Backstory

During the summer of last year in height of the covid fiasco and right after the hurricane, I had the brilliant idea to buy this 2001 BMW 325Ci coupe. I had found this on the e46fanatics forum’s classifieds section and was immediately enamored by the Tannin red interior paired with Alpine white exterior. Initially, I was convincing myself to not even consider inquiring and focus on my already present 2004 330Ci convertible. I let a week go by hoping someone else would have bought it to save me the internal torment, but to my elatement, the forum post still indicated it hadn’t sold. After some quick rationalizations about enjoying life to the fullest and recouping monetary losses of the potential purchase, I bit the bullet and contacted the owner.

To my surprise yet again, I received confirmation the car was still for sale. With my resolve strengthened to buy the car, I proceeded to make an offer and eventually we came to an agreeable price. I sent a deposit for the owner to hold the car, booked my one way flight to Texas, and flew out the following week.

For the mileage - 186,000 miles - the car is in amazing condition with paint having minimal blemishes and only a few rock chips on the bonnet. The car is a base model 325Ci fitted with comfort seats, the Getrag 5mt, Xenons, and no extra automatic features. Even the HVAC is the most basic model with the rotary dials.

The road trip back to the Midwest was very scenic and much needed as I was able to explore eastern, greener side of Texas and the Texan road warrior hallmark: Buc-ee’s. The car, with its high miles, unknown service history, mismatched tires, and who knows what else, survived a couple southern summer torrents and made it back without leaving me stranded.

The E46 Coupe

During the drive, I naturally was fiddling with the radio and to my suprise found a nice CD the previous owner had forgotten.

Project Plans

Given the complete absence of service records, I plan to give this coupe the full works for its refreshal to make it good for another 100k miles. The TODO list in no particular order is:

• full cooling system and hard pipes under manifold
• ignition service (hopefully only spark plugs)
• front and rear suspension refresh (FCAB)
  • ECStuning coilovers
• later on, rear subframe and floor reinforcements welded
• flatten front strut tower and reinforce plates
• full radio and speaker refresh
• interior deep clean and detailing
• headliner repair
• front bumper fix and repair
• oil pan gasket
• replace clutch and flywheel
• brake hose and caliper rebuilds and paint
• replace windshield trim/moulding
• replace and fix rear window seal
• replace broken driver’s door lock actuator
• repair broken tab on passenger side skirt
• retrofit volt meter array in center console
• new tires