BMW 318i E 46

[ivandraganov]

Hi everybody,I know it's been a while since my last post but I've been busy and a bit angry with problems with my W203,but that past now.I've been looking to buy my first BMW,ooo no I'm not in a midlife crisis just wanted to look a bit younger in the eyes of the motorists but that's that.Also wanted petrol car as all my previous are or were diesels.Anyone with experience owning e46 318i around 10 years old, would be very helpful with advice concerning common problems,mpg,reliability,running costs,ect,ect.Cheers

 

[didi w203]

E46 eh? Lol. I changed my engine twice. First when the piston decided to break away making a loud tapping sound then again when head gasket decided to go. It was around the 102k miles mark in both engines. I have a spare head ready if you need one lol.
Chain driven. Very easy to change if need arises. (high miles)
Running cost are cheap in my eyes. Nice cars but 318/ 1.9 are slow. Don't go for the boring silver go for a grey or dark blue mettalic not navy cos that's a ****e colour.

Got rid cos it had a small dent on bonnet lol..I hate dented cars.
Rust along rear arches.

Fuel wise I got from weymouth to birmingham on about £22 petrol, about 172 miles door to door at motorway speed.
Around town in friends e46 316 (same as 318) about 29 mpg...pretty good me finks.

Only thing that needs change would be lower arms (knocking), tyres and usual service.

Common fault also is the final stage resistor as fan for air stops working inside the car due to this. Fitted one in friends e46 and found it fairly easy to do.

Go on buy one.

 

[ivandraganov]

Thanks Didi,also Google said that N42 engine is prone to engine oil sludge,and oil need replacing every 10k regardless if you put longlive oil or not.Thats seems waste of money as I change the oil on my W203 every 30k.Cheers

 

[didi w203]

Thanks Didi,also Google said that N42 engine is prone to engine oil sludge,and oil need replacing every 10k regardless if you put longlive oil or not.Thats seems waste of money as I change the oil on my W203 every 30k.Cheers

The e46 316/318 has the m43 b19 engine.
My w203 is going in for paint next week and so are the replacement alloys. .then re tint side windows with the mbclub stickers and a full service after.

 

[Lxb3]

The e46 318 can have the N42 engine - there were a couple of different "318"s produced. I've worked on a friend of mine's 316 Ti (possibly the nastiest car I've ever worked on, although I am biased ), it has all sorts of issues - the front oil seals tend to weep, spark plug coils die because they're located deep in the rocker cover so get v hot, the rad tanks tend to split, steering racks die, keys die, etc etc etc. And all this on a car with 79k on the clock. In short - not a bad motor to drive if you like that sort of thing, but it's underpowered, shockingly poor on fuel for something which is so underpowered, parts prices are variable, and frankly I wouldn't.
Try an Audi A4 instead! Nicer drive, and you'll get more for your money.

 

[didi w203]

I thought they had dohc?

 

[ivandraganov]

Try an Audi A4 instead! Nicer drive, and you'll get more for your money.

I had A4 B5 1.8 petrol it was poor on mpg too,maybe B6 or B7 are better?