E46 330i good DD?

My wife has gotten to the point that she's tired of her '02 Mazda MPV. She's had it for 6 years and wants to get back into a sedan. I've been mulling over a 330i for her. She needs a 4 door that gets decent mileage (she's used to the MPV that gets around 22), something that will give her the feeling of luxury and is sporty. She loves my e30 318is but wants something nicer, newer and more luxurious. I've been looking at 330i's with 80K mileage or more (to keep costs down). Anything in particular to look for or to avoid? Service records are a must of course.

Thanks

• Short answer, yes it's a good daily driver.
• Medium answer, search for "e46" these have been covered in depth a whole lot lately.
• Long answer, it's a great car but don't expect to run it for the same cost of an Accord or Camry, you can keep the cost down with DIY work but they still cost more to drive than a Japanese sedan.

GREAT choice for a DD. My 330 was still the best overall car I've ever owned - fun to drive, great on long distance trips and reasonably efficient. Once your wife has one, she won't want anything else.

Much has been said about the maintenance/upkeep costs of these cars. If you can DIY it won't be much different than another car w/ 80K miles. They'll all need the various belts and wearable items replaced. People do things like bushings more often on BMWs because it's a sporty car and the payoff is greater for keeping it in good condition.

In my experience, a pre-purchase inspection is mandatory, especially for BMWs. You want a car that's been maintained by a reputable dealer/shop and has all the issues (rear subframes on the early E46s, for example) addressed.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (and showing my age just by using the term), I will mention that all BMWs of this vintage will require a cooling system overhaul between 80-100k miles (~$600 in parts), and M5x engines will need the CCV system replaced as well at this time (~$200 in parts, more if you pull the intake to get access, and a more tedious job). No doing so will result in a catastrophic failure of the cooling system (likely the expansion tank, but possibly the water pump or radiator, or just about anything else) and anything from rough running to the cylinders filling with oil and hydrolocking the engine, respectively.