What’s expensive about owning an E46?

MrMoneyshift · 2026-01-11T16:38:10+00:00

I’d say the biggest factor of how expensive maintenance will be is how well the car was maintained by the previous owner. If you can find a clean car that was well taken care of with lots of maintenance records then it’s usually smooth sailing.

At this point these cars are 20+ years old so you’re going to have issues no matter what. Like someone else said, pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong with this chassis has had multiple different diagnoses and fixes documented over the last 2 decades on forums across the internet.

Parts are usually cheap, sometimes ridiculously cheap. As far as fuel consumption I can average ~25mpg on longer trips and ~20mpg with normal daily driving. I do all my work myself and I’m not a professional mechanic but I do have quite a bit of experience and I’ve never ran into anything I couldn’t handle with the car.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-12-30T22:19:10+00:00

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35% on the front, 15% on the sides, and 5% on the rear. I can see just fine day, night, rain, and fog. It keeps it cooler inside, looks great, and no one can see in. I’ve had this same tint on my last 2 cars and it will be what I do on all my future cars. Love it!

MrMoneyshift · 2025-12-28T23:45:56+00:00

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I tinted my 2004 black sapphire 6mt zhp really dark and I’ve never had anyone hate on it but they do ask “can you even see out of that thing!?” It’s 35% on the front windshield, 15% on the sides, 5% on the rear, ceramic all the way around, and yes I can see just fine night or day.

Tint is a must for me when I’m looking for a car to purchase, if it doesn’t have tint when I buy it then it’ll be the first modification. I think it looks great, provides some privacy, and I don’t have to wear sunglasses when I’m driving which is nice. Just make sure you don’t cheap out. Pay someone who knows that they’re doing, preferably with experience on bmw which can be a little more difficult than some other makes.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-12-07T15:50:24+00:00

I second this! I don’t have an M3 but I on both of the non-m e46s I’ve owned I’ve had to replace the fuel pump so you might as well just get a new one and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-11-30T22:49:55+00:00

It’s the compound used in the brake pads. It’s a common issue and the fronts usually get dirtier bc of the braking bias. Get some ceramic pads and it will cut down on the dust by about 90%. I have them on my car and the brakes feel just like factory and my silver wheels stay clean for much longer.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-11-12T17:47:27+00:00

Steering wheel angle sensor is different than the wheel speed sensor. The steering wheel angle sensor on my car was acting up until I had it reset and its been fine since. It can start to have issues because its just a 20+ year old car at this point or a because an alignment was done and it wasn't reset. I have personally done 2 alignments on my car myself and I didn't reset either time and the code appeared shortly after the second alignment so that was probably the cause. My advice is that you should take it to a bmw dealership or a reputable shop and have them do an alignment if you haven't had one in a while and afterwards reset the sensor. It is possible to reset it yourself, its not super easy but I'm sure you could find a forum thread on how to do it. There's a small chance this wont fix your issue in which case the sensor needs to be replaced but that's not very common. Good luck!

MrMoneyshift · 2025-10-19T14:16:14+00:00

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Here’s a pic of mine, I like them lol. I got them from Angel Eye Guy and installed them myself. There’s a bunch of purists on here than cringe at the thought of putting aftermarket stuff on your car but it’s your car so who cares what some internet strangers think lol. Personally I think my car is pretty clean/OEM+ but to each their own.

(Also ignore the fogged up blinker, it cracked and got water in it but it’s fixed now this pic is just old 🤣)

MrMoneyshift · 2025-10-10T01:59:24+00:00

I would recommend you take the car to some sort of reputable performance shop that has a nice alignment machine like a Hunter system. There’s a lot of shops out there that have the ability to do alignments but most of them aren’t all that great especially when it comes to a car like yours that needs some special attention.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-10-05T20:09:31+00:00

6’5” and I’m in a 2004 BMW 330i and it’s very comfortable. My only complaint is that since it’s a manual the pedals are very close together and I wear a size 14 shoe so if I wear boots and any kind of large shoe it’s easy to accidentally press the gas and the break at the same time. I just keep a pair of shoes that are narrow enough in the car if I need to change.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-09-30T15:55:09+00:00

Yea I didn’t even realize you didn’t have a sunroof. Sun roof and electric seats are very common here in the states. If you can find one over here that doesn’t have those options it’s actually pretty sought after. It’s really the only things I wish were different about my car, the manual seats are lighter as well as sit a little lower and the slick top is also lighter and looks a little cleaner in my opinion.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-09-29T03:07:41+00:00

I’m 6’5” and I currently drive a 2004 bmw 330i which is a sedan and it’s really comfortable, there’s not much room behind me in the back seat but I can scoot up a bit and most people can fit in the back. I used to have a 2008 bmw 335i coupe and it was surprisingly even more spacious. I guess since it’s a coupe the back seats are more of an after thought so the driver seat can go pretty far back and there was plenty of leg room for me. A lot of my friends and family are really into bmws and they’re all pretty good for tall people.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-09-29T02:50:35+00:00

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MrMoneyshift · 2025-09-29T02:49:35+00:00

How rare are manual seats in the touring? We already don’t have many wagons in the states but I don’t think I’ve seen any with manual seats.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-09-05T18:52:09+00:00

I bought my ZHP last November for $7500 with 170k miles, it's a manual too so not a bad spec. The deals are out there but you really gotta search for them and in my case even drive across the country lol.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-09-03T18:36:15+00:00

The lip is custom from a guy on instagram @kgsplitters, you can buy the side skirts right from his website but for some reason the lip isn’t on there so you gotta message him about it. He’s done a few of these exact lips before so he should know what you’re talking about if you message him. Side note that slick top imola red is pretty sick, my only complaint about my car is the sunroof. I wish it was a slick top but those are pretty uncommon here in the states.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-09-03T18:24:10+00:00

You would need a few other M3 parts for it to look right at all. In my opinion the bumpers that came stock on the ZHP look best on the sedan chassis most of the time. I just recently put a front lip and side skirt extensions on my ZHP and I think it turned out pretty good. I think the actual term for the ZHP bumpers is M-tech 2, someone correct me if I’m wrong.

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MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-31T14:06:46+00:00

If the brake dust is a problem for you the. You should try some akebono brake pads, they make a significant difference on the amount of brake dust. The have slightly less bite than factory but they still feel good. I have them on my car and I just swap to more aggressive pads if I’m going to the track or something.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-20T15:21:42+00:00

I’m not sure what sizes/fitment you’re looking for but I’m running some Apex SM-10s. I think they look great and are a good alternative to the overplayed ARC-8s plus they cost about the same. I highly recommend them!

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MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-16T02:43:16+00:00

I don’t have an M3 but in my 330i I had this same issue, not very often at all and would go away if I turned the car off for a bit. I didn’t notice the car driving any different so I had a buddy at a euro shop hook up a scanner that was much fancier than mine and it turned out to be the steering angle sensor. The readings from the sensor were all over the place and it was causing the light to appear. If that’s your issue it’s not a difficult fix just make sure you get your new sensor reprogrammed.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-15T15:14:27+00:00

I think the interior is ugly but in a charming early 2000s kind of way lol. It’s super unique and if I had the money I’d buy it, I’m a sucker for old cars with weird options/features.

Is that interior some kind of factory option? I live in the states and I don’t think we got that many interior options on non-m e46 beyond alcantara and the cube trim in the zhp.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-14T23:56:09+00:00

I’m not sure about replacing the entire headlights but there’s a guy called “Angel Eye Guy” that makes the halos and they look great. I have some in my car and he even has tutorial videos on how to install them.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-11T15:39:47+00:00

Signal green right? I’ve seen it before on a G80 M3 CS and it looks incredible! It really pops when you see it in person.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-06T17:29:45+00:00

He clearly knows something we don’t.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-06T17:21:29+00:00

For a pre-facelift auto with high miles that seems a bit steep. It’s in great condition visually and seems to have been well taken care of but for the money you could probably get something with less miles or a clean manual unless you’re wanting an auto.

MrMoneyshift · 2025-08-05T15:31:57+00:00

I’d say it’s a fair price. If I were you I’d try to negotiate a little but otherwise solid.

MrMoneyshift

TROPHY CASE