Buying advice

Hi all,

I’m doing a lot of research at the moment and I’m thinking of buying an E46 — specifically a manual 330Ci from 2004-06. My budget is around £7k, and I’m happy to do maintenance myself.

I’d like to get some opinions on the best approach: should I buy something cheaper, around £5-6k, and then spend money on the usual maintenance items over time? Or is it realistic to get a decent example for closer to £7k that only needs minor, inexpensive work? Or even save a bit more for this?

Appreciate the help