Thinking about getting a 2005 2.5L E46. The miles are low (~88k), the price is acceptable. The carfax shows virtually no dealer maintenance in the whole history of the vehicle, but there are no lights on besides airbag (no collision history, so it the bags deployed it was fixed out of pocket).
Besides the expansion tank and worn suspension, is there anything specific to look for? Any one own one? What's your take? I know the 3.0 has more balls, but I'm looking for a cruiser I can drive for the 3 months a year it's warm enough here.

>>28454965 (OP)
Dont niggers cut holes in these?

>>28454967
I can literally go a week without seeing a brown where I live. I'm not worried.

>>28454967
I can literally go a week without seeing a brown where I live. I'm not worried. Had to delete the namefagginess.

>>28454965 (OP)
I have an e36, the same car more or less. First things first, old beamers are notorious for cooling system issues (not just the exploding tanks). If you feel even the slightest whiff of coolant, run. If youre lucky, the leak wont get worse over time, but youll have to top up coolant on a weekly basis (like I have to do) or find it and fix it (which can be hard and expensive if its something like your heater core). Second, oil consumption but you probably know that from the countless "BMWs eat oil" memes. Third, watch out for electrical issues. I dont think Ws are particualrly suspectible to them, but as with all old cars electronics can go bad and when they do youre in for one hell of a ride. If you see any electrical mods, its an instant red flag. Also, airbags dont deploy for no reason, most likely there was an undocumented incident. I wouldnt trust the mileage in this case too cause the owner seems full of shit

>>28455025
The whiff of coolant bit of info is a good one. I'm not sure I'd have registered it as such a big deal without someone pointing it out.
As for the airbag, I don't think it was ever deployed, it's almost certainly a seat occupancy sensor (according to google) and would be a really simple fix. If there was a collision violent enough to deploy it, and there was no history of insurance being involved, I'd imagine I could spot the bodywork easily.
On the mileage, there are 23 service records on the carfax (almost all for oil changes, so I'd assume there's a huge amount of deferred milestone maintenance) and the mileage seems to increase by roughly the same amount each time interval except the last mileage reported was 78k and the vehicle is supposed to have 88 on it now.

The airbag light can be brought on by the passenger seat occupancy sensor failing too. I soldered a resistor into mine so it thought the seat was always occupied.

My first car was an e46 325i. Lot of good memories in it but the reliability memes are real. The 2.5s are kind of anemic, I drove a buddy's 330 ZHP and could not believe the difference in how the car felt. Check for DISA rattle, cooling leaks, oil leaks (the oil filter housing is a big culprit) and be wary that some of these have some serious electrical gremlins. I put 4-5 alternators in mine over the span of about 5-6 years, also 3-4 expansion tanks (the plastic ones had a lifetime warranty from advanced so I hadn't bothered with the aftermarket aluminum one) I also had to replace the heater core, radiator, and all hoses. The CCV system is also prone to failure and will give you a substantial vacuum leak if the hoses fail (which they will). Other than that it's the usual old car shit, all the rubber shit like MAF boots and shit will be degraded if not replaced, might be varnish if extended oil changes, could consume some oil, etc.

Bottom line, if you can get one sub $3000 it's a neat little car to have fun with, but you must stay on top of maintenance or it will stay on top of you, and don't expect to outrun much of anything (I still remember taking a massive hit to my pride being passed at 100 mph on the interstate by an old v6 Avalon)

>>28454965 (OP)
>2005
Make sure it doesn't have the m56 instead of the m54. it's a super low emissions engine with the fuel pump built into a steel gas tank and it's non replaceable. The tank is $5k. pic related.

>>28455043
Perfect example of what I was hoping to get here. I appreciate the input. He's looking for 3400, but I was going to offer 2900 or so.
>>28455087
I decoded the vin, but it's not showing me m56 vs m54. Any way to figure it out? I can ask him for a pic but I'd rather just figure it out on google if i can. Thanks

>>28455087
>fuel pump built into a steel gas tank and it's non replaceable
Everyone who approved that should be executed.

>>28454965 (OP)
Air bag light is on? Not a good sign, especially with 88k miles. Sounds like someone rebuilt a Copart car. Possibly been sitting, which is why the miles are off. Open all doors, hood and trunk, check for damage, over spray or other signs of being rebuilt. In trunk, pull liner away from inner body panels, both sides. Inspect the inside of rear quarter panels. Get under car, they never fix under the car as nice as the painted top side. Look for any sign of any repairs. Some things get damaged in accidents but not so bad they replaced the part, you still see bend or scuff marks from previous accident. How dry and cracked is all the rubber, ball joints? vacuum lines, suspension bushings, weather stripping? Dry and cracked, move along or replace everything. Check under floor mats, check for dampness or wet. After repairs, doors don't always seal well, they now leak, also with soft top, check for wet or signs of water on interior. Smell dank? Can you smell it?
It's probably leaking oil, front oil housing or valve cover. Not so bad, pan gasket leaking, expensive repair. 1,700.00. Both intakes boots on that car are split, I guarantee it. On the bottom, you can't see it unless you disconnect from air box and tilt the boots till you see the splits on the bottom. You'll need to replace boots and vacuum lines. Will want to replace belt, hoses, plugs, packs, filters by default. An 05 BMW is a project car at this point. First, all the things that need to be done right away. Second, saving for upcoming issues you know are coming. And it's not BMW, it's the same if you buy an 05 Mustang. You need to look for this shit, it is an older car, it will need maintenance. There is no free ride. It will be expensive on any 05 car to do all this.

>>28454965 (OP)
Wait for a nice 330i, especially if you're going after the pigfat convertible that weighs more than even the sedan. There's a lot of them out there. Personal preference but the E46 is the one generation where I'd only own the pre-facelift as well, the LCI front always looked rather off, maybe since they never put it on the M3.
>virtually no dealer maintenance
>no collision history
>airbag light
Hopefully it's at least owned by an enthusiast owner that would have maintenance records and a good reason for that? If not it's likely just being sold by an auction flipper, in which case it'll likely cost more to maintain than an enthusiast-owned example with 190k miles.

>>28454965 (OP)
Just buy a Mustang or something.

>>28455313
it was mainly sold in cuckifornia and newyork, People generally take the valve covers off of them to install on m54's due to it being aluminum and with a simplified ccv with only one vacuum line opposed to 4.

>>28455172
>decoded the vin
post vin

>>28455380
I didn't see the vin on bidcars or anything else like that where wrecked things are sold. The rest of the info is sage. I appreciate the list of stuff here, It lived in Florida for like 13 years so the number 1 thing I was gonna look at was whether or not it had been in a flood. I should mention that I'm pretty used to old stuff, just not German stuff and I've got a 2000sqft workshop with most non-specialty tools. I can do all maintenance work, but like you said...at some point it's not worth it anymore for something like an e46.
>>28455415
Most of the 330's I see within a warrantable drive are sold out of chicago, and almost always by browns. The pickin's are kinda slim.
>>28455478
WBABW33415PL38316

>>28455498
Ran the vin, it's got the m54. Also the sports and premium packages.

>>28455509
Where'd you run it? if you don't mind.

>>28455520
https://bimmer.work/

>>28455415
I would consider a 2006 as a weekend and project cruiser. But I also know what I'm getting into. Find a low mileage, garage kept and maintained model. Priced right, I would do it. End of the run after perfecting the design. These are good cars.
Get one, you'll eventually get a notification from BMW regarding the Takata air bag recall, get new air bag and steering wheel. Dealer will reset the air bag light at that time. See what other open recalls they have while there.

>>28455537
Neat but of internet research I didn't know existed. Much appreciated

>>28455380
>Air bag light is on? Not a good sign
My E46 with 90k miles has the airbag and seatbelt light on constantly (I always wear my seatbelt and it doesn't go off). In my case, it's electrical issues (I have tons of those).

>>28455380
>Sounds like someone rebuilt a Copart car.
lol no, the airbag modules in bmws just shit out due to age. I've replaced 2 in my e60 that just died out of no where.

>>28455903
Fair enough, seems the only time I see these issues en masse is watching YT rebuild and how to videos. Swapping seats, new air bags, resetting CEL. I've never had these sensors simply fail, never had any coolant leaks or failures. Ran OE water pumps for years with original hoses. Never had plastic engine parts just break. I read all these threads, I've never had these issues. I always get hit with O2 sensors, cats or oil leaks.