Description
This is a reluctant sale of my 2004 BMW E46 - a car I've genuinely loved owning for the past 4.5 years. It's been my daily driver but I'm now doing a lot of miles for work and so have a company car now. I'd rather this spend its life on the road rather than being parked on the drive for the foreseeable future. I've put a lot of time, care, and money into keeping it running right, and it's never let me down.
It's an early 2004 and so sits in the lower tax bracket and comes with two keys.
Mechanically, it's in good condition and has had a huge amount of work done during my ownership. I've always stayed on top of maintenance and haven't cut corners. It was specialist serviced up to 106,000 miles, and I've continued looking after it myself from around 120,000 miles with regular oil changes and upkeep.
In the last four years, it's had:
Fuel pump
Windscreen washer pump
Steering guibo
Control arm bushes (both sides)
Rear trailing arm bushes
Rear shock absorbers
Front discs & pads
Offside front brake caliper
Thermostat
Coolant expansion tank
Radiator + radiator thermostat
Oil level sensor
Vanos hose + brand new Vanos unit
Air intake hose
Drive belt
Oil filter housing gasket
Rocker cover gasket
Battery
Post-cat lambda sensor
Upgrades:
I also fitted a Kenwood touchscreen head unit, fully wired to the Harman Kardon speaker system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - a great modern touch in a classic package. The trim facia (apart from the head unit surround are genuine bmw parts - the air con facia cost me 180 to buy from bmw.
I haven't undertaken any other mods. The black grille was there when I bought it and the wheels were graphite. I've had a couple of them refurbished but they're a bit messy again.
The honest bit:
Cosmetically, it's not perfect - the paint and interior show age-related wear, there are a couple of scratches/small dents and so it would benefit from a bit of cosmetic TLC. It's a 21 yr old car and you can tell, but mechanically, it's been loved, cared for, and is solid. I truly wouldn't be selling it if I didn't have to.
This E46 deserves someone who'll continue to look after it the way I have. It's a brilliant car, and I'll be genuinely sad to see it go.
Viewings welcome. Priced fairly considering the work done - happy to talk to genuine buyers.