Description
For sale is my E46 325i sport with a 5 speed manual gearbox. The current mileage is 133k but this will rise as the car is still in use.
Pictures can be found here, along with a spreadsheet of the service history
If you would like any pictures of anything specific please let me know and I will be happy to take some and email them.
Imola red paint with black alcantara sports seats. The car is standard, unmolested with no modifications.
The car has a very well documented service history (as seen in the aforementioned file) and has had extensive work to get it mechanically sound mid-2024.
The usual E46 refinements such as cruise control, climate control, on board computer, electrically adjustable wing mirrors, multi-function steering wheel etc.
4 + 1 spare alloy wheels which could do with a refurb due to kerbing over the years but from 10ft they look presentable.
MOT expires October 2025, the last one with no advisories.
Service history
The car has a vast service history, as can be found here:
You can see from 128k miles the car has had extensive work done, with around £2000 in parts alone spent on it to get it in mechanically sound condition. I am confident this is one of the better E46s out there from a mechanical and reliability perspective.
Body and paint work
The bodywork is good and straight aside the OS lower sill being out a tiny bit. Unfortunately the car has definitely had a poor paint job in the past, the clearcoat appears to have failed on the bonnet and the finish is quite hazy if viewed closely. There is a minor scuff to the NSR arch, which could polish out (I will try to do this before sale). There is some corrosion to the NSR arch, and a tiny bit to the OSR arch, which has had a repair done lower down (see photos in the Google Drive folder. The front arches have no corrosion at all. The underside is solid and, as you can see from the OS sill repair photos, the extent of the corrosion was not actually that much. There is some lacquer peel, but only on small, removable sections (wing mirror caps, roof strips, sill etc).
Engine and Gearbox
The engine is silky smooth and pulls cleanly and without any unwanted vibrations, noises etc from very low rpm right to the redline. It starts from cold or hot without hesitation or funny noises and does not smoke. The engine is always treated very gently from cold, and no full throttle is ever used before 6-7 miles of driving (oil takes longer to heat up than coolant!). It makes no clunks or unwanted jerks etc.
Suspension, steering and brakes
There are no knocks or shimmies and the car tracks true even under heavy braking. The brakes work absolutely brilliantly and the ABS cuts in as and when needed. There is no vibration through the wheel from braking.
Electrics
All electrics in the car work, except the button on the bootlid to open the boot does not work (use the key button instead) and the knob to adjust the radio volume does not work (the steering wheel buttons work for this). The passenger side window regulator is a little lazy, the window goes up and down, and seals fine, but it is slow to do so.
Interior
Generally in very good condition, except a tear to the driver's seat bolster. Other than this the interior is in very good condition.
Ancillaries
All handbooks, owners manuals, jacks etc are present. All service history is kept chronologically. There are 2 keys.
Summary
Overall this is a tidy, very well mechanically sorted E46 325i which is in regular use and really is ready to be taken away and enjoyed. The price reflects the condition I feel the car is in. It is mechanically fantastic and a little cosmetic love would see this to be a fine example.
