BMW On A Budget

#bmwe46 #bmw330i
Today we check out my new BMW, An E46 330i that I’ll be running and maintaining on a budget

[@anderssvin4161]

Mate, if there was any justice in the world, which there isn’t, you should have been a KZbin millionaire by now! Know this: I would not still be a E60 M5 owner, had it not been for you and your channel! Clouds will clear up in a while, and driving the mint E46 is no disaster. 🙂

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers Anders, good to hear you still have the E60 M5 👍 Thanks for following the channel as long as you have done, I’m glad you’re here

[@jezzalowe5121]

im in new zealand too. Car looks awesome!

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers jezza, good to hear from another local 👍

[@joneslive586]

Love this era, great choice! Also like your budget (but not cheaping out) whilst wisely maintaining it. That is you to a tee pal, why I like your channel!

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers man, TBH the budget is just about non existent right now, so we’ll do what we can do 👍

[@jeremiahex]

Wooow what a find! 😮

[@MTechGuy]

I looked at A LOT of very unloved ones before coming across this one just by chance!

[@biggerinjapan298]

Lovely cars , hope life’s better for you mate

[@MTechGuy]

I feel very grateful to have come across this car just by chance

[@repairitdontreplaceit]

shes mint buddy :)

[@MTechGuy]

She is! I feel very fortunate to have come across this one just by chance. The previous owner just bought a Porsche, was having a clear out

[@themadcentrist9396]

Interesting. I will have to follow along. I just purchased a somewhat similar car here in the US. It seems like BMW produced a special e46 spec for each market. Mine is a North America only limited edition 2004 330i ZHP. I only just learned the ZHP existed as I was shopping for an e46 330 (looking at any spec). I won't bore you with all of the details (lots of videos on KZbin) but the ZHP is a high performance version w bigger cams, 300 more rpm limit and a bunch of real M mods. Sort of a factory tuner version of the E46. Maybe the only time in history that America got the best version of a BMW. I was lucky enough to find one that just needs a little love and care for a great price. :) One of the interesting things I have found is that many of the trim details that were only available on the e46 ZHP in America are available as options in other countries such as the black shadow line window trim (not cheap), M exterior trim (ZHP has M tec bumpers) and the cube interior trim that only came on ZHPs in America. At any rate, I'm on a budget as well and going through much the same process. I was able to find a cheap slotted rotor and pad kit for $350 US and the biggest expense has been nearly $1000 on tires. (The ZHP comes with 18" staggered wheels w 50's in back.) Good luck with your project. Very sharp car. :)

[@MTechGuy]

The ZHP is a cool car for sure. Most of the rest of the world got the M sport cars- kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYrMamamjbSXnNE

[@backseatcovers]

Lovely example. I wish you would include a few more shots of the car from different angles, still an absolutely great video.

[@MS-we4wi]

What a find!😮 I'm a little jealous to be honest, I can't even imagine how it must be to live in a country where it's possible to find a car like that for a good price. Congrats!

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers! I looked at A LOT of cheap E39’s & E46’s for a long time, they where all very unloved examples. I feel very fortunate to have come across this car just by chance without even knowing the owner was thinking about selling

[@mattwarren69]

Nice car, I bought an E39 Aegean edition 530i with white lotus leather about 10 years ago and I still have it, never want to sell it. The 3.0 straight six's are such a good all rounder, good performance, smooth, reliable and not horrendous on fuel .

[@MTechGuy]

Nice, I’m a huge fan of the 3.0 M54 engine. The 3.0 M52 in the 130i was an interesting engine, but I much prefer the older M54

[@jeremiahex]

I absolutely love these! And this one looks awesome 🎉

[@MTechGuy]

I agree! The E46 is a great car

[@maxstoegi5828]

What a beautiful E46 ❤. Good luck with the car and of course with everything else!!

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers Max, i need some good luck right now!

[@nitramh24]

Lovely car!! Those are impossible to find here in Norway!

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers. They’re almost impossible to find in this condition here in NZ to be honest

[@jimjohnson4072]

2011 128i owner. Sad the other one went away.. love the E46 though! Was what I originally wanted as a coupe. Here in the US they are plenty but still hard to find ones not clapped or just in rough condition.. 128i are currently cheaper as well here but as the E46 dries up the 1 series is gaining popularity. My 128 being a decade newer is also nice. Mine is a base with minimal tech for a luxury car. No sun roof! No I drive. Also the 50/50 weight distribution of the 1 series is a huge plus! But looks, the E46 all day! Love the black dent guards all around! I have a 2008 Corolla in grey with those on the sides! Love those on cars!

[@MTechGuy]

Yes didn’t want to sell the 130i but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I had an E46 330ci i daily drove for 9 years, it was a great car. Feels good to be back in an E46! We don’t really see the 128i here in NZ, lots of 135i but I’d much prefer the N/A 128i. I would have preferred a 128i over my 130i at the time back when I bought it if there was one available. Dent guards, love them or hate them, they’ve saved the paint over the years!

[@dingascorner9967]

Nice one mate, car looks mint for its age with good kms on it too. Better yet, you sound a lot more positive in this last vid. Top stuff.

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers dingascorner, after looking at a lot of very unloved ones for sale, I feel very fortunate to have come across this one just by chance. I really needed this right now!

[@techwithsully7985]

Love the car mate, I’m a fellow Christchurch BMW fan currently with an e53 x5 but keeping my eye out for an e46 touring 330i can’t wait to see the videos to come!

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers man, yes I recognise your KZbin name 👍 I love the e53’s, sad to have lost my old one. I would have considered another this time around but the fuel economy would have been too much for me right now! I used to have a 325i E46 Touring, great car!

[@samcourt6228]

Nice. The 130i is a hard sell because they’re kind of a forgotten car. There isn’t a following (of scene tax) like say the R32. The E46 looks grand; I’m in the Uk so most have crusty arches now.

[@MTechGuy]

Yes, they have gone largely unnoticed in the rest of the world, but there is a big enthusiast following here in NZ, we got a lot of Japanese imported 130i here. Great little ripper of a car, especially with a manual. I’d much prefer one over an R32, but the VW does have more rear passenger space. Not much rust here luckily

[@samcourt6228]

@@MTechGuy the R32 is very good at turning petrol into noise! After that I’m less bothered. The price difference is nuts and in the UK the VED is top bracket for most of the Mk5’s and they’re just not fast enough. I miss my 130i LE on Birds B1 suspension.

[@LindyGarage]

mtech-1 is so good looking imo

[@MTechGuy]

I agree, subtle but finishes the car off nicely

[@nycj3ahudson341]

BMWs- What's the Story? If you want to spend your money on a "MONEY PIT", go ahead... You've been warned...

[@petrovkristian1047]

It’s a E46 🤷🏽‍♂️ another car too played out on KZbin as I stated on another video cars like this have been done so much engine maintenance and every video you can think of KZbin won’t push these videos anymore it’s well played out you have many cars others have done over and over and this will crash your channel not improve it this is friendly advise and I really hope you see it like this just every car you are doing what others have done already

[@Tracker5111]

No such thing! First major repair u will wish u had bought a Corolla or Civic

[@mdratulakonda1]

Hi, your videos are very nice and Your content ideas are great. You already have a 10.1K subscriber which is a huge number. But the engagement in your videos is much lower due to which your videos are not going in front of your targeted audience and lose most of viewers and video rank. So, if you want to solve this problem get organic views and subscriptions daily. Then surely organically I can help you. Can I share solutions?

[@duncsm5662]

Looks like you got yourself a minter buddy, hopefully this is the start of change in luck for you! Didn’t know you where a boarder? Drives an e60 M5 and snowboards! Obviously cool as f#%k……. I speak from experience 🤔😂🏂

[@MTechGuy]

Cheers Duncs, yes I feel very lucky and really needed this right now! I’ve been snowboarding since 1999 when it wasn’t cool, and all the skiers hated us!