Newbie - about to get a free E46. what to do?

bahasad · 11-08-2010, 02:11 PM

About to get a 2000 BMW E46 for free. The car has 140K miles (from California), and apparently has some coolant leaks. Engine and everything else works fine. It is currently garaged, but is driven around the block a bit. Couple of questions
1) Firstly, my parents live in Toronto, where the car is. Currently I am in the states, and will be back in Toronto during the Thanksgiving holidays. Can I just drive it back to the states?
2) How much will it cost to get the entire cooling system changed? AFAIK, these cars are notorious for overheating, so I would like to get this done.
3) Who in Scarborough/Markham is good for this (i will probably get the car towed to there place)? How long would it take to complete this job - ideally I would like it done in 2-3 days, so I can take it back to the states?
4) How much longer will this car last, considering I am fairly fastidious with maintenance, and expect to drive about 14-15k miles a year? Would it be better to replace the entire engine? Basically, I was going to buy a E46/IS300 or something anyways, but since my parents stumbled upon this, I am willing to take it and work on it and spend the money i was going to use to buy a car to fix this. Might buy a cheap DD on the side.

Thanks a lot,

drivetolive · 11-08-2010, 02:53 PM

Seems like you've already done a bit of research. Yes, the cooling systems on these cars are a weak point and you are right around that time where you should overhaul it. Sorry, not sure of an exact price.

I personally go to RMP for work I can't do myself (located by hwy 27 and hwy 7 in Vaughan). If you need someone in Markham, there is a new shop which opened (Stance Factory) and some people I know have said they do good work. Both are sponsers on the site.

These engines can run for as long as you take care of them. I've seen these engines hit ~400k. Don't spend money on replacing it, if it's in good shape it'll last you a long time.

Good luck.

bahasad · 11-08-2010, 03:02 PM

excellent post. Thanks for the advice. Basically I will probably get the car towed directly to the shop. AFAIK, I am estimating about a $1000 in repairs to the cooling system, but then again, I haven't seen the car directly yet (not even sure if it's a 323 or 328).
I would love to go to RMP, but it's in etobicoke, which is a little far for me (I used to live right around the border of Scarborough/Markham). So looking for someone close by who will fix it, fix it well, and not make me pay out my a** in terms of labour charges.
Glad to know I can keep this car for a while, hopefully it'll last at least a year or two, and by then I'll have enough saved to get a much newer car. or i could buy a cheap civic as a daily driver too.
Anyways I am happy by my luck, because I was looking for an E46/E39 for a while.

Aloush · 11-08-2010, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bahasad

2) How much will it cost to get the entire cooling system changed? AFAIK, these cars are notorious for overheating, so I would like to get this done.

yes they the water pump breaks but just like every other car so nothing notorious there.

I would suggest doing some research on what u want replaced.. get the parts from the states since u are there already and once your here take your car along with all the parts u want replaced to RMP.

**T.Dot_E30** · 11-08-2010, 03:16 PM

I would definitely suggest you get your car checked out by the boyz at StanceFactory, they let you know what kind of condition it is and if they recommend anything for the long drive back to Philly.

I can't say exactly how hard it is to import a car into the US, usually people bring cars from the US into Canada and US laws are different, so you'd probably want to talk to someone who has done it before.

bahasad · 11-08-2010, 06:05 PM

Definitely going to be calling StanceFactory soon. Might get the car towed to them, since I don't want to drive it with it overheating and coolant leaking. Probably going to do all that, plus get the whole car checked and tuned up, and then it should be good for the drive back.
As for buying parts here, since I don't know exactly what is going on with the car, and just relying on talking over the phone/emails with the other party, I don't want to buy unnecessary parts (plus I don't know exactly what to buy). I guess I'll have to pay whatever the costs are in Canada.

**Mystikal** · 11-08-2010, 06:17 PM

Shouldn't be more than a day in the shop, and don't worry we never charge list for parts (we try to price match online with every quote). Looking forward to meeting you.

R1200RT · 11-08-2010, 08:01 PM

There should be no problem importing the car into the States as it was originally a US car. You will have to check with the requirements with US customs when bringing a car into the States.

When importing into Canada you have to fax the vehicle registration to US customs 72 hrs before you are bringing the vehicle across. So check out the US requirements online and do not leave it to the last minute.

Other things to consider are temporary plates, Ont changed the procedure for temp plates. I don't know how it works for exporting.

BimmerGuys · 11-08-2010, 08:51 PM

I would suggest you a shipping company, it will make your life easier

bahasad · 11-08-2010, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystikal

Shouldn't be more than a day in the shop, and don't worry we never charge list for parts (we try to price match online with every quote). Looking forward to meeting you.

Hey Mystikal, I will call you tomorrow. Keep in mind I am in US right now, but my parents are overlooking this whole car deal till I come back around Nov 20th. They intend on towing the car right to your place, and you can talk to my dad when he comes around regarding what to fix and costs and such. Honestly, I have no idea - all I know is coolant is leaking. Apparently the car is driveable for short distances, but who knows? I personally want to get an idea of how much it will cost to fix the whole cooling system, and get the entire car checked out for any other issues before I drive it back to the states.
Looking forward to speaking with you tomorrow. My name is Sadaf btw.

sonny · 11-10-2010, 05:41 PM

Does the speedometer have both miles and km/h? I'm in the process of converting mine to dual..

bahasad · 11-10-2010, 06:19 PM

To update this thread, the car ended up being an E36 318IS - i was a little disappointed to say the least. Nonetheless its a free car, so I ain't complaining TOO much.
Ask mystikal since he has the car now, but i am assuming its in MPH since it was originally a California car, and I don't think it's been registered in Ontario. Now I am more interested in how much it will cost to get it running and increase HP definitely because I feel the 4 banger 138 HP isn't really sufficient for me. lol.