[ryannel2003]

Hey everybody my name is Ryan and I've been lurking here over the past few weeks researching everything I can about the E46's and today my dream came true when I purchased a beautiful Orient Blue 2000 323i. The car is in great shape and just needs some minor TLC, but luckily the large stuff like water pump, thermostat, and drive belts were done a few years back so I have some time before I need to replace those. It has 137k miles and everything works beautifully. It drives like it's on rails, though I'm going to be replacing the tires and the control arms/ball joints if they are needed. I plan on spending about $1000 at this point to make it perfect. Being a foreign luxury car I know they aren't the cheapest when it comes to labor, but from what it looks like they are pretty DIY friendly. My previous ride was a 2000 Cadillac Seville STS and it was a nightmare to service (FWD + V8 = no fun) so that will be a great relief with the 323. Anyways I hope to learn quite a lot more from this forum and about BMW's in general!

 

[BrownMagic]

Welcome, your ride looks quite clean - enjoy! And I'm sure you will find tons of helpful DIY's here - they have bailed me out a number of times.

 

[illestminimike]

Welcome.

 

[wickedindian]

welcome

 

[ryannel2003]

Thanks guys. I'm really enjoying the car so far and I've spent about 4-5 hours today detailing it and I'm still not done. I did find a pesky water leak in the rear seat above the 3rd brake light, but I feel like I read a post somewhere on the forum where it's happened before. Honestly my Cadillac leaked everywhere so something like that isn't a big deal but this forum is the best when it comes to DIY's and information so I'll do a search and find some answers for it.

 

[wickedindian]

Check the seal on the antenna on the roof, had the same problem, put a new seal and you're set

 

[ryannel2003]

Yep did a search and it's the antenna. The gasket around it is nearly gone causing it to leak around the 3rd brake light housing onto the top of the seat. I'll head to Lowes tomorrow to pick up some O-rings and I'll be in business.

 

[ryannel2003]

Real quick question: I removed the top of the antenna but the bottom part won't budge. I've read mixed reports about removing the headliner but from what I have read that isn't necessary. Does the antenna bottom just pop off or does it need to be unscrewed? There is a large storm heading this way so hopefully trying to get it done before that happens. I did remove the cover for the 3rd brake light and everything looked good underneath so at least i'm good there.

 

[BBBoy323i]

Welcome :hi: our cars are similar, I have a 2000 323i with 137k lol. Btw I love orient blue, nice clean car :thumbsup:

 

[silver2steal]

I learned a lot, even though I am newly registered, I have used this forum for a while now. All my questions have been answered here. and WELCOME!!!

 

[ryannel2003]

Thanks guys. I really like this color more than I thought I would. I've had a white and silver car so this is a big change but I'm digging it, though it is much harder to keep clean haha.