Bangernomics
After a lucky escape, Nigel restocks the Clark fleet with two Bavarians
The PC team picks some modern classic commuting wheels.
Nigel Clark
Disaster struck recently on the Clark driveway (See Staff Car Sagas, p108). In the early hours one Sunday morning, an electrical fault caused an engine bay fire on my everyday workhorse, a 2006 Jaguar X Type estate. Flames spread to our much-loved classic BMW before the fire brigade arrived. Fortunately nobody was injured and our house was saved from damage, but both cars were written off.
Once the wreckage had been dragged from the drive we could get mobile in our undamaged classics, Trudi commuting in the Scimitar and me in the GT6, but we urgently needed replacement everyday wheels. Trudi had been using the near pristine BMW E36 328i Coupé for short trips to work and for shopping, jobs for which it wasn’t ideally suited. She needed something less thirsty but preferably with similar style. It also had to be cheap, since our insurance claim hadn’t yet been settled.
The answer was nearby, as a BMW 318Ci popped up on ebay from a private seller less than 10 miles away. Looking good in black, it was a very late E46 coupé, sufficiently similar to the E36 that Trudi was happy with the style and I felt confident to maintain it. Better still, it promised 30-40mpg fuel economy. We quickly went to view, with the car turning out exactly as described.
With just over 100,000 miles from new, 12 months MOT and driving nicely, the car looked fit for purpose. However, it wasn’t entirely problem-free, with an engine oil leak and limited tread on the rear tyres. The haggling ended at £1400 and suddenly we had another BMW. Since taking over the new coupé, I’ve fixed the oil leak – a £12 set of O-rings for the variable valve timing solenoids – and
serviced it. By the time I’ve added the cost of a pair of tyres, and pricing up recent service parts, the coupé will owe us about £1700. According to the service indicator, it won’t need mechanical attention for another 15,000 miles. I reckon that’s plenty of car for the money.
Now at the halfway point in our journey to replace the pair of cars lost in the fire, I still required a new set of everyday wheels. It needed to be an estate car, for dog walks and trips to DIY stores, but I also wanted enough comfort and performance for longer journeys, ideally with six-cylinder smoothness and an auto ’box. In my mind, that could only mean another Bavarian beauty, either an E36 or E46 with the Touring estate body.
Scouring online adverts failed to turn up a hoped for earlier E36, but what I did find was potentially even better. A dealer in Cannock was offering a 2002 E46 325i Touring with five-speed auto for £1975. It came with full BMW main dealer service history, just 76,000 miles from new and five virtually unworn Michelin tyres. I phoned straight away and went to view the next day. Before I’d even finished looking the car over, another potential buyer was waiting in the wings.
Finished in Oxford Green metallic, the bodywork was very smart with only the slightest scuff on one arch.
The interior was similarly pristine, too. Underneath the car was flawless, without a trace of corrosion or leaking fluids. A test drive proved it went as well as it looked; this car was near enough the proverbial minter.
It would have been churlish to haggle, so we rapidly shook hands. The only odd thing about the car is those Michelins, as they are in fact winter tyres, unsuitable even for modest British summers. I’ve since bought some smart alloy wheels from a later E90 3 Series and had new rubber fitted. The Beemer now handles beautifully, while the Michelins are sitting at the back of my garage waiting for the temperature to drop.
All told, my BMW Touring has cost a whisker under £2500 including the extra wheels and tyres. That’s great value for a car that looks and drives so well, and would cost £40,000 brand-new today. This one’s a keeper!
THE VERDICT
Two neo-classic BMW E46s for little more than £3000 – both with a lot of life left and both simple enough to maintain at home. Who says you can’t get style and practicality for banger money?