Help ! 1st time BMW buyer. Compare 03-04 325xi or 2002 330xi with less km?

Q: I know the 330 has more hp, but there seem to be more 2002 with less km than 2003 325 avail. in price range. Any suggestions?

A: The E46's (3series from 00-06) are pretty reliable cars, the most problems we see are maintenence items like control arms, bushings, definetly leaky power steer lines, valve cover gaskets, dont forget the melty taillight carriers, the window regulators... ehh... i would suggest to you that to be safe try to get a CPO 3 series, that way if something non-maintenence related does fail, you just have a 50.00 copay and you're not out thousands... these cars don't usually have major issues, probably the most severe would be transmission... as for 03-04 vs 02... you wont see much difference, 325 vs 330, the only difference is the bore of the engine and programing with a few other things. (same engine) personally i like all wheel drive, definately like stick over auto. i would say the less miles on these cars the better, unless it has been maticulously taken care of. the interriors tend to show a lot of age after too much use (carpet on pillars peels, paint rubs off, etc... stay away from the 00 and 01's... good luck

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