jimmyzgarage

Well, our little 1998 c230 w/ over 200k miles on it had a couple of problems that I thought were reasons to total the car. So I went out and bought a barely used 2011 e350 for my wife. One, the seat stopped working and the AC stopped blowing cold after one minute. Most of you already know what the fix is/was. After searching the forum I found that the AC problem was the evaporator temp sensor and the seat problem was the relay. I hardly have to work on this car except for routine maintenance stuff, so I don't come around here that often. I'm on the e46fantics forum more because I also have BMW, and it breaks down all the time. The sensor was found online for about 11 bucks and the relay was 37 bucks, throw in a new cabin air filter and now the car is good enough to sell at a decent price. At least I won't be giving it away.

cgshawaii

But now that you've fixed it, for cheap, and your Bimmer is always fulla trouble, why sell the Benz? Don't make no sense.

FWIW my wife has a '98 C280 (her second) and I've always had Bimmers and Beemers. Granted my cars are older, and she got hers with only 25,000 miles, but gotta say the Bimmers do break down more frequently. It's only because I do all the work on both, that I'm more familiar with the ways BMW lays out their engine and other mechanical stuff. Further, I've been wrenching my Bimmers since 1979...

But to get back onto the subject at hand, the E46 is no easy fix, and will keep you busy. So accept the writing on the wall and keep the more reliable car...! Heck get another.