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I don't see anything out of the ordinary with what you describe. Yes, A/C failure is a bummer. Otherwise, front axles are not bad and are a wear item. As compensation, the AWD cars have steel control arms that last much longer than light alloy arms on RWD E46s. Everything else you describe are theoretical future failures that may or may not happen. All cars have failure prone components, but E46 are actually not bad compared to some of the other cars I have dealt with. SAABs are prone to engine sludge, which is far more serious, and my personal NG900 had CPS, fuel pump, distributor seal and ignition switch failures that have been much more difficult to deal with that what is typical with an E46. I have done fair amount of maintenance on my E46s and my SAABs and the BMW is both easier and usually cheaper. There is very good access to everything, fasteners are very high quality, so they do not rust and are easy to undo, exhaust system is stainless steel, etc. etc. BMW parts are plentiful and genuine parts are of extremely high quality, usually much better than SAAB. I just installed new struts on my 325i and it was unbelievably easy compared to the nightmare I went through with my NG900 strut inserts (twice.) And so on...
We had two E46 sedans when our daughter was in a rear facing cars seat. We were able to fit comfortably, even on long trips when we had a lot of baby gear in the trunk. For really long trips we used a roof mounted Thule cargo box, which was exceedingly easy with BMW roof rack mounts that are built into the roof. It WAS much easier when we replaced one of the E46 sedans with an E91 wagon. That car has more room in the back, the roof is higher and the floor is lower/flatter. However, it did not have space for a spare tire, so we had to risk it with a tire mobility kit.
Now we are leasing a 2012 Passat that we absolutely hate and are actually trying to get rid of, expecting to take a loss. Our next car, an E60 5-series, is coming on Friday. That has a spare tire and a much bigger trunk, so we are really looking forward to it. Our two children are in forward facing child seats at this point, which makes it much easier to fit.
posted by 68.81.18...
, Tue, 22 Oct 2013 06:46:03
, Tue, 22 Oct 2013 05:25:28
, Mon, 21 Oct 2013 19:48:05, Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:16:10, Tue, 22 Oct 2013 13:36:05, Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:20:30
, Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:09:40, Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:34:11
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