Vintage Posh

Loading...

Photo 1 of 20

It’s considered by many to be peak BMW 3 series and in its day the E46 was highly regarded. With the E30 well and truly in classic territory, with prices to match, maybe the E46 will be the next classic 3 series, especially if it has a big 6 under the bonnet. Like this Kiwi new 330ci cabriolet with a tempting price.

The BMW E46 3 series was launched in 1997 and was a big leap up from the preceding E36 in almost every sense. From the handsome Chris Bangle design to the excellent build quality and the great handling the E46 was a winner, and it sold really well. But maybe due to its popularity when new it’s largely ignored as a potential future classic today. Some models, chiefly the M3, are already highly desirable classics, but the standard models have probably never been cheaper.

If we take the BMW E30 as a bench mark we can see that prices have gone through a period of solid appreciation to the point where a good one with a six cylinder engine will sell for well into the $20,000+ range. So if you were to take a punt on a future classic then a good E46 would be a good place to start looking as prices are still very low.

This E46 330ci Convertible was sold new in NZ in 2000 and has travelled a low 148,000kms. It looks like it’s had a nice life and has a good service history. And it’s the top of the range before you hit the M3. It’ll still be lovely to drive, despite being more than a quarter century old, and it still looks quite posh, in a classic way, and won’t look out of place in any well to do neighbourhoods.

All this comes with a price tag of of just $8499 drive away, or the price of a well used Suzuki Swift.

Summer’s just around the corner. Treat yourself to a bit of cut price, top down class.

More details here.