Well this is my first official thread on Team-BHP so please go easy on me
Car: BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight 6, 173bhp. M54B22 Engine.
Km's on the odo: 20,000
Year of Manufacture: 2002
Place of Manufacture: Bayern, Germany(Home of BMW)
Service History: Full.
PDC in 2002. Oil Service in '05 @ 6932kms. Inspection 1 in '12 @ 1755kms
Realistic km/l: 6km/l (City Driving)
Alternatives Considered: None!
Lets start from the beginning.
The love for this car started over a decade ago when i was in school. People would draw batman and superman in their books doodling away and i would be drawing the M3. Ah the M3 still a dream that needs to be fulfilled. The e46's body is one of the most beautiful, subtle & clean shapes i've ever seen. It's just so perfect. It's honestly a matter of love at first sight.
And I'm not the only one! Here's Richard Hammond explaining why this car is so perfect. (Note: he's got the pre-facelift) Also, i've heard our very own GTO praise this lovely machine before as well!
Anyway,
coming down to the search. Clearly the e46 is a rare car in the country. Well i had to find out the hard way. Its almost impossible to find a good one anywhere. It took me way over
6 months to find the right one. I did everything from asking people on this forum to even emailing GTO if he had some knowledge on where to look.
Coincidentally, on my way home from work i found an e46 330i followed it home. Gave the driver my card to give to the owner but no call back. I even wrote them a hand written letter to atleast consider a sale! but nothing.
Found another 325i on the road that was owned by sachin tendulkar but again no call back. I even stopped tbhpian Rekhiv to sell me his 325i vert, but no!
Somehow over the months i noticed a trend being formed that a majority of the few e46's here are found in Delhi. So i spread the word. Called every dealer at the back of the autocar and emailed people and did everything i could.
Then finally it came knocking at my door, i was sent an email from a dealer saying he heard i was looking for a car and he had a mint 320i M54 Engine. Thats the 2.2L I6 173bhp. It was love at first sight. After some paperwork formalities from the dealers end, the car was ready for a sale. So i took the first flight out to delhi and drove it. The legendary I6 bmw engine is a perfect balance with that insane body shape. It all just comes together in this perfect harmony.
So
i jumped the gun, bought her. Had major troubles with bringing the car down from delhi to bombay. After calling multiple agarwal carriers numbers, i finally found the right one (Agarwal Packers & Movers) and brought it on a truck to Mumbai. They were the only reliable movers who let me drive the car into the trailer, pack it with foam and bubble wrap and a car cover over it. I was assured no one would enter the car which no one could due to all the packing which would be torn off if anyone attempted. I was allowed to go to their warehouse where the trailers are parked and got it down the trailer myself. Phew!
Pre Purchase Pics Just the right amount of wearing in: These are now Post Purchase! At the hotel, couldn't bare leaving it alone, i wanted to sleep in it! ASC, same as DTC The Screen is pretty beaten up, i've ordered for the replacement and should reach me in 10 days. (Hopefully) Getting it PUC'd before its 1400km journey to Mumbai The Silky I6 I went hunting for sofa foam (dont know what the real name is) and alot of bubblewrap to make sure she's well tucked in The smaller things that instills confidence in the Agarwal Movers & Packers brand Thats it! She's loaded and tucked away under the cover! Now for the longest 4 days of my life! Heres the video of the unloading: Fresh out of the trailer! Finally home! A quick wash with the Karcher Foam Lance and a wash and rinse using the Two Bucket Method A quick oil change and tyre change (These were the original tyres since 2002! Interior Detailed; Cant wait for the screen now! The numberplates finally arrived from Germany My elder brother's F10 with my E46 The Good, Bad & the Ugly
The Good:
1) Amazing looks, just absolutely breathtaking! One of the best 3 Series ever made.
2)
Ridiculously great engine. Built like a tank. Purrs and the touch of the throttle and flies when you need it to!
3) Great
ergonomics, amazingly well
bolstered seats.
4) Has most of the bells & whistles any modern day would have
5) Speaking of which, it outlooks any modern day car as well!
6)
AirCon freezes the living daylight out of you, even though the car doesn't have any tinted windows.
The Bad:
1) No BMW Corona Rings/projectors
2) No Automatic Seats
3) No Sunroof!
4) 5 Speed Tranny (It screams for another gear!!!)
5) Someone's tried to open the oil filter without the right tools and there are too many scratches on it, kind of making me mad.
The Ugly:
1) No Cupholders! Its been traded for the phone cradle which i will soon change.
2) The soft paint on the cigarette lighter compartment is heavily scratched, will have to sand it down and plastidip it.
3) The Screen needs Replacing
4) Petrol Petrol Petrol Petrol
The Engine
This in itself deserves a topic. Wow, just wow. I've driven v6's and the new turbo 4 cyl's but nothing, i mean nothing compares to the mind you, not-so-deep sound of this engine. Its nothing like those fart cans we hear on carter road, just pure engine noise.
Its a 2.2L Straight6 which puts it unfortunately, in the lowest category of cars in the 6cyl range of the e46. With a respectable 173bhp, its about 11bhp off the 325i and 40bhp off the 330i. But still, she flies! Ahem, not that i've ever broken any speed limits Ahem.
Conclusion on the engine, its completely second to none in its class. Guaranteed.
The Interior
Beautifully layed out gearknob
The Glovebox is laced with velour.
Drivers side has the light too:
No cupholders.
The lovely footwell light
I'm in love with the rear side lights!
Decent amount of legroom at the back with the seat in a more luxurious position.
Well bolstered fat seats
The roof is absolutely mint.
Those fogs is what i was talking about.
A little place to put your fuel cap.
Love the angle at which the bmw logo is put
Gas Struts need replacing, theyve gone hard.
Mirrors come blue tinted, no auto dimming feature.
look at that shape! the little things i tell you
The chrome doubles up as a water channel:
Love that side bulging arch
Now the
future work progress;
The oil has already been drained and changed with Mobil 1 0w40 (it has BMW's LL-01 grade). K&N Stock Replacement Air filter has been ordered & Oil filter has been changed as well with the oil change.
New Numberplates from Germany.
Although the gearbox has lifelong oil (you never have to change it) the dealer had topped it off with another grade oil which can be a disaster. So 9 Litres of Gearbox Oil & Gearbox Oil Filter has been ordered as well.
Going to keep the car as stock as possible since its been driven only for 20k Kilometers with no mods whatsoever.
You can see the LCD Screen is worn out, i've already ordered for a replacement and found a DIY on fanatics for that. will update that with pictures once i get it.
Next would have to be getting the bushes replaced along with any other brittle or worn out part. Post that, i'm guessing LED Taillamps & Headlamps with Projectors & Yellow Fogs.
Summary:
There is no summary! this car is perfect in everyway. There's absolutely nothing i can fault with it. Nothing. Everything is so well thought off. This is one of the first cars i've owned where i have to literally hunt for faults and still cant seem to find them!
I've had this car for less than a week driven for about 200kms and i cannot refrain from taking it over 4000rpm. The sound of that engine is just something else! But my god does she drink, i'm talking around the mid 5's in the city and if i have a super light foot, 5.9kmpl at the max! All in all i couldn't have asked for anything more, my dream has come true! and theres no way i would ever get this without my brother.