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Sometimes it’s not the performance of a car that catches my eye; case in point, today’s bottom-of-the-E46 range for the U.S. market 323Ci. The budget entry, these often seemed to be snapped up by junior executive types that wanted to say they owned a brand new BMW, but couldn’t actually afford a brand new BMW. Yet that’s not the car’s fault, and it’s a lovely design. For a budget coupe with a fair amount of practicality and a special feel, the 323Ci works just fine. This particular car is presented in rarely seen Light Yellow Metallic and is interestingly optioned with Sport Package and little else:
For someone who claims to “not get” fast convertibles, I’ve sure managed to post quite a few recently. This one particularly caught my eye first because of the color combination. Imola Red was on the short list of acceptable E46 M3 colors in my search, particularly so when equipped with Imola on the inside. Now, truth told the convertible configuration of this car would probably have turned me off from actually signing on the dotted line, but this car has a lot going for it including $28,000 worth of Dinan modifications. Let’s take a look:
Part of my logic for wanting an E46 M3 has been to have a dual-purpose car; one that I can drive in comfort 9.5 out of 10 days, but can take to the track on an occasional weekend and have fun approaching the limit. Few cars achieve the balance of both comfortable road car and formidable track weapon quite as well out of the box as the M3 does, and for some time it was the defacto track-addict car. Truth told, since the early 2000s many more track-focused cars have emerged and even eclipsed the M3 in both purpose and execution. But the M3 remains at the forefront of most enthusiast’s minds as a capable platform, and the E46 has channeled the last of the analogue platforms into a package that many want to upgrade. The result, if you’re willing to put in some time and money, can be a Porsche killing coupe on a more reasonable budget.
Rightly so, I’ve been accused of comparing everything to BMWs – so for today’s 10K Friday, I thought why not compare BMWs to BMWs? Part of the reason I compare various cars I write up to the alternative BMW products is because for some time they have been considered the benchmark, and their popularity from new to the used classic market means that they set the pricing trends against which others can be judged. That’s especially true of the 3 series; for some time, the go-to performance product from Germany, increasingly many earlier generations of the 3 are being viewed as not only collectable, but indeed as investments. So, what does your $10,000 budget buy these days? I’ve rounded up five examples from the first five generations, covering nearly every configuration the small executive platform has been available in. Which is the winner?
While the four-door M3 has been with us for the last two generations of 3 series, you were out of luck if you wanted an M-badged 3 series four-door when it came to the 1999-2005 E46 3er. Or were you? For a short while, BMW offered the ZHP package on E46 sedans, coupes and convertibles. More aggressive cams and modified engine management delivered 235 horsepower. Along with a modified suspension setup, this was a bit of an M3-lite. Whether it’s a standard or ZHP variant, it’s hard to come across mint condition E46 sedans these days, but this example for sale in Maryland looks to have led a pampered life, with under 60,000 miles on the clock.
