Sorry about the double post, but I figured it might be clearer this way.
BMW 330i E46
I've been looking for a smallish, good looking, reasonably priced RWD car with solid build quality and a potential for dynamic driving. Sound like too much to ask? Well, ever since the
failure which was my experiment with the Z4, I've felt that it's an impossible feat for a modern car manufacturer. But then came the idea of an E46. Not as crude as an E36 and not as glass jawed as the E90, it seemed like the perfect mixture of fun and solidity.
On paper.
So what we have is a 2003-model 170tkm 330i black sedan riding on winter tyres. On sale at "Sula", the infamous equivalent of used car hell. To be expected then, is an overpriced and badly maintained car, sold by a total asshole.
After making our way through the snowy parking lot, we hunted down the salesman, who was doing his best to hide from us. A strangely un-attentive man to work in sales, I thought. I had to chase him down the parking lot just to make my issue clear. Even then he seemed totally surprised at my greeting and inquiry. And I wasn't the only one. A few customers even mistook me for a salesman, since I was more attending than the guys themselves. So, that's the "total asshole"-part checked. Still, I haggled for the keys and we fired up the straight six.
For a 170tkm car, it might as well not have been driven at all. Shutting the door sounded like a vault door clamping shut. The engine fired up as for the first time in its life. The seats looked like they'd just been upholstered. The whole cockpit felt like it was meant to be sat in. To
drive the car. Only minor complaint could be made of a tiny rust spot on the boot, but as it was clearly a
"suomiauto", this sort of thing was to be expected. Oh, I did ask for the origins of the car. The salesguy had no idea. Probably didn't even care.
I can't emphasize how well the engine ran. I'm used to some minor niggles in idle revs or even some dust in the engine bay. This thing
purred like a kitten on new year's eve. I quietly rolled it off the parking lot. Now if I'd have to nitpick, there was a faint whine to be heard from the engine, which I presume came from the valves being a bit frozen. I mean, the poor car had sat through last week's inhumanely low temperatures, a bit of stiffness was to be expected. All extra sounds quickly quitened down though, as the thing got properly moving and started warming up.
THE POWER. Sure, it's only 231hp, but the delivery is insane! Pick any gear and it urges forward with a sense of newfound joy not unlike the one you have the morning after a good lay. Sure, we had trouble finding any grip on the frozen roads, but hell, sideways is always a way to make progress. The DSC was something clearly designed by a
driver, for a driver, not by a 44-year old grandmother from a halfwit flower arranging club, trying to stop her grandson from growing any balls. This car did it all. No niggles, no shouting about being a better driver than you, no parts coming off.. Yeah, I could've driven it home straight away.
-Awesome car. Enough power, good looking, big enough to fit 3-4 people and some luggage.
-That engine. Holy wow. The sound, the smoothness, the delivery. I'm a turbo-nut myself, but this opera of revving is insanely addictive.
-Smallish size, but solid. Solid enough not to fall apart, that is, which seems to be a problem with the cars I test-drive. So a definite plus.
-Quirky personality. I know these are regarded as the Mondeo of their age, and only assholes drive them, but I don't care. The car had a definite personality about it. Something that said "What? Yeah we can go, why didn't you say so!" in an un-
pretentious, non-
zoomzoom way.
-It needs the M-Sport package, or at least a sport-button. The gas pedal was way too family car-like in its reactiveness.
-That rust. Can't be having that. Easy issue to get around though - just don't buy it from Finland.
-This particular car was way too expensive, and I could never force myself buy anything from such a crappy establishment. Not the fault of the car though.
So, here's something to save money for. I can't see myself needing anything else for a daily driver.