The "WTF is wrong with my E46 now?" thread.

[Crimson]

my rear window heater never worked lol

LOL!! probably a fuse @Burt2000

 

[Burt2000]

LOL!! probably a fuse @Burt2000

It was just one more for the list of many electrical issues lol. Think i just got unlucky with it....M3 never gave me one issue though

 

[Deckz]

anyone notice the "design flaw" in the cold mornings when running the heater strips on the rear window interferring with their radio's reception....

Yep all the time.

 

[brendy]

Waheyy, another fault soon to be sorted...for a while.

 

[Antoin]

What is that @brendy ?

 

[Coog]

Eibachs!
Probably that pothole that killed your tyres the other week.

Other side lol

 

[Antoin]

Other side lol

Oh FFS....
I daren't laugh for fear of what karma would do to my own!

 

[brendy]

What is that @brendy ?

Drivers door lock repair kit. Yet another pain in the ass job brought to you by the part timers in Bavarian motor design.

 

[Coog]

Oh FFS....
I daren't laugh for fear of what karma would do to my own!

Cheap and easy to do so I'm not that bothered lol

 

[Crimson]

It was just one more for the list of many electrical issues lol. Think i just got unlucky with it....M3 never gave me one issue though

Aye a lot depends on how they've been looked after by the previous owners - I was fortunate enough that the previous owner of my old 330 had her from new and dropped it into Bavarian for any issues or servicing bar the tyres - and well....look what happened with the front tyres....gawd knows what gypsy put those front tyres on - they were bridgestone potenzas too with plenty of tread

M3's are a different breed and so are their owners 9 times out of 10 - any of the decent clean ones will have had nothing but TLC by the owners who usually suffer from M car purist OCD - an expensive illness lol!!

 

[svensktoppen]

I think any notion of ever getting a BMW is firmly out the door after reading this, lol - staying with Audi methinks

 

[Burt2000]

Aye a lot depends on how they've been looked after by the previous owners - I was fortunate enough that the previous owner of my old 330 had her from new and dropped it into Bavarian for any issues or servicing bar the tyres - and well....look what happened with the front tyres....gawd knows what gypsy put those front tyres on - they were bridgestone potenzas too with plenty of tread

M3's are a different breed and so are their owners 9 times out of 10 - any of the decent clean ones will have had nothing but TLC by the owners who usually suffer from M car purist OCD - an expensive illness lol!!

Mine had 2 previous owners and a full bavarian history with stacks of receipts, i think i just bought it when things started to go wrong lol.

 

[Burt2000]

I think any notion of ever getting a BMW is firmly out the door after reading this, lol - staying with Audi methinks

ill probably not buy another unless it has a dealer warranty. Wifes 120d coupe was a great car though, my E46 was year 2000 so a bit long in the tooth

 

[Crimson]

ill probably not buy another unless it has a dealer warranty. Wifes 120d coupe was a great car though, my E46 was year 2000 so a bit long in the tooth

Aye @Burt2000 TBH I think any 15 year old car will start to have it's problems regardless of the badge and how they have been looked after during their life. I think wear and tear on parts is inevitable in any car the older it gets, especially the likes of sensors. The E46's were years ahead of their time, mine had everything and more than most recent cars have bar DRL's.

My E46 was a 2004 facelift, and was 8 years old when I got it, and I only really sold it on as it was hitting the 10 year old mark, though it was the longest I've ever owned a car.

I dont care what is put up on here regarding the E46's - good or bad, etc...from my own personal experience I loved the car and if they weren't getting on a bit as they are now I would deffo get another one but probably an M3 if I was to go down that route....your's was a nice example

 

[Antoin]

I dont care what is put up on here regarding the E46's - good or bad, etc...from my own personal experience I loved the car and if they weren't getting on a bit as they are now I would deffo get another one but probably an M3 if I was to go down that route....your's was a nice example

I think nearly everyone that has owned one (incl me) has said that they love driving them its just the niggles that let it down.
As you rightly say though mine is a 13yo car with 150k on it so its reasonable to expect that things might start to go wrong.
To be fair to my car as well it was faults by previous owners which provided the most frustration.

 

[Coog]

Couldn't beat them for value. You couldn't buy anything with the same spec, ability and performance as mine at even twice the money

OK it needs a lot of maintenance but its worth it when its going well.

 

[brendy]

My expansion tank has a leak
seems to like more oil top ups compared to the wrx
central locking from remote has given up
central locking from key has given up: part due today
horn stopped working there
steering mounted cruise control, awol. new clock spring should sort this and horn
drivers door mechanism was replaced a year or two ago.. going again.
new 20" front rubber just ordered.
Both monster-sized wing mirrors have decided to come off their rails and need stripping and refitting.
tv screen has a few garbled pixels though that's child's play compared to the rest I have to sort.
Front Passenger indicator not working
Parking sensors over sensitive

Central locking/drivers door lock sorted. Fiddly dirty (old grease everywhere) wee bastid I have to say but straight forward once youve done it once.

 

[Coog]

Rear springs changed with Sachs ones which appear to address the snapping problem as the first and last coils are thicker than the OEMs. Still as comfortable as ever too

20 mins switches them out, wee buns.

Couple of new rear mud flaps on too.

One minor wiper related niggle (relay) remains and then its absolutely perfect! For a bit anyway lol

 

[davey-dimples]

So I TRIED to replace my fob battery as the CL was starting to working only intermittantly ... it now works 0% of the time...

I also cant get the fob back together so I have to keep the wee chip board in the arm rest so I can hold it all together to fire the car up or else it just turns on the ignition but no crank ... DOH!

 

[brendy]

My expansion tank has a leak
seems to like more oil top ups compared to the wrx
central locking from remote has given up
central locking from key has given up: part due today
horn stopped working there
steering mounted cruise control, awol. new clock spring should sort this and horn
drivers door mechanism was replaced a year or two ago.. going again.
new 20" front rubber just ordered.
Both monster-sized wing mirrors have decided to come off their rails and need stripping and refitting.
tv screen has a few garbled pixels though that's child's play compared to the rest I have to sort.
Front Passenger indicator not working
Parking sensors over sensitive

Air suspension fixed, dodgey fuse after all.. just looked fine.
Interior cig sockets sorted, again another fuse
New driverside wiper arm fitted after vandalism tossers bent the original 90 degrees. Typically though the wiper itself needs replacing as it had been used temporarily at a slightly off angle and now doesnt clear the whole area it sweeps.
Might have a crack at the cruise controls/cowling and steering wheel off/new clockspring job tomorrow...if i can be arsed.

 

[brendy]

So I TRIED to replace my fob battery as the CL was starting to working only intermittantly ... it now works 0% of the time...

I also cant get the fob back together so I have to keep the wee chip board in the arm rest so I can hold it all together to fire the car up or else it just turns on the ignition but no crank ... DOH!

Bmw remotes are the work of the retarded. Why cant they just be a pair of cr2032's that you replace every year or two instead of this inductive charging crap.

 

[Coog]

All good with mine so far aside from a blown driver side door speaker. Will replace tomorrow all being well. Shouldn't have bought such a dose. FSH and 'sensible buying' would have prevented such a travesty Im sure lol

 

[brendy]

All good with mine so far aside from a blown driver side door speaker. Will replace tomorrow all being well. Shouldn't have bought such a dose. FSH and 'sensible buying' would have prevented such a travesty Im sure lol

me or you ?
Actually that said, mine came with a comprehensive armful of paper history, with bmw that actually means eff all.

 

[davey-dimples]

All good with mine so far aside from a blown driver side door speaker. Will replace tomorrow all being well. Shouldn't have bought such a dose. FSH and 'sensible buying' would have prevented such a travesty Im sure lol

Got mine of a friend in work for half what he had refused another fellas offer of a few months before ... I can live with a few niggles for such a bargain

 

[Antoin]

Got mine of a friend in work for half what he had refused another fellas offer of a few months before ... I can live with a few niggles for such a bargain [emoji14]

I'm off all week if you want to come up and I'll see if I can fix the fob?