Hi everyone! I want to keep this straight and simple, I’ve been looking forward to buying an old 3 series BMW. Why old? Mainly because of budget, but also because in Italy if a car is 20+ years old we get HUGE discounts on insurance, so that would be a big “up”, but I wouldn’t mind newer cars as long as they aren’t expensive to maintain in those terms. So with my limited knowledge I’ve found some decent E46s , but I’m having a hard time understanding which engines are reliable and which not, how much maintenance they require and how expensive the replacement parts are, which I think are rather cheap because of the huge aftermarket the E46 has?

I’d prefer to own a diesel as they have better KM/L or MPG depending on where you are from.

I’m not solely interested in E46, but it surely has caught my eye with the looks, driving experience and overall cheapness to buy one.

ANY Other car recommendation is more than welcome, but keep in mind, I’m looking for something reliable but fun to drive, considering this is my 3rd car and that I’m also still rather young at 21 y.o. .

Thank you to everyone who will be giving me some help!