I am considering a 2001 330i with 83,000 miles. I thought that I heard that there were some engine oil problems with the early 330i engines (can't remember the engine code). What do I need to be concerned about engine-wise with this car? Thanks.
hmmm....I spend an inordinate amount of time on bimmerfest and e46fanatics and I don't recall ever reading about engine oil problems with any of the e46 engines. The overall consensus is they are pretty much bullet proof. All E46's tend to having coolant expansion tank issues.
Cooling systems are weak, including the expansion tank, the tstat (which can leak into the wiring harness) and the radiator. VANOS getting plugged up by infrequent oil changes is a problem, so change oil every 6-7k and use synthetic. Cam position sensors go bad, and you should onlyuse OE BMW replacements or else risk DOA new sensors. If you overheat the car too badly, you will need a whole new engine, so keep an eye on coolant level and do not drive it if it overheats or if the cooling system becomes compromized! Remember, a tow and inconvenience is a helluva lot cheaper than an engine! If it has an electronic throttle body, they go bad and cost about $400-$700 + labor to replace. ABS control units often fo bad and require a shop to replace and code (several hunderd for the part) or you can send yours to Module Masters for repair for $300. Not to be the voice of doom and gloom, but you did ask.
Mine has 106,000 mls. and is going very strong ... if you maintain the known problem areas and are not afraid to at some point in time swap out or fix the VANOS unit and replace a window regulator, they are solid cars with solid drivetrains and a best-in-class value for the money, especially now that everyone is going E90 crazy and people are dumping their E46s on the used market. You should have seen the drop in E46 M3 value in the last year!! . Actually the best info what to watch out for is the E46 Wiki accessed from bimmerfest.com in the E46 forum through a sticky Direct link here: http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index.php?title=BMW_E46 ... ... I wrote some segments myself ... like the VANOS comments ... so it's all goooooood
