There are plenty of wear and tear replacements on today’s Nice Price or No Dice 330Ci, but the three-liter straight six and six-speed stick are claimed to be all original. Let’s see what we might pay for such party pieces.
There’s an old meme about a kid seeing something like a McDonald’s sign and asking their mom if they can get a Happy Meal, to which the mom replies, “We have Happy Meal at home.” The kicker is that the happy meal at home is, in reality, a PBJ on stale bread, and the toy is a plastic bag from the dry cleaner.
Based on the comments it received, the 1993 Chevy Cavalier Z24 convertible we looked at yesterday was a Happy Meal at home. Somewhat beat on, but still in the game, its appeal was lost under the weight of too many niggling issues and a general apathy for the model in general. The $5,000 price tag wasn’t doing it any favors either, a fact made clear by the 67% No Dice loss the Cavalier suffered.
A gift from Dad
Not wanting to be one to beat a dead horse or kick a fella when they’re down, but the fact that we can directly compare yesterday’s Cavalier with today’s 2004 BMW 330Ci—both are four-seat, six-cylinder, stick-shift convertibles at not too dissimilar price tags—really casts a pall on the Chevy.
To be fair, the BMW has higher mileage (152K vs. 89K) and does cost 38% more. Factors in its favor, however, include that it’s a decade newer, has a stronger engine, offers one more gear in its transmission, and doesn’t have a litany of little problems to vex its owner. It should also be pointed out that it’s a BMW.
In fact, it’s an E46, the company’s fourth take on the ever-popular 3 Series and arguably the last one not to be fully Bangled, or overladen with electronics. Also, as pointed out in the ad, this one is the 330 rather than the more common and less-of-everything 325. It was a gift to the present owner from their dad, and they claim the only reason they are selling the car is simply that they don’t drive it enough.
My trusted mechanic
Being a 330 means that the engine under the hood is a 3.0-liter edition of BMW’s M54 straight-six, making 225 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque. That’s a substantial upgrade over the 184-horsepower and 175 lb-ft of twist that the 2.5-liter 325Ci offers. Add to that the six-speed stick and sport suspension, and the car might make amends for being a convertible and hence a good bit more flexi-flier than its enclosed siblings.
Arguably, it is an old BMW, and that’s oftentimes an invitation to wallet-emptying adventures at the mechanic. Plus, the car’s mileage is fairly high, which means lots of wear and tear. Fortunately, the seller claims the car to have been regularly maintained by a local garage, and says that their trusted mechanic assures them the drivetrain “has another 100,000 trouble-free miles in it.” I think that’s something you’d want to get in writing. The car does have a number of recent replacements, including the cooling system hoses, struts, and a new convertible top. There’s no word, though, on whether it’s on its original clutch.
Tasteful modern upgrades
It also features several updates, including a touchscreen stereo with a backup camera and a new wind deflector for the rear seats. Aesthetically, it looks to be in perfectly decent condition, with only some minor under-bumper scrapes being noticeable flaws on the exterior. In the cabin, things are holding up equally well for the most part. The seller notes a broken speaker grille in the driver’s door and the failure of the covers on the headrests. They have attempted to mask that problem with fabric snoods, but that creates the impression that the car is carrying four hooded hostages. Creepy!
Other issues include a non-working adjuster for the passenger-side mirror and a steering wheel that may or may not need the cover it currently wears. On the plus side, it all appears very clean, and the digital displays in the dash seem to still have all their pixels pixelating. We get to see the new top both up and down, and I think we can all agree that this is one convertible that looks good with the soft top in either position.
Giving them the (pink) slip
The seller says the car has a clean title, a passing grade on its smog test, and current registration. That last feature may not be for long as it’s a July renewal and is currently sporting 2025 tags. There’s also the question of whether or not the CHEF3 vanity license plate will come with the car.
That’s less of an issue than the price, perhaps. The seller asks $6,900 for the car, and we now need to decide if it’s worth that much. What do you think? Is this tastefully maintained 330Ci a winner at that $6,900 asking? Or are the unknowns on an old Bimmer too overwhelming to see paying that much?
You decide!
Santa Barbara, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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