my E85 has been more reliable than my E46!

[G80indy]

the E46 (2002 330i SP 5 speed MT)
love this nimble car.
let me count the things that I have had fixed or will have to fix!

window regulators (1 at 6000 miles!)
crankcase ventilation/oil separator (done)
water pump (yep, put in the Stewart)
final stage resistor (waiting for this)
rear subframe tearout (haven't had this one, yet)
front ball joints (waiting)

this is not minor stuff! a couple of these save the engine itself from catastrophe!

the E85 M?
a few drops from the rear LSD M-diff. No biggy

....granted they're similar platforms, right? ...., but keeping up with repairs, and the sleeping gremlins of the E46 make me leery of another 3 series especially with the order-of-magnitude greater complexity of the next gen F30 line.

Makes me wonder if my next sedan will be an Acura SH-AWD !

[mfanatic325]

My E46 has been problem-free for me, but I am one of the few lucky ones
Oh bimmers...the lot o' them...such drama queens

p.s. the 325Ci is currently @ <70k miles on the odo.

[Kgolf31]

Before I sold my E46:

3 CV Boots
2 Axle Shafts
1 Window Regulator
1 GM5 Module
2 Rear Tie-Down Bars (Thanks BMW for not properly bolting them)

Granted, the E46 has 130k miles on it, and my E86 only has 28k.
I only have had to replace an ignition coil on the E86

[XMetal]

I don't think the OP is making a fair comparison, comparing an older E46 to his newer E85. I could say the same thing about my '04 X5 being more problematic than my '08 MC. Let see...what I've done to my X5, which currently have 78K miles on it:
1. Window Regulators
2. Final Stage Resistors
3. DISA valve
4. Thrust arm bushings
5. Suspension pads
6. Water pump, Thermostat, upper and lower radiator hoses
7. Drive belts
8. Batteries (2x)

All of these items are expected maintenance items just as those listed in the OP's list for a high mileage car. Bits will eventually break and required replacement. The X have started every single time since day 1 haven't left me stranded once. So, would I call the X5 more problematic than my MC, which have not required a single thing to be replaced (other than my desired mods )?

[gferil]

Yeah it's not that fair to compare a 9 year old car that had a sticker price that was significantly less than a 6 year old car...

But with that being said, my E46 had its share of problems, and with the exception of the sunroof shade, window regulators, lock actuators, and window trim falling off, the rest of the problems were pretty standard and expected ;-)

And for what it's worth, over on e46fanatics a few years back, when some of the E46's were only 2 or 3 years old, I was still shocked at some of the basic problems that were going on with them.

[dekaliber]

Knock on wood, but neither E46 nor E86 has had any issues so far.

Unless you count the dodgy remote on both cars.

(To be fair, I'm at 17,xxx and 21,xxx miles, respectively.)

[G80indy]

Originally Posted by gferil

But with that being said, my E46 had its share of problems, and with the exception of the sunroof shade, window regulators, lock actuators, and window trim falling off, the rest of the problems were pretty standard and expected ;-)

What happened to your sunroof shade? A clip broke on mine but I coaxed it back on track

[acceleration]

More preventative than anything, but recently I had to do the subframe reinforcement plates and retrofit AL headlight housings into my E46 (ZKW projector bowls were burning out.)

It's otherwise been problem free. 2004 330i 6 speed with 100k miles.

[gferil]

Originally Posted by 330indy

What happened to your sunroof shade? A clip broke on mine but I coaxed it back on track

Same thing, clips broke on two different occaisions, and when I bought the car the clips were already broken, so I replaced them three times.