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Old 15th October 2013, 12:17   #31
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Thanks for sharing moving out of Assembly line, thread updated with more details.
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Old 15th October 2013, 15:04   #32
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankarbn View Post
Great looking car and good write up. I have recently got myself an awesome pre facelift 320i M sport and it had only 30k on the odo. It has 135 style ///M wheels and half alacantra seats - just what I was looking for. And what's more - I found the perfect place to service it in Bangalore, gave it a full service and installed a new navigation/media system too. I will upload pictures and do a write up once I'm done with the road tax and Bangalore registration.
Hi Shankar,

Was it the silver 320i with big 18inch wheels and the //M Sticker on the dash and with an aftermarket remus/magnaflow muffler/exhaust sold by Varun from Dub City? i'm not sure whether its the 6cyl or 4cyl?

Last edited by Sameer_C : 15th October 2013 at 15:07.
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Old 15th October 2013, 19:05   #33
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Good Car. Very well kept. However, whilst going through it's Euro-Ncap test, I found something rather worrying. The driver collision test had a disastrous result. The passenger however was still better. The whole cabin didn't support well and lost it's structural integrity. Here's the link: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/bmw_3_series_1997/15.aspx I am worried because today, most of the cars get a full 5 star rating. The Grande Punto or the i20 have scored an excellent 5 star, so has the Jazz. And I suppose that ratings now are much more strict and stringent in comparison to the 90s.
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Old 15th October 2013, 20:16   #34
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

love this machine! its amazing you found one in such a brilliant condition! hope you have endless fun with this baby

I'd like to know the website off which you got the number plates...I'd like to put them on my W201 Mercedes!
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Old 16th October 2013, 00:29   #35
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Congrats on your new ride my friend.

P.S: Please do not use Armor All on your interiors. Go Meguiars or Turtle Wax.
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Old 16th October 2013, 02:05   #36
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Congrats on your Beemer. Its looks timeless and the kms run on it is too good to be true. I love my inline 6 and will miss it when its gone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sameer_C View Post
The Bad:
1) No BMW Corona Rings/projectors
Plenty of aftermarket options available fortunately

I have driven the American version (called 325i auto) and my first impression as that the engine is simply too smooth.

FE should'nt be that low ...get it checked

Last edited by Mpower : 16th October 2013 at 08:59.
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Old 16th October 2013, 13:57   #37
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Congrats buddy... car looks to be in great nick. Apologies again for not wanting to sell my vert ;-) but am sure you will now understand why given you are the proud owner of an E46.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sameer_C View Post
Well this is my first official thread on Team-BHP so please go easy on me

Car: BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight 6, 173bhp. M54B22 Engine........

Summary:
There is no summary! this car is perfect in everyway. There's absolutely nothing i can fault with it. Nothing. Everything is so well thought off. This is one of the first cars i've owned where i have to literally hunt for faults and still cant seem to find them!

I've had this car for less than a week driven for about 200kms and i cannot refrain from taking it over 4000rpm. The sound of that engine is just something else! But my god does she drink, i'm talking around the mid 5's in the city and if i have a super light foot, 5.9kmpl at the max! All in all i couldn't have asked for anything more, my dream has come true! and theres no way i would ever get this without my brother.

Last edited by navin : 16th October 2013 at 14:12.
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Old 16th October 2013, 20:36   #38
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Congrats Sameer on a nice thread about a great car! I was rivetted throughout- the videos make it all the more interesting.

Am wondering how the previous owner could run it so sparingly in the time he owned it. If I had that car, it would complete 20,000 km in the first six months, probably!

Do keep us posted on your new baby.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mpower View Post

FE should'nt be that low ...get it checked
He's in Mumbai . My 105 bhp Vento AT gives me 6-8 kmpl there, so am thinking 5.6 for a petrol Bimmer ain't that bad!
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Old 16th October 2013, 21:36   #39
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sameer_C View Post
Hi Shankar,

Was it the silver 320i with big 18inch wheels and the //M Sticker on the dash and with an aftermarket remus/magnaflow muffler/exhaust sold by Varun from Dub City? i'm not sure whether its the 6cyl or 4cyl?
Dub city? The 318i is a 4 cyl not the 320i e46. All e46 320i are 6 cylinder engines. And the ///m is not a sticker The M sport e46 got the m sport badging all around, half alacantra, half leather interior, m sport suspension and BMW M3 (135 style) wheels. Mine was a 2008 Japanese import, I got it from Varun, yes. Just got it serviced at castrol pitstop and added a media/navigation unit, only KA registration is pending.

OP, check out depo and eagle eyes for the corona rings. Posts on e46fanatics forum and bimmerforums are of great help for upgrades like these. Also a mileage of 5.8-6 sounds a little low unless you are in bumper to bumper traffic and doing loads of idling time at traffic signals/jams. I drove the monster down from Delhi and the monster returned a healthy 10.5 with AC on and trust me, I didn't leave the kickdown switch alone. Perhaps I must stop just commenting on your thread and start my own!
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Old 17th October 2013, 11:02   #40
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Hearty Congratulations on your purchase my friend. That sure is one hell of a beast. Wish you many happy miles with it.

On the mileage part, as our mod Mpower said, it shouldn't be that low. One of my relatives used to have it and the mileage was somewhere around 8-9 kmpl even with a slightly heavy foot in city as per my knowledge.
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Old 17th October 2013, 15:52   #41
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

superb purchase! I had something like this in mind for a long time even though failed on the execution bit. Hearty congratulations on owning a beauty of a drive.
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Old 17th October 2013, 21:34   #42
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Quote:
Originally Posted by prakhar1998 View Post
Good Car. Very well kept. However, whilst going through it's Euro-Ncap test, I found something rather worrying. The driver collision test had a disastrous result. The passenger however was still better. The whole cabin didn't support well and lost it's structural integrity. Here's the link: http://www.euroncap.com/tests/bmw_3_series_1997/15.aspx I am worried because today, most of the cars get a full 5 star rating. The Grande Punto or the i20 have scored an excellent 5 star, so has the Jazz. And I suppose that ratings now are much more strict and stringent in comparison to the 90s.
True that. But you are looking at the e36. Here's the e46 with a respectable 4 Star rating.

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/bmw_3_series_2001/98.aspx

Quote:
Originally Posted by lemedico View Post
love this machine! its amazing you found one in such a brilliant condition! hope you have endless fun with this baby

I'd like to know the website off which you got the number plates...I'd like to put them on my W201 Mercedes!
Haha it was pretty hard work but the wait was worth it.

Got the plates from www.GermanPlates.com. Remember they charge Rs.807 as duty as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stanjohn123 View Post
Congrats on your new ride my friend.

P.S: Please do not use Armor All on your interiors. Go Meguiars or Turtle Wax.
Hey stanjohn not using armor all on the interiors, had them lying around so decided to keep it in the boot for emergencies, the good stuff is kept at home

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mpower View Post
Congrats on your Beemer. Its looks timeless and the kms run on it is too good to be true. I love my inline 6 and will miss it when its gone.

That's what to thought! Why is it going? Getting something more fun in the stable?

Plenty of aftermarket options available fortunately

Yup getting the Depo Light clusters next with the projectors and d2s xenons.

I have driven the American version (called 325i auto) and my first impression as that the engine is simply too smooth.

FE should'nt be that low ...get it checked
FE is not very accurate since I've driven this car mainly in daily rush hour traffic from Bandra to marine drive with a lot of idling. So I guess when I'm out on the open road ill have a better idea on the same and update you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rekhiv View Post
Congrats buddy... car looks to be in great nick. Apologies again for not wanting to sell my vert ;-) but am sure you will now understand why given you are the proud owner of an E46.
Couldn't agree with you more rekhiv!

Quote:
Originally Posted by noopster View Post
Congrats Sameer on a nice thread about a great car! I was rivetted throughout- the videos make it all the more interesting.

Am wondering how the previous owner could run it so sparingly in the time he owned it. If I had that car, it would complete 20,000 km in the first six months, probably!

Do keep us posted on your new baby.


He's in Mumbai . My 105 bhp Vento AT gives me 6-8 kmpl there, so am thinking 5.6 for a petrol Bimmer ain't that bad!
Thanks Noopster for enjoying it as much as you could via a forum. I was thinking the same thing as to how the owner never really got down to driving it much but I think this was more a chauffeur driven car than self driven which is a pity but now that its in my hands I've already clocked about 500 km in 15 odd days. I think these cars are meant to be driven and not kept away!

Your vento is now giving me some conciliation! Phew.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankarbn View Post
Dub city? The 318i is a 4 cyl not the 320i e46. All e46 320i are 6 cylinder engines. And the ///m is not a sticker The M sport e46 got the m sport badging all around, half alacantra, half leather interior, m sport suspension and BMW M3 (135 style) wheels. Mine was a 2008 Japanese import, I got it from Varun, yes. Just got it serviced at castrol pitstop and added a media/navigation unit, only KA registration is pending.

OP, check out depo and eagle eyes for the corona rings. Posts on e46fanatics forum and bimmerforums are of great help for upgrades like these. Also a mileage of 5.8-6 sounds a little low unless you are in bumper to bumper traffic and doing loads of idling time at traffic signals/jams. I drove the monster down from Delhi and the monster returned a healthy 10.5 with AC on and trust me, I didn't leave the kickdown switch alone. Perhaps I must stop just commenting on your thread and start my own!
Dub city is his dealership name if I'm not mistaken. Im sending you a PM since it has nothing to do with this thread. And yes my bad, the 320's were all 6 cyl. The place lift were the 2.0 and then came the 2.2. Could you please tell me what nav did you get? And where did you order the relocation kit for the cubby hole from? Thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by madhav14 View Post
Hearty Congratulations on your purchase my friend. That sure is one hell of a beast. Wish you many happy miles with it.

On the mileage part, as our mod Mpower said, it shouldn't be that low. One of my relatives used to have it and the mileage was somewhere around 8-9 kmpl even with a slightly heavy foot in city as per my knowledge.
Thanks Madhav. I'm going to do a thorough FE run first and if anything is amiss I guess I'd have it checked out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by megazoid View Post
superb purchase! I had something like this in mind for a long time even though failed on the execution bit. Hearty congratulations on owning a beauty of a drive.
Please if you get another chance do not miss out on it. It's soooooo worth everything.

Another question, for issues like the FE who is a good specialist in Mumbai I can show it to? Any help would be appreciated.

I'm sorry to everyone for my delayed response, just been really stuck with work. I dropped the idea of the video on the sealink but I've got an idea for a video of washing the car with the Karcher foam lance and giving it a nice polish and wax/sealant.
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Old 17th October 2013, 21:52   #43
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sameer_C View Post
True that. But you are looking at the e36. Here's the e46 with a respectable 4 Star rating.

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/bmw_3_series_2001/98.aspx



Haha it was pretty hard work but the wait was worth it.

Got the plates from www.GermanPlates.com. Remember they charge Rs.807 as duty as well.


I found out already from a reply earlier in the post..when I first read this thread I got excited like a little child and didn't read it thoroughly!

Couldn't edit my reply either to subtract the website query and just leave it at the hearty congratulations

I suppose I'll order them for my cars and have them delivered to my house in England and then just have them packed up in the suitcase when anyone travels to India.
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Old 18th October 2013, 15:58   #44
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Hi

Congratulations on the purchase. We could all see the passion and the keen desire to own an E46. Very few have that single minded focus while searching for a car. Keeping it stock is a good idea always. In fact, i would go as far as to say that 'keeping it stock will be a task enough, over the years', provided of course, it is a long term ownership plan.

Have written to German Plates to see if they can add India to their list of International plates, then we can have the tricolour and the IND on our plates. Personally not comfortable running another country's flag on my car, however much different or cool it looks.

I'm sure, following your example, there will be a sudden surge of inquiries from the sub-continent.
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Old 18th October 2013, 23:40   #45
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Re: Bringing home a future Classic! BMW E46 320i 2.2L Straight-6

Congrats on the fabulous machine! As everyone has said, the E46 is absolutely gorgeous... I could drool over that classic euro shape all day So much more elegant than today's swanky designs!

Quote:
Originally Posted by President View Post
So lived and compromised with the 318i and now the 316i which gives company to my 1995 E34 525i straight six with 14K kms on the odo, a near museum piece that I rarely use.
You own an E46 and an E34? Pictures... !!
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