After a quick wash...22 years old and 96K miles... Notice even the lock slot is spotless.
Scott
Scott
A few pictures of my 2003 BMW E46 330Ci ZSP
- Thread starter slo town
- Start date
Nice the command a definite premium and were one of the last truly "analog " cars BMW brought out. Hot Cars has a great article about it. Do you know how many were made? They aren't very common. I see them time to time.
Bmw zhp las lt of the analog bmws
Bmw zhp las lt of the analog bmws
Thank you, but it's even worse (my OCD nature). These pictures are from July 2020 but it's only been driven about 1,500 miles since - and always on dry roads. The car has never once been driven in the rain or on a wet road. Yet I still hand wash the undercarriage with a wash mitt every couple of years.
Scott
Looking good! My BMW will never be that clean. I'm more like "that's good enough" when I wash it. 
Yes, that is original paint. I special ordered the car from the factory on December of 2002 because I didn't want a sunroof. It was built in Regensburg, Germany on January 21st. Binders have the complete history of the car, even including my notes during the negotiations during the buying process.
More OCD-ness.
Scott
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Breathtaking!
Wondered if they were older pics, ya got the M135s on and not the CHs. Still perfect after all these years.
The first set of pictures in my original post were taken yesterday.
I have two BMWs and three sets of wheels; two sets of BBS CHs (a square set of 19x8.5 ET 35 and a staggered set of 19x8.5 ET 35 and 19x9.5 ET 40) plus a set of BMW Style 225Ms (a staggered set of 19x8 ET 37 and 19x9 ET39). I prefer the CHs and usually run those on the cars; plus the CH wheel sets have Cup 2 tires on them, which are awesome.
The square set of CHs are for the E46. The staggered set of CHs fit the E90 only because the 9.5 inch rears are too wide for the E46. The 225Ms fit both the E46 and the E90.
I put the 225M/PS4s on the E46 last week just because they haven't been used in over a year. Tires turn to stone when they're not used for a long period of time.
Scott
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BrendanC
$100 site donor 2024
absolutely gorgeous car. i could only wish for the undersides of my vehicles to look like that. how do you clean the under carriage? i use a foam cannon with dawn dish soap and let it sit before pressure washing and following up with purple power about once a year but it looks like you could eat off of the bottom of that car.
Wow, what a beautiful time machine. Sad to see the direction BMW has taken. They have lost it IMHO. Gone away from designing sportier timeless cars to, "What in the world am I looking at". I don't drive my 540 in the winter or the rain either. I haven't washed the undercarriage with a wash mitt yet. All I have done is pressure-wash it.
My E90 328 was spotless. I sold it back in 2022 to a fellow BMW enthusiast. He bought the car for his daughter who ended up totaling it. I would hand wash (2-bucket method) and wax it twice a year. Applied mother CMX on top of meguiar's ultimate paste wax. The leather seats would be cleaned and conditioned once a year. The 540 is ceramic coated. So, no more long hours detailing it. However, I do iron-decon the paint once a year. Every time I wash the 540, I apply a TEC582 Ceramic Detail Spray.
Link to me E90 listing with pics: https://www.e90post.com/forums/show...xW3eHQS9xAFUmWrD_g_aem_VZOGI6AdF3_RJbQsgpG-6w
My E90 328 was spotless. I sold it back in 2022 to a fellow BMW enthusiast. He bought the car for his daughter who ended up totaling it. I would hand wash (2-bucket method) and wax it twice a year. Applied mother CMX on top of meguiar's ultimate paste wax. The leather seats would be cleaned and conditioned once a year. The 540 is ceramic coated. So, no more long hours detailing it. However, I do iron-decon the paint once a year. Every time I wash the 540, I apply a TEC582 Ceramic Detail Spray.
Link to me E90 listing with pics: https://www.e90post.com/forums/show...xW3eHQS9xAFUmWrD_g_aem_VZOGI6AdF3_RJbQsgpG-6w
I don't drive the E46 much anymore. For all of 2024 I drove it less than 700 miles, but when I do take it out I only take it out when the conditions are ideal (high 60's to low 70s, the roads and traffic perfect), and even so when I get back home I open up the hood and put a fan in front of it to cool the underhood area (to preserve wiring and such) . The car is perfect in every sense and ready to drive anywhere, but it's kind of turned into a museum piece.
Even given its low usage I still put it up on jack stands every 3 or so years and wash the undercarriage by hand (no pressure washers!). While it's up on jack stands I always bleed the brakes and clutch, plus change transmission and rear diff fluids. Not long ago I dumped a sump full of less than 700 mile old "German" Castrol because of the calendar, not the miles. The car is pampered to the extreme, and it's been pampered since the day I took possession.
Scott
You remind me of an owner on roadfly.com who would Zaino the undercarriage of his M3's.
Mint!
Looks great Scott!!! What do you charge for big cars? 
(Rodney Dangerfield)
(Rodney Dangerfield)
Nothing. I did my in-law's Audi A6 Prestige and my neighbor's Jag. I spent a week on each one of them.Looks great Scott!!! What do you charge for big cars?
(Rodney Dangerfield)
Scott
