The E46 BMW 3 Series is already a modern classic (full review)

The 1998 - 2005 BMW 3 Series, known as the E46 has come to define BMW for me. But how does it hold up today?
Car on test 2002 BMW 325i
Link to sale ad soon...
#bmw #e46 #bmwe46
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[@makhoedrey]

it was my dream car back in 2009 when i was 13 years old living in a Village in Bulawayo,Zimbabwe. Now based and working in Australia, believe it or not. i have that car back home now. i love it

[@JJonCars]

That's so cool! Dream come true :) thanks for sharing

[@Greaseman762]

Had too purchase my first car back in 2018 and knew nothing about cars , was searching Craigslist for a while and I came across this silver sedan that I just thought looked cool so I messaged the guy, met up and test drove the car, it was a 01 325i, and after driving it for about 5 minutes i knew I was buying it, took her home and ever since I can’t imagine myself driving any other car, the 46 turned me into a mechanic and an appreciator of these machine, before they were 4 wheels that got me from point A too B, but now the 46 is my life

[@TheModding69]

i got my 01 325i back in 2017 and even though it’s high mileage and aging mechanically i still love cruising in it. it’s apart of my identity

[@willoffer7119]

By far the best looking 3 series 👍

[@RaffleE46]

I agree

[@blackirish1000]

Nah 1998 e36 328i is better

[@theascendunt9960]

@@blackirish1000 No, it's a close second.

[@buggs9950]

Nah, all the previous generations were far better looking. BMW haven't made an elegant car since the E38. The E46 isn't hideous but it's definitely a bit too chubby from certain angles.

[@DIY2505]

Just bought one with 255k kms She purrs,needs some love and preventative maintenance but she’s rust free, no damage, all electricals work. Love it ❤

[@JJonCars]

Preventative maintenance, that's the key. Enjoy the car!

[@enochvarga7570]

Planning on buying one right now, can u give me tips on what to expect on maintenance??

[@Hubris1998]

One of the finest car designs ever made ❤

[@ashtonhutchason3038]

I agree the e46 is a modern classic, for many of the same reasons the 997 gen 911 is. Modern enough to have some decent tech & comfort/convenience, but old enough to still be a fairly simple and light car, and raw/visceral to drive. Not to mention, they are the perfect size. Modern cars have gotten so large and heavy they hardly feel like sport coupes anymore.

[@JJonCars]

Yup. That late 90's early 00's was a great time for cars :)

[@e46_land]

Extremely timeless design. Especially the M3 is masterpiece.

[@Birmingham_racing]

Still my favourite looking 3 series especially the coupe and convertible

[@hotroddriver2784]

I bought almost six months ago a BMW E46 320 Ci, with M54B22 engine It's fantastic, the sound mostly, but also when I see my car, I'm proud of It The style of this car it's timeless and I'm angry when the people, also in the past, tuning this car, because they broke and break the originality of this car, that is the best thing of this car❤️❤️❤️

[@JJonCars]

I know what you mean, I feel like that with a lot of cars!

[@moh2502]

Still have my 21 year old 330i auto with over 300,000km

[@jumolbureanu2415]

Great review dude, now we know things we ve been knowing for the past 15 years

[@MartinJones123]

Great review though Bangle personally didn't design the E46 LCI and E9X, though he still was heavily involved in the development... The E46 is a nice design and the E9X still looks fresh today, and they're also quite reliable if maintained from what I've heard... Looking for one of these (or an E9X) in a manual but it's very very hard... I'd also like to see a review of an E9X 3 Series...

[@rmfth]

I have the 2001 325i and I love it.

[@WiresFanDrew]

Bought a E46 318 Auto SE Touring a year ago with 15k miles…… absolutely love it

[@JJonCars]

Jeez that's low mileage!

[@WiresFanDrew]

@@JJonCarshas 26k on it now….. needed a fuel pump and possibly will need some of the rubber pipe work replacing as it’s 20 years old. The mpg is rubbish as it’s a 318 petrol auto Touring but I love it and others seem to do too - I’ve had three people make me offers when filling up and I’ve had people flashing lights at me and giving thumbs up

[@JJonCars]

Brilliant - you should be able to keep this car for many years if you want to :) Yeah, economy won't be good in a big old heavy auto car, but it's the same deal for my 1.8 Mercedes CLK :D @@WiresFanDrew

[@marioturkalj1239]

I too have e46 320 ci with that engine,have it for 10 years.😎💪

[@dironizareyes596]

This car is absolutely incredible. I currently own 3 of these and they are bulletproof. Just change your oil every 3k miles and tranny fluid every 75k also change front control arms, struts and rear shocks every 60k . And change Driveshaft guibo disk and motor and tranny mounts every 100k and you will have a infinite car!!!!

[@JJonCars]

Infinite car :) That's cool. I think people say they are unreliable because they don't look after them.

[@user-ue6iv2rd1n]

Forget all that, replace the cooling system, that's the no.1 priority on these. That 20 year old plastic is a time bomb and blown head gaskets are what really send them to the scrap yard.

[@tonyblount991]

Great video very interesting by JJ

[@JJonCars]

Thanks again Tony 😁

[@OEMplusRESTO]

Great review. And agree. Already a classic. Last “simple” 3 series imo👀

[@JJonCars]

Thanks :)

[@paullockwood7219]

Great honest review, JJ! I looked at a 330ci convertible recently. Gloriously beautiful, and timeless car, but to run it as a daily and use it to commute into Manchester as a daily just didn't make sense. 😂Not compared to a 125d that I use anyway.

[@JJonCars]

Cheers Paul! Yep, that could get expensive. I think the convertible looks even more classic now somehow :)

[@SirFrancoQ]

In my opinion, the Best 3 Series ever built by BMW, not too many electronics - just enough in my opinion which keeps costs down & the complaints you hear these days about electronic issues on modern BMWs is not encouraging . I own a 2000 328i with 212,000km in mint condition & it runs like clockwork and I just can part with it. I’m in the market to buy a pre-owned X5 but I will keep the classic.

[@JJonCars]

Yes, the perfect combination of modernity and simplicity 👍

[@benjamincheshire30]

I've just bought a 330D SE from 2003 its a beast i love it its black with loads of dents

[@JJonCars]

Oh nice, those are beasts. Really impressive diesel engine and power. Dents is good, you don't have to worry about where you park it :D

[@mtjackel]

This is my dream car 😍I wish they kept it at this size of a car and not make it 10 + inches bigger

[@JJonCars]

Nice one, an affordable dream car for sure :)

[@craigtrigg4288]

loved watching the bmw review , love your channel

[@JJonCars]

Thanks Craig!

[@IsaacGbornor-vx8yn]

I almost bought one last 2 months ago , but the Gear box cover is broken so I couldn't buy it ,and I end up buying a 520i last month , ,I will look for one nice one to buy in the future , beautiful line body

[@13_death_jester24]

Yep, I love my 2001 E46 330xi,, Just had to do a little TLC at first.

[@GopNet]

closing to 210k miles in mine now 😎 can't see a reason why I should get rid of it 😀 unless it rusts away 🤣🤣

[@JJonCars]

Haha, the problem we all have with our older cars 😂

[@startingtech3900]

Mine had 335k when I sold. Made about 2500$ on the sale. Paid 300 it’s on my channel

[@anto687]

I'm watching this while making the list for restoring my 2003 E46 325ci. It's been in a garage for the last 6 years, it's got 98k miles on it, and just needs a good service and maybe some new bits (I really like my CarPlay in the daily now!)

[@JJonCars]

Nice, good luck with the resto!

[@44lucas]

It is your car and you'll do what you want with it, but consider keeping it original. There are fewer and fewer decent E46s, it is not a sought after car as a classic precisely because there were so many of them sold, but that is the reason for which pretty soon they will become rare as snow in August.

[@MegaRetr]

E46 legend 😊

[@zakhelezwide1911]

Thanks for this video

[@JJonCars]

No problem :)

[@JH-kp2cl]

I love my e46 (2004 325i sedan, 5-speed). It was my very first brand new car bought via European Delivery. I recently just replaced the OEM navigation/radio system with another that has an OEM look. I love it so much that I want to drive it until the odometer reads 999,999 :)

[@JJonCars]

You've had it since 2004?! If so that's incredible. You definitely have to get it to 1m Kms/miles :)

[@CavemanVanDweller]

I like my 2003 330i platinum paint spoke style wheels Harmon Carmen audio all bone stock. Only thing I've felt the need to do to it is ad a Fifteen inch subwoofer (infinite baffle) and added the aux port to a Bluetooth headphones thingie. Constant upkeep though

[@JJonCars]

Very nice car. They're at that age aren't they, lots of stuff to go wrong

[@NiceCakeMix]

I daily drive one of these and even though its a 325i it still does around 33mpg if i drive it normally. Its big enough to carry 5 adults and their gear in the boot. I did have a diesel golf mk4 before this one and really liked that but i do like the BMW more

[@JJonCars]

33mpg will do nicely for a car like that :)

[@modal_derp]

@@JJonCars it definitely is, but I only seem to hit that on a highway out of city driving. Having done some maintenance it can do 15-17 mpg(us) city, but with the traffic jams that we inevitably go through, tends to get quite a bit lower.

[@PROFESSIONAL.C-W]

E46❤💛🖤

[@nonikita]

I have a 320cd and those mpg / are way off unfortunately and I'm not an agressive driver. Love the car though, really reliable and not super expensive to upkeep.

[@user-fq9ng3wb5r]

Great review! i have a 330xd witch means 3 Liter straight six diesel 4wd , its on 32.000 Km 200.000 miles, i just had everything serviced for about 10 grand silver sterling, it works perfectly as the winter train!

[@JJonCars]

Very nice, shame we never got the XD over here

[@user-ot7jd9dt7t]

I have a manual '00' e46 330i saloon, non sun roof and full black leather interior 😄😁

[@newtonshiggers]

Sex!

[@usman1alam]

now what about the e46 m3?

[@guy4469]

my E38 crushes any car BMW made ,

[@dantheman1337]

5:15 omg so many m3s 🥰

[@buggs9950]

BMW did some awesome colours and yet so many are silver or one of about two other equally dull hues. I suppose fleet buyers and/or resale value concerns are reasonable excuses. I've never had a choice of colour for any of my cars (aside from ones I've painted myself) but I'd have daytona-violet or bronzit-beige over garden-gate-green or NPC-grey any day.

[@JJonCars]

Hahah NPC-grey 😄👍

[@lukatrades]

hi, what wheels are those?

[@jackmag4056]

The 3 prettiest bmw’s ever made # 1 E92 # 2 E46 (coupe) # 3 E60

[@abhishekgadhavi2237]

Hey I am looking at a c330 coupe with 124,000 miles. In great condition around 6k is it a good deal ?? And is it worth buying in 2023 thanks..

[@JJonCars]

If it's in really great condition then I think that is probably an OK asking price. Full service history, no rust etc. The 330ci is one of the most desirable E46 after the M3. As always if it's worth it is more of a question of is it the right car for you? If you do low miles and are able to keep on top of any maintenance and repairs that might crop up then I'd say yes!

[@MatthewRos]

Rear Seating Expert 😂😂

[@mig29mig]

What size wheels are those ?

[@thesuitison]

I am purchase my first one 325ci coupe this week

[@JJonCars]

Nice, enjoy!

[@widgetty22]

40 mpg! No way! Mine struggles at 23.4 mpg! Mileage 199,500 m, 325i 2003..looked after but can't figure out the drop in mpg. Any ideas or tips? Cheers!

[@JJonCars]

What sort of driving do you do? Much long distance? 40mpg is about as good as you could possibly hope. 23 is more like what I'd expect with short town journeys

[@Rjhs001]

Definitely a smooth and curvaceous design. One could say that this car, designed by Chris Bangle, doesn't have a single crisp angle 😂

[@JJonCars]

Hahaha! Brilliant 😂

[@Rjhs001]

@@JJonCars my daughters would roll their eyes at this kind of 'dad joke'.

[@JJonCars]

@@Rjhs001 Got to love a good dad joke!

[@segapc1994]

hey. thats quite a nice car

[@JJonCars]

I hear the best edition is the 316i

[@benjourniee9285]

It is up for sale my friend

[@benjourniee9285]

She is mine my friend . And I am selling . She is in perfect condition no rust . Check me out om Instagram for pictures .

[@Birmingham_racing]

E90 series was never ugly just not as good looking as the e46

[@JJonCars]

I agree. And all those Chris Bangle designs like the E90 and the 5 and 6 series, they've not aged badly at all

[@LC54YPW]

My brother has a 53 reg 318ci, its a very expensive to run car though, gets about 22mpg

[@JJonCars]

Jeez, that's poor for a 318

[@LC54YPW]

Quick update, it blew up

[@anishmahadeo5073]

Was the timing chain bad?, as they stretch the fuel economy goes down and down till it breaks

[@gprice6047]

I've been a lifelong BMW 3 series owner - everything from an E21 to a 2017 saloon which I sold last year. I did not want to buy the latest model because they're so BIG. BMW promoted the car originally as a "compact sports saloon" but that's certainly not the case now. I have therefore bought a 2001 E46 330ci coupe because this model was the best of the lot, compact yes, elegant and great to drive. It doesn't have the electronic safety nonsense like lane assist and so on that all new cars seem to have now and I can see these being a source of problems in years to come. The E21 up to E36s were a little wayward in handling and the models which followed the E46 were-um- ugly! Apart from the performance and handling of my car, I love the sound of that creamy smooth inline 6. At the moment, it's a cheap classic but I think that prices will go up when others realize what a quality car the E46 is.

[@cockshield]

Get the wireless charging pad installed and get carphonics to convert the stock head unit to run Carplay, and you'll miss absolutely nothing from the newer BMWs in your E46.

[@JJonCars]

Yes, definitely a sweet spot for looks, quality, handling and tech :)

[@sleepymuffin5761]

İ love E46 so much,i can’t describe my feelings with words.İ want buy one of them,but unfortunately in my country almost all E46’s is not good.Because they don’t look after this masterpiece.Also,my dad is against me to buy this car,because of this situation.

[@JJonCars]

A lot of E46s are not cared for here in the UK too. But maybe if you wait long enough you can find a nice one :)

[@martynm.449]

I had the coupe but prefer the looks of the 4 door.

[@JJonCars]

They're both good looking cars for sure

[@nigelhaines7900]

i have a 328i saloon 1999 is that a classic yet?

[@JJonCars]

Yeah, a modern classic or retro at least :)

[@khalifahas717]

Mana kita..sama nudi kita..hahaha..

[@seamusmcshean260]

I’m surprised they are still around with all the cheap hard plastic in the engines!

[@ateara142]

How do you compare it to the VW Bora?

[@benjourniee9285]

The e46 jj drove was mine . And the bora on the channel is mine too . To make the bora handle as well as the e46 took alot of work . But the v6 bora is 4 wheel drive . Which handles well. Its a tuff pick though .

[@MartinJones123]

@@benjourniee9285 Which one has been more reliable? I'm looking to buy a car of this size but the Bora kind of scares me as there isn't many for sale and parts are hard to find, at least in Australia...

[@benjourniee9285]

@Martin Jones luckily my bora really reliable ive done 100. 000 miles in . . Alot of the parts I've swapped. As yes parts are hard to get . But if u get one with history . The engines go for ever keep it serviced like oil every 10 thousand miles and cam belt and water pump every 70 thousand. They don't really suffer with rust . The front wings will rust a little but cheap . . Lol . Mine has over 234 000 miles on the bora tends to suffer wish bone lower joints at the front and track rods and boost leaks as a old car now so best to swap out for hardpipe kit. . . The e46 has been nice . But not done alot of miles in as just got restored. So look out for rust on rear arches . And where the chassis joins the body at rear if there's any cracks any where by the mounts walk away . As that's a big job . The engines are bomb proof .

[@MartinJones123]

@@benjourniee9285 Thanks for the advice though if I was to pick between the two, I'd take the E46 as there's more documented about them on the internet, and they'll probably be easier to work on... Thank goodness rust isn't a big issue in Australia but I'll still look out for it... The Bora is a great and interesting car, but they're pretty rare over here and most aren't well maintained, like the E46's...

[@JJonCars]

Ben's got it right (well, they are his cars!). Only thing I would add is that the E46 is better on the highway/motorway - quieter in the cabin and seats more comfortable/adjustable. But the Bora is just as well built, and likely much cheaper to run if you had two equivalent condition cars.

[@insufferableoaf6060]

This or a 7th gen 2.4 manual Honda Accord?

[@JJonCars]

Very good question. Tbh, I don't know which I'd pick. Would love to try out the 2.4 to see the power difference to the 2.0. And you're right that it would be a manual as I would have to have that glorious Honda manual.

[@hater8812]

Is e90 more fun to drive than e46?????

[@tcaudiobooks737]

In a word, no. It's slightly less fun, but slightly more refined I guess.

[@MillarLADM8]

I have both, E46 feels a more raw car to drive. My E90 is a better cruiser

[@hater8812]

@@MillarLADM8 e46 more sporty, e90 more cruiser? I have only e46 316i. Hope will buy one day e90

[@JJonCars]

I have only had a very quick go in an E90, so I'm not sure. But I think that it will still be a great car to drive, and cruise well too. I don't think you would regret buying an E90 if it's a good condition one

[@anishmahadeo5073]

I've had both, e90 gives more confidence to throw it around and rely on its chassis hard in the corner entry. E90 has heavier steering which I like. However e46 is lighter on its feet, feels more likely to oversteer and be playful. E46 steering I can feel more but is sadly lighter. That's all I've observed so far from having had an e90 for 5 years now just got an e46

[@shano81]

I like the E90 more.

[@JJonCars]

Each to their own :)

[@duffydon1741]

I want the car on the thumbnail, not this tired car! This one is no longer 50/50 distribution!

[@JJonCars]

Yeah, I had to find an image for the thumbnail as I forgot to get a good photo of it. It's actually not in bad shape though.

[@Gandobilis]

318d 253 000km 🫣

[@JJonCars]

Just run in :)

[@nixxxon18]

The coupe version is far prettier

[@JJonCars]

It's always the way :) Can't beat a good swooping coupe shape.

[@luismiguelpereira6708]

7L/100km on a 325i E46??? 😂😂😂

[@JJonCars]

Down hill with the wind behind? :)

[@luismiguelpereira6708]

@@JJonCars and with the engine turned off maybe

[@stavb9400]

Ι heard this model is one of the most unreliable bmw

[@JJonCars]

Perhaps! Or maybe they are just the most neglected :)

[@snnrman4053]

I think you mistake it with e39

[@MartinJones123]

The E46 and E39 can be reliable if maintained properly, though these cars are bought by people who run these things to the ground...

[@hassankhan384]

Its all on maintenance and care, if you going to drive them without any maintenance and drive rough then you'll end up having oil leaks, and many other engine problems and even suspension, rust etc etc, the odd bmw issues but that's goes for any car, but yeh they did have issues also the plastics in the engine are usally the issue I wish they made the engines better, also better rust protection or paint, also the blow put dash lights

[@Roman-rz3qj]

@@hassankhan384yes! I had an e36 325is. It was a great car. No issues. I bought an e46 330ci because they are decent to maintain. I’m not driving the hell out of it. They do need to be pushed a little every once in a while. I really like the lines of these cars. My e36 was beautiful too. One MUST learn to do the maintenance on these cars before owning.

[@ibrahimmohammednur5078]

Go away for miley cyrus

[@JJonCars]

Alllllrighty then

[@97oweb]

Its pronounced BMW not "Be M duble you"

[@kingmiller1982]

Junk