Thread 28701925

Is a 2004 E46 a good project car? I've heard the maintenance cost is pretty high.

This one I found has a 3.0 m54b30 engine swapped into it.

>>28701925 (OP)
My 2001 M54 BMW is cheaper to maintain than my goyota gs350 fsport was

Get the subframe check out…

>>28701925 (OP)
>I've heard the maintenance cost is pretty high.
Whatever number you have in your head, double it.
>This one I found has a 3.0 m54b30 engine swapped into it
So it's someone elses project that they aborted either due to lack of funds/cost of diminishing returns. Stay the fuck away.

>>28701957
>Whatever number you have in your head, double it.

Ok but how bad we're talking? The car is 3k do you think it will need more than 3k work done on it? I plan on doing most of the work myself to save some cash on the labor.

>>28701925 (OP)
These are the cheapest bmws to maintain.
However you are asking on a website for computer and anime nerds whether you should buy it. This tells me you are not yet prepared.

>>28701925 (OP)
Brown

>>28702025
See >>28702054
Any 3k car is presumably a clapped shitbox in today's market.

>>28702025
>The car is 3k
Buy it and if it doesn't work out, then you can easily recoup your costs on the part-out.

>>28701925 (OP)
I have a 2003 one. Their not as awful as some people say but still awful. To safely be able to afford repairs (and there will be A LOT) prepare the same sum of monkey you spent to purchased it, ideally double that. The entire cooling system is a maintenance item. Ideally you replace it entirely the moment you buy the car, if youre on a budget then water pump, tstat, expansion tank with the cap and what ever else is leaking. Be prepared to replace every single engine gasket unless you want top off your oil daily. And soeaking of oil, be prepared to spend a lit on it. M54s dont require some sort of ultra expensive high end racing oil, some basic synthetic will do, but each change takes 6.5 liters and even a perfectly healthy engine can casually eat 2-3 liters each 5k kms. These cars also attract braindead nigger who abuse them and do zero maintenance, so youll be fixing everything the previous owners neglected. Genuine parts are expensive and aftermarlrt ones are often trash. If you decide to fix all the body and interior defects, the budge can quickly reach infinity. Proceed at your own risk.

>>28702088
>prepare the same sum of monkey

>>28702082
That's just how they come from the factory lolololololo

>>28702082
That's just a bit of patina

Subframe WILL break at some point
Source: my 98' 328i

>>28702167
how did it feel when it broke (i assume while driving)?

>>28702167
is this fixable?

>>28702542
Preventive maintenance is better, there's aftermarket subframe reinforcement kits that you just drop in and weld. It's an annoyingly involved job but it'll fix it for good.

>>28702562
I swear mine had this, and no shop I ever took it to bothered to look. Even a "euro" specialty shop was useless. Fucking thing would randomly pull going straight on the highway out of nowhere. Suspension components were all knew and tight...scrapped it before I died in the thing...

OP if you are thinking about what could go wrong with the car only in terms of how much you will have to pay, the car isnt for you

M54B30 is an amazing engine, e46 chassis is okay, but e90 is much better as a daily, e36 is much better as a drivers car imo
no e46s subframes dont crack on every car, yuroshitters still drive them daily, barely anyone talks about the subframe cracking
what engine did the car have before the swap? if it was a 320i or below the tranny or diff will explode, its only a matter of time
look up INPA

>>28703055
this guy is right. get an e90 instead

>>28703055
>if it was a 320i or below the tranny or diff will explode
Putting a bigger engine in a 320 (or a short 320 diff in a different model) is a common combo with drifters. Shit don't blow up, but you brake a driveshaft from time to time
But 320i diff with a 330 engine is too short for anything else than drifting or slalom really. It's even shorter than the 4cyl diffs

If you buy a used two decade old BMW you should be ready for every repair in the book.

>>28702088
>The entire cooling system is a maintenance item.
do bmw owners really?
>yeah bro the whole cars a wear item you just gotta rebuild every single system every 50k miles its just routine maintenance bro

>>28702167
subframes are a wear item
just like your cooling system and rod bearings

>>28701925 (OP)
On an E46? They've got fairly cheap parts honestly. Only concern would be the subframe, if the previous owner hasn't done anything about it, then you sure as shit will have to.

I bought a 530i (M54B30) with ~236k km last summer, drove it across Europe 2x, now at 280k km, had the radiator pop on the second road trip while a block away from a BMW dealer
It burnt oil before, mostly at highway cruising speeds, maybe 1l/1.5k km, but I used some Liqui-Moly engine flush and it seems to have cleaned things up
Just did the valve cover gasket, guts were lightly varnished but no sludge
Gonna do CCV and DISA next, main problem is some rocker rust, I don't wanna paypig a bro 3-6k to get it sorted, I think it might be time to buy welding stuff and driveway it
Anyway the general consensus seems to be that the drivetrain is forever and that rust is the big killer, seems accurate
E46s it's mainly only subframe issue that's different to think about AFAIK
E39 memer bro is correct that it's basically a perfect car out of the box

>>28704499
Been around these shitboxes since 2010ish, I've owned two, friends and my grandpa had E46s, my car guy neighbour and my GF still drive E46s today. None of these ever had problems with that dreaded rear subframe, and I'm from the land of salty roads and bi-annual safety inspections. Granted, my GF's is just a 318, but the rest are/were not. Mine were a 323 and a 325ti
I really don't know what to think about muh subframe anymore, there is obviously truth to it, I just don't see it IRL
From what I've heard the problem was largely fixed with the small facelift (M52-M54 switch that happened in 2000 IIRC). But obviously still worth looking at when you're in the absolute bottom of the market like OP, with possible drift cars and so on

>>28704499
>main problem is some rocker rust, I don't wanna paypig a bro 3-6k to get it sorted, I think it might be time to buy welding stuff and driveway it
Look forward to rebuilding and welding the jacking points. Those WILL go bad, mine gave in during the annual inspection.

>>28702419
Absolutely nothing at all, car already had a fucked up alignment anyways. I didn't hear no noises or anything. The car was unstable at speed as the rear suspension geometry was messed up.
>>28702542
Yes. Don't know where you live, but here E36s (they also break) and E46s are very popular. You can get it fixed for around 1-1,2K € with labour. It's worth it to do it before it breaks at it will be cheaper and it WILL happen at some point. Mine had 295k km when it happened.