Considering an e46 compact

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 09/17/2016 at 05:10 • Filed to: None

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Quite tempted to sell both my cars and buy a clean low mileage e46 compact. I love my e36 but its trashed and the interior isnt the best for long journeys. The e46 on the other hand could be a great daily in 318ti form. Also I like the looks, flame suit activated.

If I spent some time hunting around I could find a clean 50k mile example (in fact already seen a few low milers advertised) for not that much more than my two cars would sell for.

Its either that or start building the e36 up for track days/ drift days and keep the twingo as my DD. This is also a good option, but being a car guy I itch to drive something else from time to time.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:15

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I can’t give you any advice one way or another, but these e46 compacts have always looked strange. The front end just doesnt look OEM to me.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes 09/17/2016 at 05:17

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They split opinion for sure. As anyone who knows me will testify though, I’m always drawn to strange looking cars. I find the saloon and coupe decent looking, but not quirky enough for me. The compact strikes a good balance.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:19

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I’m all for strange cars! It’s not that these are the bad kind of strange, it’s just that even though I know it came like that, my eyes won’t accept that. Probably just because the us got every e46 variant (body wise) but these.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes 09/17/2016 at 05:21

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Theyre actually a rare sight here too and the relative lack of demand makes them a bargain. A 325ti in decent condition is only £2500 which for a rwd, manual, i6, lightweight hatchback is a steal. Unfortunately the running costs on the 325 are a bit high for me.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:29

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I have to say I’m not a fan of the m5x engine family. They’re more tedious to work on and have more expensive parts than the earlier inlines while not having a huge power increase.

That said, it’s hard to not like anything that’s rwd, with an inline 6.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:33

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Those M-sport bumpers really help pull the design together in my oppinion. The rounder bumper helps those round lights to look better.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes 09/17/2016 at 05:33

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Yeah and I’ve heard theyre not quite as reliable as youd hope. If you can live with those things its still a good car. Id be tempted by one if our fuel, insurance and tax prices here werent such a problem.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer 09/17/2016 at 05:34

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Yeah if I got one I’d have to have the m sport kit. That said i like the looks either way.

Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:39

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Yeah, I’ve heard good and bad things reliability wise. More bad than good but I’ve never owned one so I can’t say myself.

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:43

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I quite like them too!

Would replacing the e36 and Twingo by one car make sense, though? I mean hooning your DD can’t be that good for reliability.

On the other hand, DD-ing a nice BMW is better than a Twingo.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes 09/17/2016 at 05:44

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Conversely my old e36 compact has a smooth engine despite constant thrashing and being 20 years old. Maybe I should just get a cleaner, higher spec e36...

kanadanmajava1 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:48

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My friend has a316ti and he has had some annoying issues with it. Couple of months ago it refused to start. He swapped the the timing chain as the timing chain wear is a common problem with these. He learned that the chain was lately changed but it wasn’t written down in the maintenance documentation.

The earlier change was not properly done and the balance shafts slightly off. The original plastic chain guide pieces were still left in the oil pan.

But the starting problem wasn’t cured with this. The engine was finally cured by changing one camshaft position sensor. The sensor wasn’t completely shot as you still could see signal from it through OBD communication program.

After this the poor BMW generated anew problem. Not it consumes oil. A lot of oil. My friend swapped some oil separation things to the intake manifold but o lot of oil is still consumed by the engine. Th e valve seals are currently the prime suspects but changing them requires removing the camshafts and getting the valve springs removed with a special tool.

Except the engine issues my friend does like the car.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 05:52

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M sport pack, xenons and black kidneys are a must for me. A guy in my neighborhood dailys a 325i Compact.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer 09/17/2016 at 06:14

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This is my thoughts on the matter, I’d never be able to drive it like the e36 because id have to rely on it.

The twingo is actually a fantastic commuter car for me, cant fault it in that respect.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > kanadanmajava1 09/17/2016 at 06:15

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Seems like those things might be more related to the quality of work done on it, not the car itself.

Laurence > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 06:19

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It’s an interesting idea - your twingo will only loose value as it gets older and unless you put a lot of money into it, the condition of your e36 will just get worse and worse, so replacing them with one, nicer car seems a good idea. A e46 compact isn’t a terrible idea, even though I don’t personally like the styling (round lights aren’t that bad, it’s the clear taillights that bother me more) but they aren’t terribly reliable, and even a well looked after low milage car may need a lot of work in the long run. If you’re set on getting one, I’d go for it; they’re initially cheap, fun to drive and practical, but I’d look at a few alternatives first too

(Though if it was my money, I'd buy an old mini, then complain about rust and gearbox problems, so it's probably best not to listen to me haha)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 09/17/2016 at 06:21

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Agreed except for black kidneys, ai like the chrome.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Laurence 09/17/2016 at 06:25

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The Twingo has been fairly well maintained in my ownership so while yeah its depreciating so selling now would get me a decent price for it, that value may be paid back in reliable mileage if I keep it. So its a bit of a two way thing in that respect.

The e36 will just keep getting patched up and fixed cheaply really. I wouldnt really get anything when i sell it, I’d more just be saving on the running costs. If it needs any expensive repairs id just scrap it or sell for parts.

See I want cheap, rwd and manual which really limits me. Not sure if the 1 series are any more reliable.

Laurence > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 06:36

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I’m not sure how cheap you want, but I’ve been having a look around at a few options, and I’ve found that an nc mx5 could be an option. I hadn’t realised how cheap they’d gotten, but there’s a few sub £3000 examples on gumtree and the like. Would you consider one of those?

No idea what the reliability on a 1 series is like, but I see loads of them, so BMW must have done something right to sell so many

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Laurence 09/17/2016 at 06:39

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Too impractical unfortunately. I need at least 4 seats and something with a hatchback and folding seats.

Theyre nice little cars despite being somewhat ugly. Unfortunately I dont think thats the reason they sell, probably just the badge.

Laurence > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 06:41

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Hmmm, that really does limit your choices to old, beat to shit stuff and BMWs. I'll keep looking though, there has to be something

BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 06:44

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Yeah, the Twingo is a great commuter. But I guess an E46 could be that too.

I get your itch, though. I’ve got my Twingo for almost 3,5 years now, and I’m sometimes also looking at selling it, but then rational me starts to think what’s wrong with it, and then I can’t find anything. So I’ll probably end up driving it for until I graduate in 2 years.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer 09/17/2016 at 06:57

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I’ve only had mine for a year and a half and still love driving it. But still find myself looking at other stuff.

Laurence > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 07:00

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Looked around as much as I want to now, and if you want buy a new car, a e46 seems a good choice that fits all your requirements.

The only viable alternative I could find was a Lexus is200. They’re very cheap, RWD, can be found with manuals, and have enough seats, along with the bonus of generally being reliable. The only problem would be the hatchback, but if you were patient enough to find one of the sportcross estates, that problem is also solved (these exist with a manual in the uk, and there are a few for sale, but you don’t get as much choice as you would with a 4 door)

404 - User No Longer Available > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 07:50

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If only the front came like this from the factory:

kanadanmajava1 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 08:26

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The sensor issue would have been easy to solve if the the maintenance documentation would have told that the timing chain has been changed. It has tendency wear out after 150,000-200,000 km. The sensors are quite cheap compared to the chain swap.

But the excessive oil consumption might be related to the age and not the lack of maintenance. It was leaking oil when he bought it so he didn’t notice that the oil consumption was climbing until the leaks were fixed.

Honeybunchesofgoats > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/17/2016 at 08:37

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Alternatively, take those differently sized round headlights, but in a Jaaaaaaaaaaag.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > 404 - User No Longer Available 09/17/2016 at 12:51

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I duno I kind of like the round lights

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > kanadanmajava1 09/17/2016 at 12:55

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My e36 leaks a fair amount but the fluid levels never seem to drop which is odd.

Chains have similar issues on many cars so that doesnt bother me too much. I dont get why someone would have it changed and not keep proof. I keep receipts for any major work I have done.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Honeybunchesofgoats 09/17/2016 at 12:57

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But I alread owned a Mondeo.

Ba dum tsh.