Welcome back to Shitbox Showdown, where we indulge in budget-limited automotive fantasies. Today, let’s talk about modest aspiration. Quartz countertops, not granite. Well-made jeans that fit just right, not designer denim. A very comfortable office chair, not a Herman Miller. Things that make our lives a little bit nicer, despite not being the most lavish options on the market. Extending this philosophy to cheap cars, let’s looking at two depreciated luxury sedans that aren’t exactly flagships. Sure, they’re quite a bit nicer than your average used car, but they shouldn’t inflict the pain of owning a BMW 7-Series of Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Before we get to that, let’s take a look at how our rather sensible battle from yesterday played out.
While the unusually clean Aerostar put up a good fight, it’s clear that it’s hard to find a better used car at any price than a Toyota Camry. With sleek styling and luxurious accouterments, it’s no surprise that the Camry Solara SLE V6 walked away with the win. Score one for Canada, as this thing was assembled right down the road from me in Cambridge, Ontario. Anyway, today we have two cars from brands I’ve actually owned. One German, one Japanese, both packing rather good value. Whether your inclinations lean towards sport or comfort, there’s something here you should find appealing.
2002 BMW 330i – $1,500
Engine/drivetrain: Three-liter inline-six, five-speed automatic gearbox, rear-wheel-drive.
Location: Marysville, Washington
Odometer reading: 160,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yes
Welcome to the archetypal early-aughts sports sedan, the E46 BMW 3-Series in reasonably quick 330i form. I’ve never really been a fan of the E46’s styling, although I will admit that they’re rather nice cars to drive. Sure, the steering on early models was far too light, but that was fixed by the time this 2002 model rolled around. Nowadays, these things are cheap as chips, making them rather good value on the used car market provided you’re handy with a wrench.
Motivating this 3-Series is BMW’s M54B30 three-liter inline-six making 225 horsepower and 214 lb.-ft. of torque. Stout figures, even if they aren’t massive by today’s standards. As is quite popular in North America, this 330i packs a five-speed automatic gearbox, although the original owner had the good taste to opt for rear-wheel-drive. However, not all is mechanically well with this E46. The owner indicates that it’s suffering from power steering problems and will likely require a new steering rack.
On the outside, something immediately seems off about this 330i. Despite being a facelifted model, it’s rocking a pre-facelift front bumper, meaning it’s likely been in a light shunt before. In addition, we don’t have any pictures of the rear so at least one quarter panel could be a total mess. On the plus side, the headlamp lenses don’t look hideously yellowed and the unpainted plastic trims seem gloriously untarnished, indicating that someone has likely cared for this thing.
This looks to be a fairly high-specification 330i equipped with such niceties as the sport package, leather seats, and xenon headlamps. That sport package gets you sport seats with adjustable thigh support, sports suspension, a sports steering wheel, and a tasteful set of staggered 17-inch alloy wheels. Mind you, you can’t have it all on a budget, as evidenced by the Dove Grey upholstery. Still, at least the seats are wonderfully supportive and the original head unit hasn’t been tampered with.
1995 Infiniti J30 – $1,600
Engine/drivetrain: Three-liter V6, four-speed automatic gearbox, rear-wheel-drive.
Location: Tacoma, Washington
Odometer reading: 204,460 miles
Runs/drives? Absolutely
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 won’t appear on dealership lots until next year, but you can score a car with similar streamliner-inspired styling today for a much lower price tag. I’m talking about the Infiniti J30, a forgotten yet incredibly cool Japanese luxury sedan of the ‘90s. Infiniti intended for this thing to go toe-to-toe against the Lexus GS, something that never quite happened. Due to financial difficulties, the J30 was eventually phased out with no direct replacement. That’s a bit of a shame, as the extroverted styling and plush interior made for something really special.
Powering the J30 is Nissan’s VG30DE three-liter naturally-aspirated V6, exactly the same lump as you’d find in a 300ZX. Despite the 210 horsepower and 192 lb.-ft. of torque, the J30 isn’t actually that quick, saddled with a four-speed slushbox and a curb weight north of 3,500 pounds. Still, because of the V6 and rear-wheel-drive, manual swap options are out there if you really want to turn this thing into a sports sedan. As far as mechanical catches go, it’s parts support rather than need of immediate repair that you have to look out for with this thing. Stuff like dampers are hard to find and often either expensive or no longer available, a bit annoying when trying to keep this slice of magnificence on the road. On the plus side, the bones are fairly reliable, so expect repair bills to be relatively few and far between.
On the outside, this J30 appears quite clean save for one mismatched wheel, a lightly-damaged rear bumper, and some clearcoat peeling on the rear bumper and the edge of the quarter panel where it meets the trunk. A touch of filler and paint, a good polish, one junkyard-sourced alloy wheel, and this thing should be an awesome 15-footer. Kudos to the original owner for opting for an actual color with some intensity, the metallic in the Black Emerald paint still pops more than a quarter of a century later and really showcases the J30’s polarizing lines.
While the classified ad for this thing doesn’t include any interior pictures, the J30’s cabin was a rather magnificent thing. Not only did it get real wood trim, it also featured a massive analog clock, leather upholstery, and all the electronic gadgets you could want for 1995. Despite having many years and miles on the clock, this is still a luxury car through and through.
So there we are, two depreciated luxury sedans that each offer up a slice of the sweet life. One might need a new steering rack, the other might need some time to hunt down repair parts, but neither should be flagship-like nightmares to own. As ever, choose wisely.
(Photo credits: Craigslist sellers)
Some Decent Cars: 1992 Ford Aerostar vs 2000 Toyota Camry Solara SLE V6
I Bought This Stately BMW E39 5-Series From Our Secret Designer For $1500 And It’s A Heck Of A Deal
Let’s Take A Look Inside A Ridiculously Complex Cup Holder From A BMW 3-Series
I Bought A Rare BMW X5 With A Manual Transmission And It’s Already Broken
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
My mum had a 1992 Nissan Bluebird SSS, it looks identical to that infiniti – same colour and everything – just a bit smaller. Infiniti didn’t even try to style their cars did they?
Thats because it was really a rebadged Nissan Leopard.
My father has a 2004 325i rwd manual with the sport package. I was visiting last week and got an opportunity to drive it for a couple of days – it’s not very powerful but it’s a really rewarding car to drive (the old saw about driving a slow car fast…), so much so that when he mentioned that he was thinking of trading it in, I offered to buy it.
He mentioned that the steering rack is a big job and his will probably need it soon – $3000 quoted at the dealer. I’d still buy it and replace it myself.
The J30 is just awful in every way – ugly, slow, ugly. Did I mention ugly?
BMW with the expectation of replacing the steering rack and the cooling system upon getting it home. Then scrounging parts for a manual swap. These have terrific aftermarket support and a deep knowledge base. Plus I can always offload it to someone else with roundels in their eyes.
BMW here. That J30 doesn’t compete. The BMW might not be the best, but the chassis is still great, and at worst sacrilegiously make it an LS swap.
I never thought I’d choose a BMW in these matchups, but here we are.
The J30 is just too boring. Even in styling where the details are different, where you’d expect to find interesting things. Instead, they’re dull.
What does it take to tune that chassis? Are you sure you’d end up with something desirable? How would you like everything you do to be a one-off job, instead of having a large market of enthusiastic supporters? That’s what it’s often like to take the non-obvious choice, if you want something other than as-shipped by the factory.
The worst case for the J30 is to restore it. No interior photos? Assume it’s not good. The rear exterior shots appear to show that the back of the back seats are torn loose. Items that don’t normally show much wear, ever. And although the fender/door scrape on the passenger side isn’t too bad, again you’re simply bringing dull back to life.
The BMW would be a fussy car, no doubt about it. But it would also be nice, capable and very fun car, like pretty much every 3 series BMW ever made. It could be a solid daily, or a weekend hooner, depending on your motivation and what you’re willing to spend.
And even the worst case for the BMW is a good one. Ripping everything out, putting a manual in and making a track car out of it would be great fun, assuming you have a track nearby.
Rolling the dice either way at this price point. Gimme the “cheap” BMW!
When I was a kid, and just starting to catch badge-engineering I seriously thought the J30 was a re-badged Ovoid Taurus. Yes, I know the Infiniti came out first, but give 10-year-old me a break.
When the J30 came out I thought it was pretty cool, and kinda the modern S Type Jaguar should have built. Bought one in the late nineties. In hindsight not the best example, and had some issues with it, not terrible, but not the painless ownership experience I expect with a modern Japanese car (we got it at around 60k miles).
I don’t think the jellybean style of the era has aged well, you would have an easier time finding parts, especially used if running on a budget, for the BMW, so I will give it the nod here. I did drive a few E46s back in the day, and never felt they were quite the great driver’s car they were made out to be, not bad, but had high expectations based on what I had read.
What’s with the badly wrinkled fabric on the BMW’s A pillars? Does that mean the windshield has been inexpertly replaced? Any BMW aficionados have insight on this?
I voted for it anyway as I would like to have one of their straight 6s in my life at some point—and this is cheap enough that I could just set it on fire after some stupid plastic piece in the cooling system failed for the 3rd time
The “cloth” comes unglued after awhile. It is pretty common across all brands. My buddy and I did a budget fix with some spray adhesive on his Volvo way back when this same thing happened.
I was reading your answer and thinking, ‘I’ve never had that happen to me that I remember-and I’ve always driven shitty old cars’, but then realized that most of my cars have been pretty bare-bones even when they were new(as in, maybe didn’t even have fabric there). And that the 82 Rabbit DID have the wrinkles—it’s just been a couple of decades ago.
Thanks
No contest, BMW. Super popular chassis and parts/support are everywhere, tons of upgrades available, etc.
J30 is interesting but that melted stick of butter rear 3/4 view is just not appealing, and finding parts for that would be a nightmare. How many are even still on the road? Unfortunately it’s just not that desirable to keep on the road unless you have sentimental attachment to it.
My first car was a 1995 Altima that I bought from my mom. Opting for the J30 because it shares the same design language. Yes, I know there is no relation between the cars.
I’ll take the Infiniti and just deal with all the people who think I drive a 1st gen Altima.
I’ll take the 330i and drop that motor in my manual transmission E46 325XI Touring!
I am very Infiniti bias… despite how rough that car looks I’d still take it over the BMW
Not touching the J30 under any circumstances. I could see buying the BMW and parting it out or doing just enough to flip it.
I like BMW a lot and every 3 series I’ve driven has been along a spectrum from “pleasant” to “sharp and engaging”. I also think this era is peak modern BMW styling wise. Their cars across the board were pleasantly understated but still very sharp and they did a great job of carrying elements of the design language across models…culminating in the Z8 which is a dream car of mine.
But I’m not touching a 20 year old automatic 3 Series with 160k on the clock that’s having issues already. The Infiniti is boring as hell but it’s in a great color, it’ll make a solid highway cruiser, and a random repair isn’t likely to cost me 4 figures. My heart says Bimmer, but my brain says Infiniti.
My sister has the next generation of 3 Series after this one and although it’s a really nice car to drive it winds up in the shop every 6-12 months with some gremlin or another. I barely have any free time to begin with and a fussy car just isn’t something I can take on right now.
*stares nervously at high strung Hyundai in the driveway*
I agree, unless someone took out the auto clutch, and replaced it with a proper one, I would be unlikely to choose the BMW. add in Vanos concerns and the J30 seems like a much better deal.
The thought of a $1500 E46 scares me, I feel like there’s many more horrors awaiting in that car besides the power steering issues. I have always kind of liked the J30 even though I do think it’s kind of ugly. This one is nice but not super nice so I wouldn’t feel bad just throwing coilovers on and a cool set of wheels and having fun cruising it.
Plus I have experience with early to mid 90s Nissans. If it’s anything like my car, Nissan dug deep into the parts bins when making it so there’s a good chance that a lot of parts may still be out there, just not necessarily listed as being for a J30
I’m not sure about either of these. I chose the one with one more gear and a few thousand fewer miles.
At least I can be sure that the turn signals will have minimal wear.
When I was a kid, a guy in the neighborhood drove an Infiniti J30. I only knew a little bit about cars back then, and I certainly didn’t know what Infiniti was. This guy had a vanity plate that read something like “BOB’S J” and when I saw that, I assumed that the “J” had to be short for something. The only “J” car I knew was Jaguar, so for an embarrassingly long time, I thought that the rotated stretched Pacman logo was the modern Jaguar logo.
I liked it then, and I still have a soft spot for cars that look like they were styled by the designers at Jelly Belly. Add to that the pretty color combination, and today’s offering looks very appealing when compared to the “Seattle Camouflage Gray” BMW.
I’ll take the Jag…. I mean, the Infiniti.
I’d read somewhere that the corners of the J30 trunk lid could cause injury if you ran into it with the lid open. Always thought the J30 was an innovative design.
I mean, if you run into just about any part of a car, it can cause injury.
As has been said before, “‘Nothing quite as expensive as a cheap BMW.”
Infiniti is the pick.
Coward.
Just kidding. I owned a MKV GLI and even that lowly VW tried to bleed me into bankruptcy.
I had the first year Volvo 960. Pretty sure my mechanic’s kid has straight teeth and a private school education because of that car.
If the Bimmer had a stick then yeah, but that’s a no from me on both. Do not want.
Deal with a 20 year old BMW or a 30 year old VG engine.
BMW please.
I just bought a ’98 540i. First thing to break: The little plastic ring around the headlight switch, rendering the headlights inoperative. $300. For a piece of plastic the size of a silver dollar.
Wow, that’s some serious Teutonic karma there. The switch wouldn’t work while hanging by it’s wires out of the dashboard? Yikes!
The switch falls INTO the dashboard
Welcome to #bimmerlyfe
Time to get into 3D printing!
That is *exactly* what I’m going to do. 3D print something that matches the original assembly but has a 50 cent rocker switch that will last a lifetime. And I’ll do the same for the fog light switch on the other side of the instrument panel so they match. Bonus that I can probably Ebay the OEM fog lamp switch for $100+.
My cheap ass would have wired up a damn toggle switch and be done with it.
I had one of those years ago — certified per-owned. BMW lost money on that warranty. Good luck.
I have a 2001 BMW 325i that looks pretty much just like this one. At least mine is a manual. But on second thought, I don’t think I’d pick an automatic BMW of this vintage.