A beautiful BMW 330 Ci, as seen on a car market in the west of the Chinese capital Beijing. The speedy Bimmer was a bit dusty but otherwise in great shape, painted in Titanium Silver and still rolling on the original alloy wheels.
The fourth generation (E46) BMW 3-Series was manufactured from 1996 until 2005. The E46 coupe and convertible models were badged as Ci (petrol) or Cd (diesel).
The interior was in reasonable shape. The seats looked quite dirty. The owner has covered the seats, but only partially. There is a reason almost everybody in Beijing used full-seat covers: dust! Happily, the wood was good and I didn’t see any damage.
The 330 Ci model was officially imported into China, but only in 2004 and 2005. It was very expensive at 635.000 yuan, so BMW didn’t sell too many of these great compact coupes.
The E46 BMW 330Ci was powered by a 3.0-liter inline-6, with an output of 231 hp and 300 Nm. The engine was mated to a 5-speed automatic gearbox. The top speed, according to Chinese specifications, was 247 km/h and 0-100 took 7 seconds. That is impressive even today.
These older BMWs are a rare sight in Beijing, especially as unmolested as this example. Parts are hard to get. A normal BMW dealer won’t help, so owners rely on repair shops. This BMW was maintained for a customer by a nearby shop, they told me they bought parts on eBay Germany and had them shipped to China. Not cheap, they said. Sure thing, but at least they can keep it on the road!