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My BMW E46 330i Sport Touring



  DC2 TypeR / E36 328i
Hello all,

Long time no post, but I've just got another E46! So I thought it was time to get back involved with the UKs best E46 forum - ClioSport.net.

It's been almost 3 years since I sold my last E46, an Estoril Blue 320d Sport bought from none other than Sir_Dave on here. I loved that car, and always said I would own another E46, though I did expect it to be an M3. I came close to buying an M3 last year, viewed a few and found a few that I liked, however just getting off the phone arranging to view a lovely Techno Violet example, I was told I would be losing my job, so that plan went out of the window.

This was the old one, which some of you may remember:
7110547455_f6c48e407c_c.jpg
Quick Pic by DanielJames., on Flickr
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066.jpg by DanielJames., on Flickr

After that I've had a few different cars. Two Integra DC2s, of which I still own one of them. An E36 328i Sport, a Seat Ibiza Cupra, a Audi A4 Avant, an Integra DC5, and a Civic EP3 (which I also still own, but are selling, if anyone is interested). I've been playing the "what is the ultimate daily" card for a while Something happened last week however which made me think that something with comfortable heated seats, cruise control, sat nav, and an engine that could comfortably tow my DC2 track car to events was needed asap. This happened when I took my car to track for the first time on a trailer. The benefits are exceptional, but I didn't want to buy an excellent towing car and end up with a shitty road car that I would hate. I thought about buying a Disco 3, excellent to tow with, but how long until I'd get bored of it, or bored of fixing it? I considered getting another A4 PD130 Avant, a brilliant car no doubt, and very sensible, but I don't need sensible. Sensible lasted a couple of months the last time I tried it, and petrol is probably the cheapest it will ever be at the moment. When I was thinking about the Audi I started to think about E46s again, notably the 330d. Power, torque to tow with, and an excellent chassis with half decent fuel economy? No brainer surely? Then I remembered about the time my mates HPFP died on his E46 330d, and remembered the bill it came to. So why not a 330i?

To start with, they're properly rare to get, and to get in a good spec, even harder. One of my CS FB friends suggested speaking to a guy on here about one he may be selling, but unfortunately we didn't agree on the value. It wasn't the perfect spec anyway, so not to worry. Then on Friday morning I was tagged into a post on FB, from a man selling a 330i Manual Touring Sport, with under 100k and every option I could have wanted. Xenons, Sat Nav, Heated Leather Seats, H+K, Auto lights/wipers, Digital TV tuner, I think the only thing it doesn't have is electric seats and a sunroof. I could live with that. Best of all, it had a manual gearbox, and a 6 speed one at that. I got on the phone to the guy straight away, it was down in Stevenage which is close to 3 hours from me. No biggie, I've travelled further. Once I got talking to the guy though, I knew the car had to be mine. He'd owned it for 8 years, and best of all, he was a BMW Master Technician. This meant the car had full dealer service history, last serviced 3k ago. It had proper tyres fitted, Michelins up front and Bridgestone Potenzas on the rear. It meant the services had been done properly, things that most cars of this age are overlooked on like brake fluid and coolant had been changed. The leather seats had no signs of wear, no sags, no shine. It meant the Sat Nav disc was up to date, it meant that only genuine BMW parts had been used with the proper oil etc. I could go on, but knowing stuff like this gave me great confidence in the car and the seller, and made me quickly realise I had to own it. I made an offer on the phone, with the promise that if accepted I would take the car that night. He accepted, so after sorting a lift, off I set!

Upon arrival of the car I was greeted by not only one M car also in the household, but two. An M6 and an E46 M3 sat on the drive of the house. You know when you just get that feeling that things are going well? Anyway the car drove great, was exactly as advertised, and even had a few things thrown in that I didn't expect like a bluetooth car kit and a iPod link fitted in the glovebox.

I haven't yet taken any good quality pictures of the car, as I started my shift at work the next day. Here it is in the petrol station on the way home:
3F194567-39D4-48B2-8D4B-13A94564CB22_zpsek2gsye8.jpg


(Average MPG on the way home was 34.5mpg, with cruise set at 72mph all the way.)

I'll get some better pictures of it this week if anyone is interested. Hopefully it'll be my tow car to Spa/Ring in April as I don't really want to risk driving the DC2/drive the DC2 that distance in its current build. I need to get a towbar fitted and do my trailer test before then. I've got Cadwell on the 9th of March so going to try and get it done before then.

The interior is fantastic.
d8879518-19f7-4436-b97d-3edef2ea44c0_zps9b8ea567.jpg


This is easily the best car I have owned to date. It might not be an M3, it might be in a slightly dull colour compared to my other BMWs of the past, but I absolutely love it.
AF722E6A-C0BF-4FD1-9D61-7D72E099BB2F_zps5gpweycp.jpg

Quick picture with my EP3 in the background.

I'll update the thread with some proper pictures later in the week. I just had to let the new car excitement out :)

Cheers,
Dan
 

leedsboy

ClioSport Club Member
  Bean 182 + E70 X5
I remember your old E46, was a lovely colour. Your new one looks pretty clean too, will keep an eye on this.
 

Rich-D

ClioSport Club Member
  E90 LCI 330d
Lucky find, that is a very rare beast indeed!

If you need satnav updates, drop me a pm ;)
 
  DC2 TypeR / E36 328i
Lovely other than the tints mate. Great purchase.
I know what you're saying about the tints, the rear ones I can see being useful for when I'm filling the car up for trackdays and that, not that I like the look of them. It'll probably look odd with none on the front and the back all blacked too, so I'll have to have a think what to do.
I remember your old E46, was a lovely colour. Your new one looks pretty clean too, will keep an eye on this.
Thanks mate, I'd love another Estoril Blue car in the future. I was considering a M135i for a bit, then went on to E36 M3, both of which would have had to have been Estoril. I've never seen an Estoril E46 Touring though, it's not often you see them in rare colours to be fair.
Nice looking car mate. Are those pics taken in Featherstone?
Thanks, nah I'm not from "fev" lol.
 

Short Norman

ClioSport Club Member
  997 C4S
I've got a silver grey SE touring. Every time I see a m-sport I wish I'd got one, but when I got mine the m-sports where nearly double what I paid.

The MV2's really suit them.
 
  DC2 TypeR / E36 328i
I had one near identical. Should never have sold it.
You want it back? I think I'm done with it...
For what you paid? ;) ;)
I think you'll regret selling it Tim. I can't think of anything that could replace it!

I've got a silver grey SE touring. Every time I see a m-sport I wish I'd got one, but when I got mine the m-sports where nearly double what I paid.

The MV2's really suit them.

They really suit Sports, yes. I was sick of seeing ES/SE cars advertised with MV2s though when I was looking! Just the other day when driving this I saw another ES/SE with MV2s on it near me. Meh, chav spec!

My mates trying to buy a set of E9x M3 18" wheels for it that are advertised on M3 Cutters. I don't intend to modify this though.
 
Very nice, I've gone for an E46 330i Saloon for towing the Clio. Nowhere near as nice as yours mind, settled for an SE auto with leather and xenons due to budget. Much prefer the touring and sport.

What's your take on the towing licence though, so long as you keep your train weight under 3,500kgs (assuming you passed your test between roughly Jan '97- Jan '13) you shouldn't need to do it, I figure you'll be just under. 1575kgs 330i + 1100kgs DC2 = 2675kgs. Leaves you over 800kgs for the trailer and whatever's in the car (assuming standard weight of DC2). You might have plans to tow bigger stuff I'm not aware of mind you but was interested as to what you've looked into with it.
 

Djw John

Scotland - South
ClioSport Area Rep
The problem there is that the trailer and dc2 then weigh more than the bmw so isn't covered by that licence. The train weight needs to be less than the tow vehicle with the total weight under 3500kg
 
The problem there is that the trailer and dc2 then weigh more than the bmw so isn't covered by that licence. The train weight needs to be less than the tow vehicle with the total weight under 3500kg

I can't find any mention of that on the legalities online via www.gov.uk. This is all it spits out:

"Licences held from 1 January 1997
If you passed your driving test after 1 January 1997 and have an ordinary category B (car) licence, you can:

  • drive a vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes or 3,500kg MAM towing a trailer of up to750kg MAM
  • tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined weight of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg
For anything heavier you need to take a category B+E driving test."

I assumed the second point made it legal.

Also I think the tow weight on the be is only about 1400kg, part of the reason I went for the Saab as it can do 1600kg.

The E46 330i has a towing weight of 1700kgs.

Must make clear I'm not trying to argue a point either, just intrigued in case I've overlooked anything. Maybe a discussion for a separate thread but was interested to ask someone with a very similar tow car and tow weight or others who'd looked into it.
 
  DC2 TypeR / E36 328i
Very nice, I've gone for an E46 330i Saloon for towing the Clio. Nowhere near as nice as yours mind, settled for an SE auto with leather and xenons due to budget. Much prefer the touring and sport.

What's your take on the towing licence though, so long as you keep your train weight under 3,500kgs (assuming you passed your test between roughly Jan '97- Jan '13) you shouldn't need to do it, I figure you'll be just under. 1575kgs 330i + 1100kgs DC2 = 2675kgs. Leaves you over 800kgs for the trailer and whatever's in the car (assuming standard weight of DC2). You might have plans to tow bigger stuff I'm not aware of mind you but was interested as to what you've looked into with it.

I'll probably do the test to be honest. I was speaking to Jord on here about it earlier. In short there are so many grey areas surrounding it, its probably just better to be safe than sorry. You might get away with it, but you might not. I wish it was clearer...

The problem there is that the trailer and dc2 then weigh more than the bmw so isn't covered by that licence. The train weight needs to be less than the tow vehicle with the total weight under 3500kg

I think if you look at it with the number I might be okay. They could be dicks though. My BMW weighs 1575kg btw and my DC2 about 1000kg. Add another 90kg for me and 50-80kg for tools and that, then the trailer itself will be around 400.

The max braked towing weight of a 330i is 1700 btw.
 

Djw John

Scotland - South
ClioSport Area Rep
Ah right, I remember it as lower but that's cool then.
I'll have a look about the trailer weight being less, I'm confident that's said somewhere but yes, the info you get from them is never clear!
 
I agree, been looking at stuff for months and it's ambiguous to say the least. May have been a different engine you looked at, some are lower. There are guidelines I've seen saying don't go beyond the weight of the car with the trailer but I understood the legal limit to be the manufacturer's certified towing weight. Let me know if you find out either way though pal.
 

Djw John

Scotland - South
ClioSport Area Rep
That was surprisingly easy! From https://www.gov.uk/towing-rules where it says

"A full car licence already lets you tow trailers weighing no more than 750 kg. You can also tow heavier trailers with a car as long as the total weight of vehicle and trailer isn’t more than 3,500 kg. The fully loaded trailer must also not be heavier than the unladen vehicle (this only applies to licences issued before 19 January 2013)."

Eta- for the sake of the test fee I'm gonna do it, Djw Dave can teach me!
 
Last edited:
Oh and @DanielJames, I'd recommend having your cooling system checked out whenever it next gets near a garage. I'd heard they were a weak point and found out the awkward way today when either my expansion tank or radiator exploded while stationary (not had it on the ramp yet). Not the biggest or most expensive of problems but a ball ache none the less, seen a few stories online about the same happening.
 
That was surprisingly easy! From https://www.gov.uk/towing-rules where it says

"A full car licence already lets you tow trailers weighing no more than 750 kg. You can also tow heavier trailers with a car as long as the total weight of vehicle and trailer isn’t more than 3,500 kg. The fully loaded trailer must also not be heavier than the unladen vehicle (this only applies to licences issued before 19 January 2013)."

Well spotted and thanks for that. Still doable with the 172 on the trailers I've looked at it seems :up:
 
Speaking to Daniel earlier about this as he mentioned - Its one huge grey area to say the least. I towed with an E46 Touring for years, light trailers, clios, and the like. After being fine for over a year I got pulled for a regular check - ended up with a hefty fine and points. This was a light trailer, and a Mk1 Clio. As clear as it says on the 'DVLA/Gov Sites' its always one answer then another, if you phone them you'll get a different answer from one operator to the next. At the end of the day if you get stopped and the copper does not like the look of it, he will just say you are not driving in accordance to the licence, which is what happened. Your word against his, who are the courts going to believe? Its just not worth the hassle for a £120 test. If you can get some practice in with a <750KG trailer, the test is a piece of p*ss.
 
  Leon Cupra 300
If you met all other requirements, and with the weight of whatever tow car leaves you with 1500kgs for the trailer and trailered car combo.. The trailer needs to be plated to 1500kgs.

You can't town a 700kgs Mini on a 300kgs trailer if the trailer is plated at a 2200kgs MAM.
 
  DC2 TypeR / E36 328i
Got some better pics at last,

15952059213_7354363597_c.jpg
DSC_0638 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16572283075_ee41eaa4eb_c.jpg
DSC_0639 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16384607968_63d6a66d13_c.jpg
DSC_0637 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16384814510_5aedd3423f_c.jpg
DSC_0636 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16571155422_2a140f3a03_c.jpg
DSC_0632 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16570609281_6506542d62_c.jpg
DSC_0623 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16384609998_cf7a9110ce_c.jpg
DSC_0620 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16572285935_bdbb8a3d35_c.jpg
DSC_0618 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16384610858_34fc38c040_c.jpg
DSC_0614 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16384815350_296c78d553_c.jpg
DSC_0629 by DanielJames., on Flickr

and to mimic my other E46:
16571158162_723e5ec412_c.jpg
DSC_0609 by DanielJames., on Flickr
16570611551_a81dd4d508_c.jpg
DSC_0607 by DanielJames., on Flickr


Unfortunately, I'm getting a bit of hesitation from the engine. With the help of @f0xy I've spent most of the evening trying to get INPA on to scan for errors but we couldn't get it working. It's possibly my cable or a problem with XP so I'll try it again on the Windows 7 image when I can.

I unplugged the MAF out of curiousity and it did seem to get better, but as its an intermittent issue I'm getting I can't really pinpoint it without reading the codes.
 
If you met all other requirements, and with the weight of whatever tow car leaves you with 1500kgs for the trailer and trailered car combo.. The trailer needs to be plated to 1500kgs.

You can't town a 700kgs Mini on a 300kgs trailer if the trailer is plated at a 2200kgs MAM.

That would only count for licences after Jan 2013 as far as I can tell.
 

Cookson

ClioSport Club Member
  Mk1 Audi TT 3.2 V6
Jesus, You must drive like a tart. I am getting 21mpg at the moment
 

roberto.

ClioSport Club Member
  S4 Avant
Have you tried resetting the throttle sensitivity?

Nice car though, and just about the exact same interior as mine. Your knob is fresher though!
 


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