Test drive BMW 3 Episode E46 1998 - 2002 Sedan

BMW 3-ER (2000-2003 release)

In the love triangle, the third is usually superfluous. But if you are in love with German cars, then the BMW of the third series is what you need. Especially if she comes from Kalinigrad.
The last generation of the BMW three-year-old BMW with the E-46 body was replaced by the previous model with the E-36 body. Since January 2000, the production of this model began in Russia, at the Kaliningrad enterprise Autotor, where by that time its older sister was already made - five BMW, as well as Korea KIA Korean cars. So, although the model itself has been standing on the conveyor of the Bavarian concern for almost six years, our Russian treshka formally turned three years old, which made it the heroine of our heading.
Dear lever. Technically, the Kaliningrad treshka differs from its German sisters by the presence of a package for bad roads, which is present in standard configuration, and not for an additional fee. The package consists of reinforced shock absorbers, stiffer springs with spacers and steel protection of the motor crankcase.
Perhaps, it is the chassis of the threeking that can be considered the only weak place. This applies primarily to those cars that are operated in Russia, and two original Russian problems are to blame: our roads and those fools who sometimes get driving cars. After all, if the machine driven from Germany requires an intervention only to 100 thousand kilometers of mileage, then some domestic drivers on our roads manage to bring the suspension to the overkill during the warranty period.
   
In the first Kaliningrad tremors, the ball -sores were delivered to a headache, made assembled with levers - as soon as the play appeared, it was necessary to change the entire bulky detail. But since 2001, the plant has strengthened this element, at the same time slightly changing the design itself. The modernized node turned out to be more reliable, and there are no complaints about it yet. There is only one small nuance: if there are still old -style levers on the car and one of them has failed, then you will have to change anyway a couple, since the levers of the old and new design are incompatible. This pleasure is $ 250 for one lever and $ 75 for the work to replace it. Often such a procedure requires replacement and silent blocks, $ 22 apiece.
Rulez. The steering rack ($ 880) costs significantly more expensive, because it is she who next after levers that suffers from our roads. Unfortunately, it does not appear in it, which could be eliminated by replacing the seals, but a real backlash. If there is an adjusting bolt on the left side of the rail, with which the backlash can be slightly compensated, then there is no such bolt on the right side of the rail. Some firms from among the craftsmen, in order not to spend money on replacing the rails, offer the owner of the machine to eliminate the backlash by spraying the metal to the worn surface. There is no reliable data on the effectiveness of such a technique, and since in addition to the spraying work, the owner of the car also has to pay for the work on removing the installation of the Reiki, the savings look doubtful. But if you are already morally ready to pay money for a new rail, then prepare $ 65 for the work to replace it.
   
Our country is famous for cold winters, and it is this National Feature of our national feature that can play a cruel joke with the owner of a three -year -old. By starting the engine in winter, it is necessary to immediately turn on the stove fan. If you first warm up the engine and then sharply let the flow of hot air on the windshield, then it can crack.
Purely mine. But from the dirt on our roads, the treshka is protected much better than many other foreign cars. Even the standard plastic protection, which is on machines made in Germany, is very well saved by the motor compartment from our dirt. In addition, the exhaust system, together with the cardan shaft, takes place in the bottom tunnel, which is also covered with a dirty screen, and plastic shelters are also in the wheel arches. But, as in many other machines, special attention should be paid to the purity of radiators of the cooling system and air conditioning. The latter has larger honeycombs, so dirt passes through it, but in front of the radiator of the cooling system. Somewhere a year, it is better in spring, it is worth carrying out a general cleaning and rinse both radiators. Unfortunately, this procedure in a threek requires the removal of the main radiator with a drain of coolant, therefore it costs almost $ 100. In addition, the cooling system hoses in all BMW are now fixed using plastic clamps. The part is quite fragile, so when removing the radiator, several clamps may suffer, so do not be surprised at the position of replacement in the account for maintenance.
From the dirt on the roads, the plastic disperfielders of the front headlights become muddy rather quickly, especially if you often have to drive along the highway or in a column of several cars. Fortunately, in contrast to many other machines, where in this case you have to change the entire headlight assembly, in a three -year -old this element can be replaced separately, which is quite cheap ($ 25 per glass of the diffuser and $ 30 for work).
TRACTION FORCE. In Kaliningrad, three -tires with the entire range of engines, except diesel. For some reason, the engineers of the Bavarian concern decided that their diesel engines could not eat our diesel fuel at all, and the company will incur large losses in warranty service of such machines. Although diesel three -tires brought from Germany are very good in the vastness of our country and do not cause special trouble to their owners. All gasoline engines are designed for gasoline with an octane number 91-98, so they work perfectly on our 92nd. However, as in the rest of the foreign cars, the spark plugs suffer from our gasoline, regardless of which the car is refueling on the gas stations. Therefore, mechanics recommend changing candles approximately every 25 thousand kilometers.
With the same interval does not interfere with the preventive cleaning of nozzles. Now on BMW branded services this is done using homeopathy - the chemical drugs of the Winn brand. After this procedure, the spark plug does not live for a long time, and it will be correct to combine the nozzle cleaning ($ 70) with the replacement of candles, which cost $ 20 each, and another $ 30 for the work to replace the entire kit with a 4-cylinder engine.
If the engine is not boiled and regularly clean the nozzles, then it does not cause any trouble. True, sometimes owners of cars with a 4-cylinder engine complain of increased oil consumption, but the problem is eliminated by replacing the penny part-the membrane of the crankcase ventilation system.
All other three -tire systems work without complaints and do not require close attention. But when buying a used car, it is still better to drive it to the official service for a more thorough check. Firstly, when diagnosing a germination, all four wheels ($ 90 without adjustment work), you can quite accurately evaluate the condition of the chassis and understand whether the car has been in a serious body repair. Secondly, you can find out its true run, since in addition to the indications of the odometer on the dashboard, a copy of the run is stored in the memory of the body electronics block, where the craftsmen have not yet learned to climb the market.
Text Alexei Khresin, photo Alexey Ilyin, drawing Alexander Krasnov

BMW 316 318 320 323
Length/width/height (mm) 4470/1740/1420
Working volume (cubic cub) 1900 1900 2000 2500
Power (L.S.) 105 120 150 170
Equipped mass (kg)
Maximum speed (km/h) 200 206 220 230
Acceleration to 100 km/h (sec.) 12.4 10.4 9.9 8.0
Fuel consumption (highway/city, l/100 km) 5.7/11.3 6.1/11.0 6.8/12.5 6.9/12.7
The price in Moscow (2000) $ 16 thousand $ 15-17 thousand $ 16-17 thousand $ 17-21 thousand.
The cost of additional equipment
Rolls in the salon (rubber) $ 90
Aerodynamic package $ 1088
Wood overlays in a salon $ 1250
Wood for wood $ 980
Hands-Free system $ 2750
The cost of then spare parts and works for BMW 318
Then 1 (after the first 15 thousand km of run) $ 160
Then 2 (every 15-17 thousand km of run) $ 250
Oil filter $ 10 $ 17
Air filter $ 23 $ 30
Fuel filter $ 35 $ 25
Salon filter $ 23 $ 10
Stabilizer stand (pcs.) $ 32 $ 10
Front pads (set) $ 102 $ 37
Rear pads (set) $ 89 $ 37
Front brake discs (set) $ 70 $ 40
Rear brake discs (set) $ 60 $ 40

 

A source: "Autopilot"