Trader Dreamer: BMW 328i E46

The embargo on reviews of the F30 BMW 3 series was lifted earlier this week, meaning that we can find out that once again the 3 series is top of its class. Hardly surprising as this has been the case for as long as I can remember. What is perhaps a little surprising is the engine in the new 328i, a name plate that we in Europe haven’t seen for 11 years. Under the bonnet you’ll find no 2.8 litre straight six, nothing of the sort in fact, the car has a 2.0 litre turbocharged four cylinder. The new car will set you back £28,080 before you start ticking boxes, but if you’re not keen on spending that sort of money a car with a lie on its boot lid, then perhaps consider the E46 328i. It’s not lying and it can be had for as little as £2,000.

Photo from aaronmarks

We have been well prepared for the lies of the new 3 series, BMW and Mercedes have been doing it for some time now with their model nomenclature. The lack of a trademark six cylinder power plant may be troubling for a few, but the ‘N20’ engine does do its best to sound similar. In addition the new car manages 44mpg on the EU combined cycle, while still being decidedly rapid. What chance does the old school E46 have against those sorts of figures? It manages just 31 mpg by comparison, but the problem for the new car is that it costs around £26,000 more. This means, by my less than brilliant math, that you must travel in the region of 430,000 miles in your F30 before you will be saving money over the older car with its low purchase cost.

If that compelling figure has grabbed your attention, you’ll be pleased to know you won’t be missing on too much opulence either. For less than £2,000 you can currently buy an E46 with full colour sat nav, full electric heated leather, wood trim, tiptronic auto, BMW’s clever traction control systems, power fold mirrors, cd auto changer, a harmon kardon sound system and more. A new 328i with the same options would set you back £38,940. Yes the leather won’t smell new in the old car, the sat nav won't be as good, neither will the auto box, but do you want those improvements so much that you’re willing to part with £37,090 extra?

Obviously it’s not just the navigation and the auto boxes that have improved in 11 years, the new car will undoubtedly be safer and faster, as well as more economical. The new 328i will take you to 62mph in 5.9 seconds and on to its 155mph limiter. Being new it will also come with a warranty should it go wrong. However the E46 will still get you to 62 in a respectable 7 seconds and on to 149mph. It scored an equally commendable four stars in Euro NCAP testing and Warranty Direct will cover any failures for less than £600 a year. With the warranty your saving shrinks to £36,490 but that’s still enough to buy yourself a 2008 Nissan GT-R.

From a driving perspective you probably won’t be wanting for performance, as you can see from the figures. While the handling of the new model is said to be superior, the E46 is still far from a dull car to drive. It handles much more neutrally and thus safely than its forerunners, but still offers plenty of driver entertainment, despite slightly imperfect steering. Reliability wise the car shapes up pretty well too, if you don’t go for the warranty you’ll be looking at average repair costs around £300. The main things to watch for are electrical failure and suspension problems.

So there you go, a saving of £36,490 really can’t be argued with no matter which way you look at the advances of the last 13 years. While you could be owing one of the very first new shape 3 series’ on the road, that exclusivity will quickly be eroded by the cars undoubtedly strong sales. Meanwhile the E46 will be getting rarer every day. Add the fact that you can afford a hell of a lot of interesting metal with that massive saving it surely becomes very hard to argue for the new car.

Here’s Some I Found

The car I reference for that heady £36k saving is this 2001 328i. With a mere 55,796 on the clock and all those options the car seems almost too good to be true, so make sure to check that it hasn’t been written off or stolen. Assuming there’s nothing wrong with it (and it actually exists), whoever purchases this car should be very pleased with themselves.

This one’s the obligatory, only the cheapest will do option. £971 means this is a lot of car for the money. It has done 134k, with the interior showing that age. Pay special attention to the auto box at this mileage, but for £971 you could just buy another one every six months and still be spending much less than a finance agreement on the F30.

This dealer sold car with 82k on the clock comes in at £1,975. With plenty of options and a full service history the car looks clean. A previous owner has fitted clear front indicators and facelift taillights, make sure these are for appearance rather than crash repair.

If you like changing your own gears then this £2,493 74,000 mile car may appeal. The first owner ticked the leather option and the car generally appears tidy. The dealer selling it is also offering a 3 month warranty for some piece of mind.

Sub 50,000 mile cars will be rare at this age, but here’s one at £2,749. While low mileage doesn’t mean good maintenance, this car certainly looks the part.

Specs

E46 328i
0-60 7 seconds (manual) 7.8 seconds (auto)
0-100 n/a
Top Speed 149mph (manual) 146mph (auto)
Power 193bhp @ 5300rpm
Torque 207lb ft @ 3950rpm
Weight 1485kg (manual) 1500kg (auto)
Insurance Group 16
MPG 31 (manual) 28 (auto)
Warrenty Direct Reliablilty Index 89
How Many Left 7024 (figure may include some E36 models)