330i discussion: E46 ZHP vs. E90 ZSP

[joeybananaz18]

So i have hit a brick wall in my searches for a new (to me) car. I think I have narrowed the search to two 330s but I can't decide between the two of them- an E46 ZHP and an e90 ZSP. I have two specific cars in mind right now. Just a couple of quick facts about the two cars I'm considering:

The E90 is just under half the price of the E46.
The E90 has about 33% less miles than the E46.
The E90 is a little better equipped than the E46, having dynamic headlights and iDrive (which can be upgraded from the CCC to the CIC platform)
Both are about a 90min drive from me.
E46 is being sold by a forum member with full maintenance documentation, while E90 was found at a dealer (probably no records)

Styling- I know most will say that the E46 is the better looking of the two. But I honestly don't mind the looks of the E90. I always thought that the 162 wheels made it look really athletic. I just remember reading all the articles that came out in 2006 hailing how incredible it was.

Maintenance- Naturally- aspirated 3.0 straight six with 6-speeds on either side of the argument. You really can't go wrong. At least I don't think so. It's not like I have to deal with M prices on either one. I suppose that one could make the argument that the E90 is newer, and having only one production year of the 330 parts could be a little more than the E46. Also, if its coming from a dealer with no maintenance background, you could say that I would end up spending whatever money I save in that department.

Drive- Apparently this was a topic of discussion on E90post, as others were in the same boat as me and had a difficult time making up their minds. From what I could gather, the ZHP is a bit of a stiffer car and definitely the choice if you want to consider a track day or two. I wouldn't mind giving one a shot but I'm not looking to set an Nurburgring lap records. I hear it's a bit more tossable and lighter (about 200-250lbs depending on who you ask). E90 seems to be a bit more comfortable, and would be excellent fro long drives but theres no question that a ZHP would make a good DD.

I know this forum is just a smidgen more biased to one vs the other, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has owned both or driven both extensively. TIA.

Joe

[Vas]

Personally for me the key is full maintenance documentation.

A used BMW with no history can get expensive real quick.

[san]

I think fredo owned an e90 330 before he got the Zhp so you may ask him.
I was in the same boat before I got my Zhp. The e90 had fewer miles and was about the same price. I decided to go with Zhp because-
1. At the time I heard e46 was easier to work on but I think it's true, also all the info available online
2. The e90 was an 06 330 and its maintenance history showed that it had some solenoid (can't remember exactly) which was replaced 3 times within 100k miles which led me to think it maybe is not as reliable considering that it was the first model year

The e90 is definitely faster in a straight line, at least it felt faster to me but I think the Zhp is more enjoyable to drive, again for me at least. I agree with you that e90 maybe more comfortable for longer drives but I never felt the Zhp was lacking in comfort, so the additional comfort might not mean much to me and I drive about 20k miles a year on the highway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fredo]

I owned an e90 2006 330i from 2010 to 2015. I sold it to my father-in-law so it stayed in my family. Mine was AT. Good car overall, a little heavier IMHO compared to the e46 platform. I sold that car with 92,000 miles and sometimes I regret it thanks to lower cost of ownership. I spent an avg of $1,500 per year on it. I believe my father in law only needed some coolant system repairs so far.

I've owned a ZHP for almost 2.5 years. I've spent an avg of $2,300 per year on it. A big chunk of that has been cosmetic stuff. I don't DiY so that's why my expenses are so high. The e46 is the only platform that I've owned twice (1999 323i and 2005 330i) and I'm on my 6th BMW now.

If you are not a DIY person, then I would recommend a PPI on the e90 and go from there. Maybe the Carfax shows some svc recs in there.

[fredo]

I forgot to say: you can easily check on the e90 different svc items, like spark plugs, brakes, oil, cabin filter. The dash (or iDrive in this case) will tell you a date or mileage when they are due. This will give you an idea of the car's condition.

[KevinC]

I factory-ordered a new ZSP-optioned E90 330i in October 2005, just as the E90 was coming out. I really wanted a coupe, but as BMW has traditionally done, the coupe was a year behind the sedan, and I wasn't going to wait that long. Ironically, had I known that the E46 ZHP was still available new, I probably would have gone that route - but at that time I had no idea that it even existed. Funny that 12 years later, I now drive a ZHP.

Anyways, my E90 was a great car. I only kept it about a year and a half as I became smitten with a new Z4M coupe that had been a lot queen for months at one of the local dealers, and I spent (literally) 4 months negotiating to purchase it, finally trading my E90 for it.

If I were going to buy another E90, I'd definitely want a 330i, which means 2006 only. For 2007 they went to the troublesome turbo N54 motor, or you could still do the "detuned" 328i. But that 2006 330i was 255 hp, without turbo or the associated wonky HPFP.

If I were in your shoes, I'd go ZHP. It's a better-driving car, as far as handling, steering feel, etc. Not by a long shot as the E90 was still equipped with hydraulic power steering which was quite decent. But nothing touches the ZHP in that regard. The early E90's had a lot of new tech in them which hadn't matured yet too. By the time the ZHP came around, the E46 had been around for a while and most of the early issues had been ironed out by then.

And that older iDrive really sucks ass, and that center hump in the dash is hideous IMHO. I ordered mine without it - had I not been able to, I would have passed on the E90 - that's how much I hated that ugly dash setup. That's purely subjective and it may not bother you at all.

One big plus for my E90 was the Logic7 sound system, which is light years ahead of the crappy H/K "upgrade" in the ZHP. If the one you're considering has it, I'd consider that a big plus.

Good luck!

[jonnyd330]

I was also deciding between the e90 and e46. I wanted to go with the newer e90's for the reliability but what made it easy for me was the lack of manual transmission e90's that ultimately led me to a second e46.

[sillieidiot]

Having owned both, bought at the same time brand new. Get the e46 lol I hated the E90. Well to be specific, just the year you're looking at. All the interior soft touch paint peels even faster than the E46 and it's more expensive to replace especially around the handles and cupholders. The cupholders break. The steering wheel sucks lol It does feel way more solid than the E46 and heavier as well. I had the problem that a lot of first gen E90s had which was the coils kept going bad causing rough idle. It happened like 3x. The interior sucks lol The rear seats felt like they were smaller than both E46 sedan and coupe. Makes your back hurt if you're sitting for long periods. The window switches, OMG, first year they change it, and it's dumb as hell. If you buy it, you'll see. Stupid handle is in the way, or the switches are too far lol I think I could keep going on lol I did more DIY work on the E90 due to things keeping on breaking than I did the E46.

The pros over the E46 really was the power. It has torque down low, like a lot of it around like 1500 rpm so that was nice. It actually handled very well. The ride quality was very good for having runflats. The car just feels solid like I stated before. And the audio system.

[joeybananaz18]

I appreciate all the feedback from everyone. As Vas mentioned above, the fully documented maintenance is key. I'm glad there are a number of people who have experience different generations of 3-series. I'm actually coming from an E92, so I'm completely fine with the interior idiocies. I think I might wait for a nice looking E91.

You guy may have convinced me to stick with looking for a ZHP. Now for the hard part- to convince the wife.

[sillieidiot]

I think most of us have experience with other cars. I like the F30. Other than the EPS. everything about it is way better than the E90. But I'm sure that is out of your price range.

Well you can get an E90, just go for like the 328 or newer facelifted ones. Just not the E90 330i. I swear that thing has too many problems and being a one-off year and the first gen. You're more likely to run into problems than not.

The ZHP isn't worth it for the price imo. The price is too inflated, especially on this forum. It's better if you were just looking at a regular 330. But I'm pretty sure I'm the outlier here on this forum. I do agree that between the 2 cars listed, I would go with the one that has better documentation.

[KevinC]

"Other than the EPS". That's a HUGE gotcha though. BMW EPS continues to improve, but it still sucks compared to a proper hydraulic setup.

[joeybananaz18]

yea as you'd expect the F30 is out of my price range. I have yet to drive a car with EPS but i'm sticking to the old school hydraulic system. I remember watching patrick dempsey test the 991 when it first came out and he was really surprised at how good it was (I use him as an example because of his history of racing porsches). But i doubt the F30 is anywhere close to what the 991 feels like.