Should I buy an early year (98-00) E46 323i with around 180k miles...

Should I buy an early year (98-00) E46 323i with around 180k miles? There are a lot of them for sale in my country for reasonable prices, I'm just worried about the reliability (I would do the work myself, so only parts cost is an issue)

If you want

e46's are decently reliable, parts are cheap too. go for it

the m52 is pretty solid, just replace the cooling and intake rubber
vanos prob needs some work too

Buy one, you'll be fine

323's are a very solid understressed engine, sound good too

Solid fun car. Pars are cheap and availiable. Tons of guids and forum post of just about any issue that can occur on these cars.
Subframe crack can be an issue if you can't weld.
You can buy a comfy car that uses half the amount of fuel.

Dutch fag here, Ive owned 2 of them, and they are pretty reliable and cheap to maintain. Don’t know where you’re located but over here every sandnigger garage on the corner has spare parts for these things so its not that expensive to keep them running

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00' 323i owner here just hit 198k

What i did to it:
>car has never been garaged, bought from someone up north in 06'
>fuel pump changed
>original transmission fluid changed at 196k
>like 5 sensors changed (each about $50 except for the MAF)
>easy to diy anything on it, replaced headliner and most of the worn trim pretty easily
>painted brake calipers red
>just replaced the control arm bushings
>driver's side tie rod is just starting to go bad
>replaced AC blower motor like 2 times
>never replaced vanos seals, never had an issue
>tranny is original in the car, only grinds a lil bit
>replaced like 70 window regulators and motors
>replaced drip rail on the driver's side
>replaced disa valve even though i just needed to replace the o ring

Tips:
>PLEASE CHANGE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AS SOON AS YOU GET IT. BMW advertized a "lifetime fluid" and a lot of people mistake that for their lifetime, not the lifetime of the car
>go on ebay and buy a 100 pack of every type of plastic clip. you will need every single one
>bimmerforums and e46fanatics is your friend
>don't abuse the car like i do by not garaging it im just a poorfag
>get the expensive gas at the pump and you'll feel the difference
>if you want to make the headlight lenses clearer, get new lenses from ebay as they clip in easily unlike how in any other car they are glued onto the assembly

Pros of having one:
>very robust build quality
>puts down a whole lot of torque for the car that it is
>engine sounds great 17 years later
>handles corners really well at very high speeds
>not the most power, but its faster than most of your friends' cars if you keep it maintained
>has had issues but has never left me stranded

Cons:
>a lot of these cars were bought secondhand by shitskins who drove them until the O2 sensor broke and just left them to rot so make sure not to buy a lemon

Its a really fun car but as with any 17 year old vehicle it will take some active maintenance.

Don't, transmissions fail like crazy,

It's actually not that huge of an issue, just be sure to inspect the rear subframe thoroughly from the top and bottom before purchase.

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Transmissions are definitely not an issue on e46's.

depends on the transmission
The e46 came with two different ones, a GM one and a french ZF one
The GM transmission is a god machine, but the ZF transmission has an issue where the reverse gear will eventually stop working

Both transmissions are given their respective "lifetime" tranny fluids but ZF actually released a statement basically saying "please dont drive over 100k mi on the stock fluid"

no. get a 330 or you're a cuck.

Dont listen to this frog OP
330 is a meme propagated by owners who want them gone
Every 330 e46 has a ZF engine described in and all of them have been lowkey molested

My experience is the exact opposite of that with E39. Basically, GM AS5S390R (used with M57D30 and M47D20) is pile of shit and you should avoid it at all costs. And ZF released that statement because all those fucking companies (BMW, Land Rover, Audi, Mercedes) say most of their trannys are 'filled for life'.

Is a THM 350 swap possible?

why the fuck would you want 50 year old GM junk in a perfectly good car?
ZF is German