll both be sad.

Fair enough if you had an M and were scared by fuel and servicing costs, but your's won't be very much more to run.

If you feel the need to tinker - what about Kirsty's.....

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I like your thinking - a 320d was one of my possibilities as well.

As for the track car - unlikely to happen over the next few years! I'm moving to the world of research for 2/3 years so expecting a salary drop and don't think The Bank of SWMBO would allow such a purchase...

Ah yes, the poverty of research, I've been there too... I just made sure I bought my Westfield before that when I was still a house officer

... but as has been pointed out its not the buying of the car its running it, i did the same a few years ago and it was like the costs tripled not doubled....

...Fair enough if you had an M and were scared by fuel and servicing costs, but your's won't be very much more to run...

That's the key to it. When I bought my 320d I was driving 50 miles a day at least 5 days a week, some in London traffic and some on a dual carriageway. The 320d would return up to 50mpg on this kind of mixed journey whilst with the ///M I would get under 20mpg Over a year, the 320d cost me over £2,000 less in fuel and kept the mileage down on the ///M.

I am now in my second year of using the 320d for work. Although I drive fewer than 15 miles a day now, I have to park on a dodgy south London housing estate as my hospital doesn't value me enough to provide parking Guess which car is likely to still be there unmolested at the end of the working day

 

[andysat]

Our e46 was reliable then things started to crop up-brake pipes,exhaust,rust on the wing :roll: needed a couple of bushes,not major but still an expense.