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#1
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School Me on Buying a E46 or E90
We are casually starting the search for the next car for Sharon.
Maybe in the next 2-4 months. She will be leaving behind a '98 Cadillac STS. "The lead sled" We currently have a great 1997 E36 (328is) that we bought a few years ago for the kids. Sharon wants manual and is intrested in all wheel drive. Her color is blue. I don't read magazines and only know much about the cars I work on. I want: Something that is simple that I can fix. (Almost anything) I don't want to have to rely on the dealer of independant shop to reset the CEL every time there is a hickup. Will my OBDII reader get me anywhere? (Are there aftermarket dignostics tools to go deeper?) In this area, I think it's possible to find a clean, low mileage E46 that was well cared for. (There are so many Bimmers on the road.) What does the E90 have going for it? Probably looking for an engine on the larger size as opposed to economy. Are there lots of known problems with the x drive? I like to benchmark off of others experiences and guidance. Please let me know what's good and bad as well as any tips to buy and things to look for... Thanks!
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Thanks! WCM (Bill) '81 911 SC Red Targa 3.6 '97 328is White Coupe (2nd Owners!) '08 335i Blue Sedan '05 Chevy Tahoe green '98 Jeep Cherokee XJ "Blue" '01 Toyota 4 Runner "Pearl" Darnestown, Maryland |
#2
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Too bad you arent looking for M3. My 01 vert with 34k miles is for sale.
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2002 M5 (Sold) 2010 WRX Sedan (Sold) 2001 M3 Vert Alpine White/Black (Sold) 2002 996 (Sold) 1995 993 (Sold) 1973 914-6 (Sold) |
#3
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Quote:
Got a picture or a link?
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Thanks! WCM (Bill) '81 911 SC Red Targa 3.6 '97 328is White Coupe (2nd Owners!) '08 335i Blue Sedan '05 Chevy Tahoe green '98 Jeep Cherokee XJ "Blue" '01 Toyota 4 Runner "Pearl" Darnestown, Maryland |
#4
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here is a lousy pic
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2002 M5 (Sold) 2010 WRX Sedan (Sold) 2001 M3 Vert Alpine White/Black (Sold) 2002 996 (Sold) 1995 993 (Sold) 1973 914-6 (Sold) |
#5
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Is that M3 white, or some odd green color?
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John Clay 2011 Cayman 1986 944 "Traffic Cone" 2013 Scion FR-S |
#6
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What's your asking price?
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Harry Current 2019 C7 GS 2019 Mk7 eGolf 1984 944 |
#7
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Bill M:
Stick with the E46 3 series ('99 to '06) b/c the GT1 (dealer programming software) is readily available and you can run diagnostics, reprogram, code modules, etc... Software for E90 isn't readily available ... yet. |
#8
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Quote:
Thanks! What if I can't get her into something that old? I didn't realize that the E90 went back as far as 06/07? I'm trying to understand the engine numbers it seems they have the same engine designation, but some are for a 325, 328 and 330. 330 2 door with a 6 speed looks pretty sweet
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Thanks! WCM (Bill) '81 911 SC Red Targa 3.6 '97 328is White Coupe (2nd Owners!) '08 335i Blue Sedan '05 Chevy Tahoe green '98 Jeep Cherokee XJ "Blue" '01 Toyota 4 Runner "Pearl" Darnestown, Maryland |
#9
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The numbers "used to mean something" until the BMW marketing department started f-ing with them.
For ages it went like this: 1st digit = body style 2nd & 3rd digit = engine liter displacement i = fuel injection s = sport e - eta or efficiiency / high torque low hp motors, good mileage. t = can mean touring or hatch-back unles you are talking about 2002s (pre-cursor to 3 series). x = all wheel drive for sedans and tourings c = convertible So, generally, a 325is= 3 series 2.5L engine fuel injected sport model It all started to change when 2.7L eta motors came out in the E30 3 series ('84-'91) ... was sold as a 325e or 325es though ran a 2.7L motor. Then, marketing needed to create a bigger benefit to sell the E46 328 cars (2.8L motors) so 325 cars got labeled as 323 (even though they still had 2.5L engines). M, Z and X series really never followed engine displacement nomenclature and the V8 powered sedans (5 series and 7 series) didn't always follow the displacement rules. E.g. an E39 body 540i ('97 - '03) should have a 4.0L V8 based on the label ... it runs a 4.4L instead... In the last several years ... it has become more screwed up with turbo motors. E61 5 series 535xit = 5 series 3.0L turbo x = AWD i = injected t = touring (wagon) Good luck deciphering ... wiki is pretty good and the Bimmerheads on Dorki can assist as well. |
#10
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Additionally, all E90s post 2006 in the US are either 328s or 335s. They both run 3.0l engines - the 328s run a n/a motor and 335s run a turbo motor.
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Chris M 1985 911 Carrera with a couple cosmetic only mods 2006 E90 330i 1999 E46 328i |
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