Enable me...E46 Content

Hey guys.

Let say I could get an 04 330Ci Auto with about 130K miles for about 500 dollars. Id have to get a bonded title., and that kinda worries me but Im looking into that now.

It doesnt run, guy claims it a vacuum leak post MAF, says it normally starts up and dies immediately.  Codes shows low fuel misfire, misfire on 2 and 5, MAF and IAT codes, and fuel Sender code.

We tried to start it and even a jump wouldnt do it, but If I go back I talk a big jump box to see if it will crank. Someone has been monkeying around with the coils and fuel pump, I dont see any butchered wiring, withbut I didnt look that hard.

Body is decent, a good clean and buff would go a long way, a quarter sized dent and the bumper corners being popped off was about the worst I could find of it, but I couldnt clearly see the front bumper.

The interior is pretty clean, a and c pillars have the fabric coming off but I hear this is pretty common. The sunroof tries to close but seems to interfere with the shade then goes back open.

It has Style 71 wheels which appear to be in decent shape.

I figure if I can sort the Title it would be a good beater/flip car. Im bummed its an Auto. Im slightly concerned about the misfires. I hope a Vanos rebuild (since Im sure it saw long OCIs), tune up and fixing vacuum leaks would fix the misfires, but I do worry about low compression/internal engine damage. My guess is if I get it and it goes tits up , Its worth more than the purchase price in parts.

What says the hive, should I or not?

If you have the time to sort it a bit, I say go for it!

You can easily sell $500 in parts from it if it does go badly. Just don’t overspend trying to fix it!

why does it need a bonded title? That might be a very important question. 

Allegedly it was bought at auction

The rubber boots between the MAF and manifold are known to crack, which will give you some of those symptoms.   If you can take a big jump box and a compression tester, that would give you an idea if it's terminal or not.  If the back seat is out and the fuel pump is uncovered, you should be able to hear it run a few seconds when you turn the key to the on position.  My wife's 330ci has 230k on it and she still drives the sh*t out of it every day.  

IIRC sunroof issues on the E46's are expensive and frequent, so there's that.  Auto and iffy sunroof would be a killer for me, plus the dodgy interior aside from the non-running status.  I would think a manual trans, running car, with a good or no sunroof would be a better starting place even at 3-4 times the price.

Depends if you want a project or not. The e46 BMW has a few issues, but all of them are well documented and most are possible to DIY. If you want the project and have the time to figure out the problems and sort it out, go for it. If you're looking for a cheap driver, I might move on and hold out for a good one. Decent drivers can be had all day in slicktop manual configuration for 5k-6k.