How to buy a used e46 BMW Pt:1

What to look for when shopping for your first BMW e46.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. These things are what I have learned from personal experience. Be sure to do your own reading, and get your potential car checked out by a mechanic.
Other things to look out for:

Rattle/clicking from VANOS unit up front. Does the car feel like its missing a lot of low down torque? (then vanos seals are gone)

-Leaking sump gasket
-Obvious leaking cooling parts.
-Damaged cooling expansion tank
-In four cylinder model- is the vacuum pump gasket leaking?
-Is there any play or clicking in the steering wheel when you turn it slightly?
-Check out for broken rear trailing arm bushings. Or any other broken or cracked bushings (there are a lot).

[AshtewanPhotoVideo]

Look how far they've come. So proud.

[tsmgguy]

I bought my 2001 BMW 325i new. I've had none of the problems mentioned. I've kept up with maintenance, and the car is absolutely reliable to this day. It is low miles, 70K, and it's always been in a dry climate. I have replaced the belts and hoses.

[lancerichardson]

Step one, check sub frame, step two, replace the entire cooling system (change your belts, pulleys and hoses when you are in there). Step three, change your brakes. You can do all these things yourself and do them cheaply. Check your sunroofs as well.

[alalal]

my notes from watching
engine bay: 1)valve cover gasket seal cracks and leaks-make sure rubber is ok not spilling oil, below where the gasket is
2) oil filter housing gasket-
3) check oil cap for sludge
4) squeeze, pull, shake hoses see if brittle/cracked
5) look at oil from dipstick on a cloth, is it black does it smell burnt
6) check last oil service and if odomoter matches up
7) cooling system- has the cooling expansion tank/water pump/thermostat been replaced all will eventually go
8)power steering- look down and see if leaking start engine-
9)listen for clicking/whooshing/pulling off belts
10) feel around intake system (top right of engine bay) feel for vacuum leaks, drive around come back and listen for rough idle- could be bmw VANOS variable valve timing system, seals go

ask if these have been done:
11) throttle body, idle control valve, deca valve?

exterior:
12) look for rust
13) bounce car if too much shocks are done

use little bits of rust/leaks to negotiate

finally, look underneath does it look clean?

[TKFTW]

"bring a flashlight" there should be one in the glovebox already 😂

[jyrgenfist]

You dont have to ask all the questions, because the seller wont answer them honest. Looks like your door colors doesnt match the body

[toddhewett]

03 325xi. Bought w 172k… needed carrier bearing.
Also have heard stories about cooling so I replaced everything: electric fan conversion, new hoses, water pump, thermostat( its a housing all in one) radiator, coolant res, belt and tensioners and pulleys, lower psi radiator cap, brass bleeder screw.

The fan delete/ conversion was the best one. Now to remove fan its 2 plugs on top, 1 t25 screw, one plastic pull tab and up and out it comes. I did my stuff all at once, for peace of mind.

[neptunestudios]

Why do I watch this after I buy the damn thing

[CB-blts]

I bought a 320ci Coupé. it had the cooling system done but one damper was dead and it had a few smaller problems. The only big problem is that I will have to refresh all bearings at the rear axle and maybe reinforce it.
If u guys find one with the rear axle already done and maybe also things like the clutch or the coolant system it is probably a great purchase.

[matthewsokyrka]

How do you not have more subs?! Great video man! You earned a sub and a like

[rmasco]

Find one cheap. Worth the roll of the dice.. and just drive her till she explodes

[ManFunny]

when you look at gasoline e46 go on steep downhill and coast into a gear let's say 4th gear and on downhill hold it for 2-3 minutes without pressing the accelerator pedal after atleast 2 minutes coast in gear press the gas pedal and try to accelerate a little bit hard and if it smokes alot then it burn alot of oil

[mrayy_]

Very informative video, been looking at e46's since I was really young and wow, even I learnt something! Thank you

[Sroor]

But subframe issue you’ll notice definitely when you are changing gear from p to r or d there’s big bang my friend car was doing that and it need bushing even that car will not pass registration renewal if it has subframe issue definitely so don’t worry about that

[gsxrfrank]

Damn I’m sort of scared now to buy one of these I’ve been looking at a couple of these latley granted I own a Audi A4 but geez

[anthonyk]

Yes the yellow is ok on bottom of oil cap, my 2002 BMW X5 3.0 has this issue and it’s from the engine not running long enough in the morning usually running it for a small time then Turing it off but ccv is the cause if you see blue smoke on startup

[calebstoykofit]

mate thankyou so much for your videos. you potentially saved me hundreds if not thousands of dollars. cheers

[brbhavepp]

You forgot to mention this, have your VIN, call your BMW dealer and give them your VIN so they can see if front driver and passenger airbags are changed or not because E46-E39 cars are affected by this. The airbag company TAKATA had factory fault/design with shoot metal pieces to the driver’s and passenger’s face in 200km/h when activated. Some reported them getting activated by itself.

[DIYTEA]

Sorry but most of the mentioned checks are general and not specific to the e46s models.
Here are some typical points to check on an e46:
- CCV Valve
- oil consumption ( could be vaused also by a failed CCV valve)
- Vanos system (leakages and weird noises)
- wishbones
- fuel pump and tank level transmitters (could be checked with the famous e46 secret menu). They are two
- quick diagnose with the on board diagnose system ( gives a lot of Information about the car, and the faults if there is any)
- the rear PDC sensors
- the ASC break system ( most of the time the high pressure sensors are the problem and should be replaced).
- the front airbags were changed on all the e46s (recall action). Check if the owner did it

[Tilan]

Fantastic video mate.

Some stuff that can be added is: is the sump gasket leaking? (If it is, it means the PCV valve has been blocked). Is the aircon not that cold? (Could mean evaporators are gone). (In four cylinder variants like mine you want to check if the vacuum pump gasket is leaking). The other one that you missed out was front control arms. You can check by pressing your hands against the steering wheel to see if it has any play (or check the bushings with a torch. The dip stick o ring can leak and same with the coolant sensor.

That's all I could come up with :)