So recently (as in last Friday, the 13th of December) I decided to purchase a 2004 BMW 330CI ZHP. The decision came when I realized I need something with a bit more dependability and better on fuel than the 8, though at this time I will still be keeping the 8. I literally flew 900KM on Friday morning, and drove it right back that same day.

Here is some information on the car itself:

2004 330CI ZHP
235BHP, 222lb-ft
Imola Red paint
K&N CAI
M3 wheels, steering wheel, shift ****/boot, emblems, etc (all part of ZHP package)
Black Cube Interior
Anthracite Headliner
Fully Loaded

On my long trip back, I averaged 30.3MPG doing ~120km/hr with cruise control, tires set low at 26psi (on summer ones) and winds averaging ~40km/hr (bloody windy day). Summer should see a good 36MPG on the highway.

The ride is great, the power is pretty nice and overall I am really liking the car. Since it has the ZHP package, it has some obvious styling benefits inside and out, as well as the additional 10hp. It has everything power, memory seats/mirrors, and can comfortably fit 4 people (have yet to try 5). The trunk has more than adequate space, and the rear seats even fold down. The handling of the car is surprisingly precise and responsive; the car doesn't feel heavy or large as I expected it would (~3286lb curb), and it hugs the road quite nicely when going in some tighter corners. I am, surprisingly, quite happy with this purchase.

Let me know your thoughts! Besides the CAI and black kidney grills, this car is completely stock! I only have these photos at the moment, but will try to upload some rear, side, and interior shots when I can

 

Nice. For me it was always a matter of choosing between a 330ci or an RX8. In the end I went for the RX8 because it is more unique and I was able to find the perfect one. Pristine condition, low mileage and a long time left on the engine warranty. The E46 is an awesome car and the straight six engine is great. The E46's styling will always look good IMO.

 

Grats on the purchase

How many miles on the car? My advise would be to sell it before it hits 80k, at that point its likely to turn into a money pit.

 

I love when a rotary guy calls something else a money pit

 

One of my best friend has 2004 Mystic Blue ZHP 330ci. It has a great set of KW Variant 3 coilovers, wheels/tires, and that's about it. I can't speak for a stock suspension 330ci, but with the renown KW V3's, it rides great. Very comfortable and quiet interior with typical BMW build quality. Well appointed for an 2004 GT coupe. Sounds great even with factory ZHP exhaust. Definitely more grunt than the RX-8 (though not significantly faster). Back seat got enough room for two adults for short trips, but won't fit 3 adults without some shoe horning and pain.

Mileage is decent and obviously better than the RX-8 (what isn't?). He doesn't get anywhere near high 20's though. He floats high teens at best. Responsive handling, though more prone to understeer than the RX-8 and definitely not as nimble/accurate. The lack of LSD does show from time to time, especially tight corner exits. My biggest complaint is the shifter. God damn it feels rubbery, even with the BMW Performance aluminum shiftknob.


Great car if one does not want the maintenance/cost of an E46 M3, but still want 80% of the performance. Though that doesn't mean maintenance is cheap. I say it's just as much of a money pit as the RX-8. At a little over 100k miles, my friend just went for the big coolant and suspension bushing overhaul package from Bavarian Autosport . He replaced quite a few sensors too and that alone broke the $1000 mark.

none the less, congrats on the purchase. Great choice over the typical competition like the G35/350z.

 

Thanks everyone for the congrats.

It really is a great car. It has been pretty meticulously maintained over it's life, and many preventative maintenance upgrades have been performed to help with durability.

I was pleasantly surprised upon doing research on how cheap some of the parts for the car can be. Obviously not everything is cheap, but a water pump for example runs under $100, and an entire suspension refresh front and back runs around $880 (With some extras, which is reasonable to myself as I do my own labour). Only higher costs of owning over, say, the RX8 are oil changes... 6 litres of synthetic will be a bit more costly, but overall it should be relatively cheap to maintain as long as everything is kept up with, as with any vehicle I believe. There are obvious parts that will yield higher costs, but nothing out of the ordinary or out of my own personal financial comfort zone by any means.

As for the mileage, I just filled up from 1/4 tank, and was averaging 28MPG, and that is city/highway split of about 40/60. Please note this is in Canadian MPG, which differs from US standards. This would work out to approximately 23MPG in the US. I also did a couple hour-long trips, in which I averaged 8.1L/100KM, which for me works out to 35MPG, and 29MPG in the US. That was running @ 100KM/HR (roads were icy). I'm not expecting it at all to be like my Jetta TDI for example, but there is definitely a noticeable difference in mileage when in direct comparison to my RX8.

Like I said, overall it has so far been a fantastic car, which was not my expectations. I was assuming I would enjoy it, but not love it. Well, I'm loving it more and more as I drive it. It may not be as nimble or light on its feet as the 8, and the lack of LSD as SayNoToPistons mentioned is prominent in applicable situations, but overall, for the features, comfort, performance, and handling that the car does offer, it's hard to not love it. It's styling is still IMO relative to the times and looks great, so that is always a bonus. If someone were to ask me to recommend either the 330CI ZHP or the RX8, it would be a much more difficult toss-up that I would have initially imagined, just as everyone is looking for something different, and each car really shines in separate categories.

I appreciate all the positive feedback. I feel that I have made a decent choice in purchase, nice to know I have some support here

 

BTW SayNoToPistons, that is one clean looking car you got pictures of. I'm hoping to get mine all clean and shiny and get some shots like these

 

agreed, the outside looks great, good proportions

the shifter is really funny, its very typical BMW. firstly there appear to be two problems with shifter design, the first is transmitting the motion of your hand into the transmission, and #2 appears to be insulating the shifter from vibrations.

Mazda chose to favor #1, and has always had a good shift feel, there are occasional vibrations, but with the heavy **** its pretty much fixed.

the BMW design favors #2, and it does work great, you don't feel a thing through the shifter, however it has to be the worst way to transmit motion possible. its actually a pretty ridiculous design in 1982 when they came out with it. typical of BMW, they haven't done anything more than change bushing materials since then.

the BMW people seem to like this though, they want to make websites about which shifter is better, and make all kinds of bushings out of unobtanium

 

Last of the good 3 series... nice ride.. congrats! The newer ones feel less like a driver 's car and more like a Camry unless you spring for the M Series (which requires funding maintenance staff).

 

Just an update for those of you who might be curious.

I have now parked the car for the winter season, but got to drive it a fair amount before doing so. I now agree with the shifter posts -- it does feel rather odd and rubbery; I'm hoping that moving to a higher-weighted one will help compensate, but who knows for sure. The car definitely gets better mileage and has more 'grunt' than my 8, but I don't see an overall faster acceleration by any means. In fact, sometimes I'm wondering if the 8 is faster, though I know it isn't. Overall I would say that yes the lower end grunt is very noticeable and quite nice, but it is by no means a power machine. I'm considering a VF S/C kit right now as well, so that would take care of this Lack of LSD is noticeable, but I can upgrade for $1800. Will see in summer if that's necessary.

Overall, I love the car. I had test drove one around 7 months ago that had the tan interior, and it felt old and boring almost. It had the wood trim (Which admittedly looks great on black interior), but this car just felt 'big' inside. I suppose old and boring are inaccurate - it just felt much too big and not like it would be any fun to drive. Now that I have this one will the full black / Black Cube interior (including headliner), the car feels perfectly proportioned inside, and although I know it is larger than the 8, I don't feel that nearly as much as I thought I would.

When I first bought my 8, I had dreams of tracking it (well, auto-x at most), and never got around to doing much of it at all. I've almost grown out of the sliding everywhere style, where I wanted a car with the most precise handling available; this car handles very well, and it will be more than enough for me as a simple weekend cruiser. As of now, I still intend on keeping the 8, though that may change come summer.

I appreciate the positive feedback from everyone. If anyone has ideas for it, please feel free to throw them out there!

 

j9fd3s is absolutely right. Blows my mind that BMW can get so many things right in terms of driving dynamics and feel, but they refuse to correct their shifters. It is the same even in E90's and E60's I've driven.

Changing shiftknobs won't make a difference. I have felt the factory 330ci, ZHP, and BMW Performance shiftknobs in a 330. Even with new bushings, it still feels sloppy. A few years back, my cousin had a 330ci (non-ZHP) and he had a UUC short shifter with a UUC linkage as well. That was by far the best feeling shift feel I have experienced from a BMW. You might want to look into bushing/linkage upgrades before anything else.

 

Hmm, may have to look into that. I've read a small bit about them before, but if it helps its something I would definitely do. I'm not a fan of the sloppiness, nor would anyone I imagine. Thanks for the tip man!

 

I'm thinking of jumping ship to the BMW camp as well. Looking at a low miles used 128i manual. I know its not as hardcore as other BMWs, but it is still fun and should be a good ride.

 

before of newer models with electric steering. I have a newer Audi S4 (equivalent to a high end 3 series but not as much car as an M3) and I find that even though the S4 can beat my RX8 in nearly ever type of driving, its not as much fun to drive day to day if you aren't pushing it.

My biggest complaint is the lack of steering/road feel, and I think BMW is moving to a similar type of electric steering in its new models.

 

It's hard going from a car that is as uncommon these days as an RX-8 -- into a friggin bimmer. They are everywhere.

But I think I am going to be doing the same. If you include both 8s that I owned...I've been driving an RX-8 for over 10 years now. Hard to believe.

Saw the new 4 series...and yeah it's another cookie cutter BMW...but it's actually pretty stylish and something about it feels right for me at this point in time.

Not sure if I'm gonna dump my 8 or keep it. It's hard getting rid of it after a decade's worth of driving them...and STILL having people come up and ask me wtf kind of car I have at parking lots and gas stations even in 2014. There's something special about that which I'm not sure I'm willing to give up for 3 grand.

Didn't mean to take a dump on your thread though...enjoy your 3 series.

 

I have now sold the 8 just for an update for everyone. I replaced it now with the BMW, though my intentions are to get another 8 in the future. I realize they aren't as stylish or uncommon as the 8, but it is surprisingly enough still a very fun car to drive and I believe I will enjoy it.

My reasoning for selling the 8 was not out of hate for the car, but that I just wanted to give something else a try for a bit. I still have no doubt in my mind that I will be owning an 8, maybe an FD, in the not so distant future.

I will continue to be as active as I can on this forum as this community is one that I have grown to love. Thanks for all the comments everyone!

 

when it starts developing a list of issues just sell the car, unless you like a bloody forehead.

 

I thought BMW's had more issues and needed more maintenance than our 8's? I still love the car though. Looks good.

 

they do, maintenance is usually easy to perform but most actual repairs can break your wallet with a few simple trips to the shop. basically there are very few things that are "easy" to repair on the mid 90's and up BMW's. this is also why they become "affordable" rather quickly.

the interiors remind me of the FD3S, it might look ok or even good when brand new but once things start to break it is all downhill from there. at least when a kia door panel breaks it's only $50 to replace instead of $1000. not that i prefer a kia, but even they make better door panels and much cheaper.

 

Having experienced various E46's (including an M3), E90's of all sorts from 330/328's to the 335d, and an F30 328 with and without sport pack. I completely agree about BMW's new F30 EPS. Extremely light with no feedback off center nor increase in tension mid turn. I made a comment about the F30 328i loaner having less feel and precision as my CX-5's EPS. I will say that the F30 rides VERY well. Then again, it is no longer a small compact German luxo any more. Larger than the E39 5 series...

 

As per maintenance costs, etc - The 'high costs' only apply to the M3 variants, for the E46 series at least.

For example, I recently purchased a new water pump for preventative measures. $56 brand new, and brand name as well. Just bought new brakes and rotors as well for the front - rotors were $85 each and brakes were $90 for the front sets.

Most of the maintenance that needs to be done is just like oil changes and spark plugs, just as with the 8. Problems can come up as with any car, but for a non-M model in the E46 era, repairs will not break the wallet any more than the 8 would

 

Nice, my pops has a 2000 323i with the premium sports package and my mom has a 2007 328i wagon with also the sports and premium package. Both are surprisingly fun to drive; especially my mom's car. I love how stable it is from the factory and how well it handles for such a long car.

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Please tell us that in a couple of years.

You will see how expensive they are.

 

Will do

I personally don't mind spending money on preventative / regular maintenance, so what is expensive to some isn't to others I suppose. As it has a full cooling system and full suspension refresh recently performed, I don't anticipate any major issues for a while. When they do come I will obviously be prepared. But I get what you mean by that

Update
I've been driving the car for a little while continuously now, and have already moved into a few modifications. Nothing major yet, just a couple cosmetics as well as a Strut tower brace for added handling (made a great deal of difference). So far though, I've put on 4000KM without a hiccup. It's not as light on its toes as the 8, but can corner surprisingly well; besides the nimble-ness difference between this and the 8, both cars do have tight steering and can grip the road without feeling too heavy (again, a bit of a surprise)

 

I have test driven various models of the BMW 3 series over the last 17 years. Back in the 90s I was driving a Ford Escort. After the 328 test drive the Escort felt like crap. Not the case with the RX8. The interior is comparable to my RX8 GT, maybe slightly better. The driving dynamics are by far better in the RX8: handling, steering, the shifter. The back seat in the E46 is as cramped. One area where E46 and E90 shine is the balance between luxury and performance. In every day driving it feels luxurious but it can take a curve. But that is the thing: to appreciate 3 series handling you have to drive it hard. The RX8 is fun to drive in regular driving.

Of all 3's I have test driven over the years I liked a 325 from 2004 the best. It had a nice engine sound, despite a lower hp (184?) pulled nicely albeit with a weird lag. E90 somehow felt bland, F30's are different animals.

Overall they are nice classy cars, not as sporty as the RX8. Expensive for what you get but some people love them. Most people lease them nowadays. Few have manual trasmission. Newer models are an unlikely choice for a car enthusiast.