E46 Touring buying advice

[Charlie2000]

Hi everyone,

I am looking at picking up an E46 touring and was wondering if there was anything specific to look out for in terms of well known problems?

There's a 318i SE near me for just under £1.2K and has done 120,000 miles, bodywork looks in good condition.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated + if you have one for sale please let me know.

Charlie

 

[Greydog]

Hi Charlie

Welcome to the Forum

Private or Dealer? 

Always remember you get more protection (Sale of Goods Act) buying from a Dealer 

No matter where you buy, service history and receipts are essential, check the MOT history a well sorted and looked after car will have few if any advisories.

Make sure everything works as it should there are no "only £5 on ebay mate fixes" if there were why haven't they been done?

If it still looks good then as they old saying goes "we pay our money and make our choice"

Good hunting

Dave

[SilverJohn]

Hi Charlie

Sounds very cheap to me.

What Year? How many previous owners?

Private or dealer sale? Any warranty?

Check for service history and when looking round it, make sure you check the tyres and under the bonnet for any signs of leaks.

Hope this helps.

John

[Charlie2000]

Hi Both,

Thank you for your replies and welcoming me!

It is from a dealership and doesn't mention any warranty.

The car is a 54 plate and has had 3 previous owners, the only advisory other than tyres for its MOT in May 2020 was "Brake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material".

The advert claims that the engine and gearbox are in good working order and it drives well (the typical dealership descriptions), so atleast if it did have a problem I'd be protected to some extent.

Charlie

[Greydog]

Morning Charlie

Check the MOT on the Government web site https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history You will be able to check ALL MOT's  plus any outstanding recalls.

Quite probably a Part Exchange car. With regard to checking an engine, even a brand new motor can have mechanical failures so there can never be any concrete guarantees, however the car has covered a fairly light mileage for it's age so with a good service history and receipts for work done it seems a reasonable buy to me.

Remember to still haggle, tyre condition interior condition carpets etc over mats anything that will allow you to save a bit of your hard earned

Good Luck

Dave

[Charlie2000]

Morning Dave

I'll confirm how much paperwork there is with the dealer and then go and take a look at it, and practice my haggling skills.

Thanks very much for your advice, it's greatly appreciated.

Charlie