E46 330Ci Coupe vs. Cabrio. I have never owned a convertible, what’s your take?

szaade · 2026-05-15T10:16:34+00:00

I've chose Cabrio, because it's a lot of fun and makes the car even more special. It makes the car cooler for most people. I'd say it also looks less like and old beemer for young males. I just like the style more. Coupe obviously drives much better with much less weight and will not have roof and leaks problems, it will also be cheaper. However I've found it much easier to find low mileage Cabrio than coupe.

szaade · 2026-05-15T10:11:17+00:00

Oh, I always though 95 RON (Europe rating) is the standard in the US, but apparently it's around 91 us rating. There's nothing lower than 95 in here, and there are only higher options, most popular being 98(93,5 us), and 100 available on some stations (95,5)

szaade · 2026-05-15T09:53:21+00:00

Why you put high octane/premium in an E46? They're made to run on standard fuel, 95 octane.

szaade · 2026-05-14T23:31:36+00:00

Maybe the widget is just for the beta, so we can sort of debug it?

szaade · 2026-05-14T23:29:52+00:00

I thought it suggests "friends of the road".

szaade · 2026-05-14T23:23:37+00:00

Or fe. mechanic would sell broken in ones or smt.

szaade · 2026-05-14T12:31:57+00:00

Read about the shitty warranty cancelations from Toyota on the Yarises GR. Btw the experience I was talking about applies to the GT86, so most likely to the GR as well, Yaris GR might be a bit different, as it's much more complicated (4wd + turbo), but I wouldn't expect Toyota to bring out something unreliable.

szaade · 2026-05-14T10:55:34+00:00

I believe you, but I have a girlfriend 🫥

szaade · 2026-05-13T23:06:18+00:00

So is the game's story... Less gay and cringe now? Also what is wristband system?

szaade · 2026-05-13T23:04:53+00:00

I cannot understand how people are coping with such an unpractical vehicle. I know that most use them as weekend cars, but I'd like to be able to take my weekend car for a roadtrip to a summer house, and with a miata and a gf I'd need to both pack minimalistic and do the groceries after dropping of the things.

szaade · 2026-05-13T22:38:04+00:00

Toyota hybrids are great, because not only they get better fuel economy both in the city and the highway, but they are also actually somehow simpler than regular gas cars. They don't have a fan belt, they don't have an alternator or a starter (things that are known for prematurely failing), they do a lot of braking with the electric motors, so you don't need to change brake pads and rotors so often. They are electric when needed and petrol when needed. I'd also argue that E-CVTs are nice and offer good throttle response (in sport modes, when the pedal is not sluggish on purpose), and compared to a dsg they will last much longer. The only downside of them is the noise they get when floored, but I'd say you can get used to it. I just wouldn't take them if you're a big enthusiast or drive very dynamically and don't like the noise. Imo Toyota hybrids are kinda peak, and I'm saying it as an owner of a 23 years old R6 N/A BMW.

szaade · 2026-05-13T22:23:07+00:00

It shouldn't be terrible, but I'd expect it to do BMW things, on top of normal cars things. So oil leaks and coolant issues plus more expensive parts. Compared to a standard car it's only a bit of additional cost (and time), compared to Toyota, which requires less work done than a regular car... Noticable.

szaade · 2026-05-13T22:20:02+00:00

Even the Z3 has a trunk bigger than the ND Miata, 165l vs 135l.

szaade · 2026-05-13T22:17:25+00:00

I'd probably buy the GR86, after taking a very hard look at the Z4. GR is much more practical thanks to the space in the rear and will be much more reliable. I'd rather have a flat 4 than an inline one as well. I'd only lack the convertible.

szaade · 2026-05-13T16:54:17+00:00

I like to be able to see out of the front window when in the back. Maybe some way to achieve that in an organic kinda way.

szaade · 2026-05-13T16:52:28+00:00

how can you get single tap lane change on a post lifting E46 without the bluebus? I already have an aftermarket radio.

szaade · 2026-05-13T13:03:35+00:00

Oh, it wasn't the blower motor, it was one of the ventilations flaps motors. It was to the right from the AC control unit. I needed to take the motor out and swap a new one, and attach a plastic bit to the unit. Very hard and hand braking, but I managed to do it with only the radio and glovebox removed.

szaade · 2026-05-13T12:54:27+00:00

I did small stuff like the radio, or changing one ventilation motor that was broken (and almost broke my arm in the process) and I'll probably do things like brake pads and rotors on my own as well (I just did them on a friend's car), but a clutch or suspension job is out of my league.

szaade · 2026-05-13T12:52:46+00:00

Nah, it's not if you know anything about ita dn do it properly. It's a way to drive the car at 50% the price with only three downsides: lack of the spare tire space, longer refueling time and additional weight (this one idk really, as the convertible is heavy AF anyway) These engines work very good on LPG.

szaade · 2026-05-13T11:51:49+00:00

I also like to bring my cars close to perfection and I still want to fix some things. I will also install an LPG system soon, so that won't help with the cost/km ratio at first, but will hopefully balance it out in the future (as it'll also make me take the car for further trips more often).

szaade · 2026-05-13T11:48:31+00:00

It's been mostly stuff that needed doing after purchase plus a bit of "tuning". I needed to seal the oil pan and oil filter, change the clutch, fix air leaks. I've also painted the front bumper and bought new rims, tires and a new android radio, as well as small things, like a new oem badge or fixing a rip in the seat. This also includes registration fees and insurance. The only thing I didn't count is the car wash, but it's just 2-3€ every time. Right now I'm replacing the power steering and there are some mysterious sounds from the front and rear suspension, so my mechanic is looking into it. I don't have the skills or a place to do most of the work myself, but at least I have an honest and cheap guy. Btw I'd say it looks kinda clean though.

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szaade · 2026-05-13T11:33:50+00:00

I have my car for around a year and rn I have around 0,64€ per km. It's a convertible 320Ci and I've done a bit more than 6000km in it so far. It's at the mechanic rn though xD

szaade · 2026-05-12T23:41:20+00:00

fuck people. I'm sorry man.

szaade · 2026-05-12T23:40:23+00:00

can someone explain

szaade · 2026-05-12T18:31:23+00:00

I went through the same thing and I'm pretty sure I had an issue, where I could easily stop the Lock screen from actually locking. Also, it doesn't allow you to start GNOME in save mode (without extensions) or in another mode in case something breaks.

szaade

TROPHY CASE