Farsight
09-06-2011, 11:25 AM
Hi Everyone,
I'm fairly new to the world of E46s, especially performance packages, and I was hoping to get some input from community members who have more expertise in this area.
I'm currently looking at an '04 330CI from a private party, and there are a few oddities with the car that I would like to gauge your opinions about:
The advertisement for the car specified that it has only the M-Sport package (basic sports package) and looking from the picture, the car doesn't have the 18" dbl spoke wheel upgrade. However, when I actually went to view the car and take it for a test drive, the owner told me that there's a minor engine boost (less than 5% extra horse power) and that the car has the $4000 performance package - he wasn't aware of a difference between an M-Sport and the M-Performance (ZAM).
I thought this might have been enthusiastic salesmanship at first, but the inside of the car had automatic sports seats, the cold weather package, black cube trim, and the premium package. Also, the trim around the car's windows were black (vs silver for regular non-performance), and it has the performance package front grille and back bottom lip, as well as the customary sports spoiler. However, as far as I could tell, it had the standard 6.5 mm exhaust tips with what looked like smaller exhaust tubes inside (flap?).
What's weirder is that when I called BMW Canada this morning to verify the options on the car, they said that it only has the AG M Sport package, and the Premium package. They couldn't find anything about the black cube trim, the black window trim, or the front grille/back lip. The car has self-leveling headlights, but they didn't see that come up either.
I'm fairly comfortable with the deal that struck regardless of it being having a performance package, but I'm fairly curious as to whether I've got my hands on a really good deal, or just an acceptable one.
There's another odd thing about the car: the current owner bought a carfax report, which shows 0 accidents, but when I verified this by getting my own carproof report, it shows that there's an accident record, but with $0 estimate dmg and no claims details. Not really sure what that means.
Would a good mechanic be able to tell if the car has the Performance Package by looking at the engine? Let me know what you guys think.
Thanks!
I'm fairly new to the world of E46s, especially performance packages, and I was hoping to get some input from community members who have more expertise in this area.
I'm currently looking at an '04 330CI from a private party, and there are a few oddities with the car that I would like to gauge your opinions about:
The advertisement for the car specified that it has only the M-Sport package (basic sports package) and looking from the picture, the car doesn't have the 18" dbl spoke wheel upgrade. However, when I actually went to view the car and take it for a test drive, the owner told me that there's a minor engine boost (less than 5% extra horse power) and that the car has the $4000 performance package - he wasn't aware of a difference between an M-Sport and the M-Performance (ZAM).
I thought this might have been enthusiastic salesmanship at first, but the inside of the car had automatic sports seats, the cold weather package, black cube trim, and the premium package. Also, the trim around the car's windows were black (vs silver for regular non-performance), and it has the performance package front grille and back bottom lip, as well as the customary sports spoiler. However, as far as I could tell, it had the standard 6.5 mm exhaust tips with what looked like smaller exhaust tubes inside (flap?).
What's weirder is that when I called BMW Canada this morning to verify the options on the car, they said that it only has the AG M Sport package, and the Premium package. They couldn't find anything about the black cube trim, the black window trim, or the front grille/back lip. The car has self-leveling headlights, but they didn't see that come up either.
I'm fairly comfortable with the deal that struck regardless of it being having a performance package, but I'm fairly curious as to whether I've got my hands on a really good deal, or just an acceptable one.
There's another odd thing about the car: the current owner bought a carfax report, which shows 0 accidents, but when I verified this by getting my own carproof report, it shows that there's an accident record, but with $0 estimate dmg and no claims details. Not really sure what that means.
Would a good mechanic be able to tell if the car has the Performance Package by looking at the engine? Let me know what you guys think.
Thanks!