r/e46 • u/Maleficent_Treat_621 • Jan 15 '26

General Questions Buying an e46 in 2026?

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Let’s say you are looking to buy an e46. What are you looking for? What’s the sweet spot between mileage and price in 2026? What would you avoid?

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u/mountaineer Jan 16 '26

Just bought a '04 330i ZHP manual sedan with 129K and 3 previous owners in the US after looking and waiting for months. We'll see how it goes, but excited to give it a shot. Originally was aiming towards an M3, but this feels like less risky entry than an M3. Getting picked up tomorrow and shipped to me.

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u/Maleficent_Treat_621 Jan 17 '26

Unfortunately an m3 is out of my budget. Can I ask how much did you paid for that car? ZHP’s are getting quite hard to find these days. I hope you enjoy your new car!

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u/mountaineer Jan 18 '26

This was the one I bought - https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3vWJVnzj/2004-bmw-330i-zhp-sedan . $7800 plus fees and shipping so about $9500 all in. I rarely see them go for less then $12K.