Tell me why a late 330Ci ZHP be a bad idea.

"The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock" (jukesjukesjukes)
12/12/2018 at 01:07 • Filed to: None

They are getting down in price, & I do want something more suited for track & auto-x.

DISCUSSION (19)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 01:18

Party-vi is a good source of E46 ownership anecdotes ... But I think a half-dozen other Oppos currently own an E46.

AestheticsInMotion > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 01:29

Dooooitttttt

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 01:30

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/this-is-why-i-avoid-buying-used-euro-luxury-cars-1830947712

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > AestheticsInMotion
12/12/2018 at 01:34

If the right car comes up(does not need to be a ZHP) before the winter if over maybe, but more then likely I’ll wait until winter is over. As long as it’s manual, rwd, & not a miata. Early E92 335i’s are getting cheap.

RallyWrench > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 01:35

It’s not a bad idea, they’re wonderful cars. The only caveat is age and mileage. By now, most will b e in need of some intensive maintenance unless they have impeccable records. Any evidence of overheating is a dealbreaker, as that’s about the only way to kill an M54. The alcantara surfaces don’t age well, especially the steering wheel. I’d daily a 4 door zhp, no questions asked.

AM3R, lost another burner > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 01:58

I’m still deeply in love with my e92 335i and I haven’t even really modded it yet... such a capable and sublime car to drive.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 05:41

Because BMW and the KISS principle aren't in the same space?

  > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 07:10

My unbiased opinion is that they a re terrible and you should never buy one.

No. D o it. They’re robust cars and I think the record of poor reliability perpetuated on the internet is largely a product of how just much they’re still talked about everywhere you look. I see E46s running around daily, battered to hell and on their 5th teenage owners but still going strong.

The support base is fantastic. You could diagnose any issue that comes up after like 5 minutes of searching, and then find a forum thread and three youtube videos going through the DIY step by step. Especially if you’ll keep it as a second car and can afford to have it not running for a few days from time to time while you tinker with something. You’re also much more fortunate in N orth A merica for parts availability and cost and shipping. When Amazon stopped shipping here it fucking killed me.

I wil l admit though that where I live weather isn’t really an issue so I don’t know much about how rust and corrosion affects them and how badly.

Montalvo > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 07:10

One of us... one of us... one of us... I will never part with this car as long as I still breathe.

Kinja'd!!!

Montalvo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
12/12/2018 at 07:22

There is something to be said for this but I couldn’ t care less. Any car will take care of you if you take care of it. Some need more help than others but as long as you are fine with budgeting extra when needed there is no problem. I’d rather pay 5x over another car to drive something I truly love. Everyone has a different sense of value and as long as you are happy $ means nothing.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 07:29

E36 M3s are also “cheap” depending on what that means to you.

Get an inspection at a good shop before you buy. And maybe looking into a 128-135 instead. The main problem I’ve had the ZHP cars is Altho some are sub 7k in price those usually also have 150,000 miles or more and it’s a 15 year old BMW. For not much more. You could have a 128i and have vehicular that is like 7 years newer. You may even be able to pick on up at a place like Carmax and get a water th with it. There is the e92 as well, but they are quite a bit bigger. I love my E90 but I’d i was buying a second car, or a just for fun car it wouldn’t be an e9x because of the size.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Montalvo
12/12/2018 at 09:03

And that's great as long as you have the money for it.

functionoverfashion > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 09:32

About the only thing I can come up with is that a ZHP specifically might be priced higher than a regular 330i, but then I’ve also heard that the ZHP is one of those cars that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and generally one of the best driver’s cars of its time that is also a practical daily if you want it to be.

It’s already been said that these are easy to work on and supported as well as you could want by the internet.

I budget about $1000/year to maintain my E46 to a very high standard, and lately most of the work is done at a shop.

Find a good one and have fun!

Milky > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 09:54

Kinja'd!!!

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
12/12/2018 at 09:58

That’s not the case if you are remotely able to spin a wrench. I’ll give you a good example. Yesterday my E46 went in for the airbag recall, and of course the dealer did an inspection and suggested maintenance for me. The highlight was a tensioner pulley and deflection pulley at $508. Bullshit. I just bought them for $12 each (so $24 total), and spent 20 minutes changing the things out. Didn’t take any special tools beyond what a normal person would have, didn’t have to lift it, nothing. My wife could have done it. Hell, my 10y/o could have done it.

Those maintenance costs are if you go to a dealer. If you do that, then you probably shouldn’t be buying anything out of warranty, and if you do then go domestic or Toyota/Honda. Go to in indy shop and what I did would cost $125-$150. No more than what it would cost for any other car.

B_dol > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 10:43

The E46 is a great platform to compete with (and own), but ZHP values seem to have risen well beyond what I would consider fair and often exceed more worn M3.

Find a well cared for example in MT and enjoy!

nermal > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 11:05

They’re a 12 year old BMW that has been beat to shit by 3+ owners already.

Good for if you want to strip them and turn into a track car. Bad if you want to use for an actual road car.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
12/12/2018 at 11:29

Oh yeah, definitely you can keep the costs way down by doing work yourself or going to an independent shop.

I did that when I owned a Saab. Hell... I do that with all cars I’ve owned.

But even then, you’ll still spend more keeping a Euro luxury car on the road. And not just because the parts cost more, but also the have more features... which is to say there is more stuff that can break.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
12/12/2018 at 19:32

Recently bought a ZHP (05 coupe, manual). Find the cleanest car you can with as much maintenance history/common problems addressed that you can. And/or get a PPI. I dodged a bullet with a PPI on the first ZHP I almost bought, had all kinds of messes under the skin (follow link to my profile for a few posts I put up during my search). The one I found is a peach, lowish miles, came with good history, and at a good price. The latter is the biggest problem with these – people who love them really love them and there are many out there with crazy asking prices. Like $10-12k. That’ bonkers even for a clean one.

It’s a good “regular” E46 without having to step up to an M3 and all the inflated maintenance costs that come along with that. As others have said the community is great, there’s a lot of DIY info out there and parts availability online. As long as you don’t go to a dealership maintenance shouldn’t be too bad – but again, see my first statement above. Do your homework and wait for the right car.

Only complaints I have are that the shifter is too rubbery for my liking, and no LSD. Also it feels heavier than what I’m used to (E30, S2000). YMMV based on what you’re coming from and what you expect from the car. All in all it’s a fun DD though that is capable enough for weekend duty and autocross.