Buying a b3 e46
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
Buying a b3 e46
Hello I'm new to the forum and alpina's so please be gentle. I've been looking for a 330ci msport and I stumbled into the alpina b3 3.3 a name I remember from somewhere in the past. These sound perfect for me I found 3 after searching the country unfortunately they keep selling just as I find out about them. I've done some research and I'm aware they're quiet rare. What I'm asking is how often do they come up for sale anyone any ideas?
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
Yes it's a coupe I'm looking for, as for budget the ones I've seen seem to be advertised at around £4000 and I know one has just sold for £3000. I'd be happy to pay a bit more for the right car so I guess £3500 to £5000. Is this a realistic budget for a decent one? I'm only going off the ones I've seen and they seemed ok. The best I seen advertised was for £4500 so I'm hoping to get a good one for my money. Any help is well received. Thanks.
If you are going for the coupe/convertible model, its best to check that the subframe has not cracked. Seems to be a known problems especially with the more powerful engines.
Good luck with the search.
Good luck with the search.
Current Collection:
F30 B3 BiTurbo #133, C2 2.7 #515, B3 3.3 Touring #113
E46 M3 manual, E92 M3 manual
Porsche 997.1 Turbo Manual, 997 GTS, 996 C4S, 911SC Targa
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale
Lamborghini LP560-4 Manual
F30 B3 BiTurbo #133, C2 2.7 #515, B3 3.3 Touring #113
E46 M3 manual, E92 M3 manual
Porsche 997.1 Turbo Manual, 997 GTS, 996 C4S, 911SC Targa
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale
Lamborghini LP560-4 Manual
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
The one I really liked has just sold, the guy said he'd had it for sale for 3 months! For some reason it wasn't coming up in my searches until it was too late. At the moment I can find
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-BMW-Alpi ... 4897.l4275.
But I don't really fancy that after reading about it here.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p
Not for me I agree with the thread I've read, bit expensive for the condition.
There's a silver one in Glasgow but I don't like the colour combo.
Ones just come up for sale on here, but a bit more work needed than I'd like but it looks quiet good. And I'm imagining they're all going to have some faults. It's on my reserve list if you know what I mean.
If anyone spots any others please let me know.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-BMW-Alpi ... 4897.l4275.
But I don't really fancy that after reading about it here.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p
Not for me I agree with the thread I've read, bit expensive for the condition.
There's a silver one in Glasgow but I don't like the colour combo.
Ones just come up for sale on here, but a bit more work needed than I'd like but it looks quiet good. And I'm imagining they're all going to have some faults. It's on my reserve list if you know what I mean.
If anyone spots any others please let me know.
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
http://www.villagemotorswakefield.co.uk ... 3201910236
That's the one I saw first but like I said its sold.
That's the one I saw first but like I said its sold.
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
Yes Im a bit worried about the subframe thing. As far as I can see this could be an issue on early e46s with bigger engines. I'm guessing best way to check is with the ears on a test drive and strange handling. I've seen a vid on utube with the boot carpet up and you could see the whole thing moving when gears where engaged. Anything else that would give that fault away? Obviously you can only do so much when your looking at a car. I know a good mechanic and I'd ask him to look but im not seeing any local.
There's this one
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-BMW-Alpi ... 4897.l4275
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-BMW-Alpi ... 4897.l4275
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
I am no expert with subframe. When I bought my car I checked under the boot carpet and listen for any noises when turning. This was more common on the M3. To check properly I think it needs to go on the ramp?
As a precaution I am getting the M3 floor reinforced and will set me back around £1k.
As a precaution I am getting the M3 floor reinforced and will set me back around £1k.
Current Collection:
F30 B3 BiTurbo #133, C2 2.7 #515, B3 3.3 Touring #113
E46 M3 manual, E92 M3 manual
Porsche 997.1 Turbo Manual, 997 GTS, 996 C4S, 911SC Targa
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale
Lamborghini LP560-4 Manual
F30 B3 BiTurbo #133, C2 2.7 #515, B3 3.3 Touring #113
E46 M3 manual, E92 M3 manual
Porsche 997.1 Turbo Manual, 997 GTS, 996 C4S, 911SC Targa
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale
Lamborghini LP560-4 Manual
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
The subframe problem is more of an m3 issue I think, its not something that crops up in Alpina circles , I think it has more to do with the way the M3 delivers its power and how they are driven in respect to an Alpina also.Elan wrote:If you are going for the coupe/convertible model, its best to check that the subframe has not cracked. Seems to be a known problems especially with the more powerful engines.
Good luck with the search.
One thing to check on the earlier cars is suspension , most cars are needing full replacements now of shocks and springs and this is an expensive job , Front bottom arm bushes and rear subframe bushes also .
Vanos systems are another thing to look for on these cars to.
like most old cars if you want a good one you'll have to pay for it , only service history and good documentation will prove it , if you buy a cheap one be prepared to spend on it I would think .
As mentioned above plenty will help you out on here, best thing i would do is buy one off here if possible as then you can at least look through the owners posts and get an idea of the car its self.
Another thing to remember is most of these cars like regular feeds of oil, so finding a car that has an 5l oil top up in the boot is a good sign.
I may be selling mine soon so watch this space
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:22 am
- Location: St Helens
Hello and thanks for the reply. I first read about the sub frames on normal e46s. Think I remember reading that bmw had sorted it after a few years of production (not sure about that). I was under the impression that the vanos system on these was simpler and more reliable than most of the e46s. What would give away problems with it? Noisy engine? I guess with cars round 15 years old you just have to check them out as carefully as possible, then cross your fingers.
Getting one off here would be my preferred option for the same reasons you gave. It can be a bit worrying though reading all the posts about different problems but people don’t need help when everything works fine, so for every expensive repair I’ve read about I’m hoping there’s plenty others without the problems. I can at least see on here that they’re taking better care than most average car owners. Just had a quick look at the pictures of yours it looks very nice; please keep me informed if you do decide to sell. Thanks for the help.
Getting one off here would be my preferred option for the same reasons you gave. It can be a bit worrying though reading all the posts about different problems but people don’t need help when everything works fine, so for every expensive repair I’ve read about I’m hoping there’s plenty others without the problems. I can at least see on here that they’re taking better care than most average car owners. Just had a quick look at the pictures of yours it looks very nice; please keep me informed if you do decide to sell. Thanks for the help.