Personally I'd take the 330, but then I have never been a fan of Audi (only Audi I'd consider is the original Quattro)

 

330ci is a good, solid car.

 

Here are pics of the cars

 

Be extremely careful in the Atlanta are with wrecked cars. I bought a 05 545i in Atlanta this past December. I looked at 18 cars. Only 2 were not wrecked. One was brought in from Florida and the other was from North Carolina (the one I bought).

Before you buy, a paint meter is definitely worth the $100 or so on ebay they cost for a good one.

ESPECIALLY if you are looking for a convertible, make sure it is accident free. CarFax is almost worthless in this regard.

EDIT - Don't buy the Audi A4 from that year. I'd go with the 330i, more power, its 50/50 will work with that well, and its a super reliable platform. Tip on buying BMWs for resale purposes;

NEVER EVER EVER buy a BMW without
- Sport Package
- HID

Without these two options, not only is the resale destroyed, but it makes it that much harder to sell. If your 330i doesn't have BOTH of these then I'd walk away -- although I do believe HID on the 330i were standard equipment by 04.

 

Where did you buy your cars from in the atl I haven't really thought about them being wrecked but the 330ci auto check came back as being wrecked back in 2006 but the audi one came back clean.

 

Ok, so now you need to find out the extent of the damage in 2006. If it was merely cosmetic AND it was repaired by a reputable shop -- this isn't a deal breaker, but the the convertibles, if it caused any kind of issue with the top closing correctly this has to be a deal breaker.

Take that car through a touch-less car wash as part of your test drive. If you get a free shower then you have a problem and its better to keep looking. The e46 convertibles were superior to the e93 in this respect, and absent something structural or material they shouldn't leak.

I bought my car from United BMW in Duluth. The guys were just "okay." While they replaced an oil sensor, battery, and fixed a gouge in the paint their detailers made -- the sales guy told me the mechanics took a look at the car and assured him everything was fine. Come to find out my car needs $1600 worth of seals replaced on it. I'm not sure this would have dissuaded me from purchasing the car, but I don't like getting lied to. However, I'd still purchase from these guys again as they tried really hard to accommodate me and my needs in purchasing the vehicle. This dealer is a bit dysfunctional in that the Used Car Sales Team hates the in-house mechanics, as the Mechanics point out to the sales team all the faults in the car (according to my sales guy) and drives the price of the car up or cuts into their commissions as now the sales guy is put on notice of defects with the car and has to, by Georgia law, revel them to the customer. Bad for them good for you -- if you look at a car there -- then make sure you tell the sales guy "thanks for talking with me I have a few cars I'd like to look at as well" and walk away going straight to the service department with the cars vin, and ask them to tell you what they know about it. The service department will see $$$ and if they haven't looked at the car pull it into the service bay. Do this independently of the sales guy -- and its likely you'll have the service department do most of the negotiating for you (as they have invoice of the car at auction or trade).

Here they have this car;

2003 Used BMW 3 Series 330Ci 2dr Convertible at United BMW Serving Atlanta, GA, IID 10261152

You'd be crazy as hell to pay $12k for it, I wouldn't pay anymore than $10k but offer them $11k with TT&L included and you could probably sneak out of it for less than $10k. The biggest complaint I have about the car is not its milage, as its an e46 ... but the fact that it was an Atlanta car all its life. I've found cars originating from Atlanta are usually beaten to hell in the Alpharetta/Roswell to Atlanta or Mid-Town daily commute. You would need to find out as much as possible about the accident before purchasing the car. Don't accept a "I don't know" from the sales guy. They have a body shop -- have him pull the car in and have someone look at it.

The other dealer I was it was on Upper Roswell Road. I cannot find any trace of it anymore, which makes sense. They were dishonest as hell. A few dealers to avoid like genital herpies;

Gwinnett Suzuki
Peach Motors
Atlanta Luxury Motors
Cherokee Auto Sales

In the Atlanta market, having purchase all but 2 of my cars there -- what I've found time and time again is I always end up purchasing my used car from a big box dealer. The little guys have cars for the cheap -- but normally they're complete junks. Digging in the Atlanta market a little bit I found these though should perk your interest as well;

Cars for Sale: 2004 BMW 330Ci Convertible in Roswell, GA 30075: Convertible Details - 343969529 - AutoTrader.com

^^^With this one looks like the rear bumper has been replaced by the color change, but I could be wrong without seeing it.

Cars for Sale: 2004 BMW 330Ci Convertible in Stone Mountain, GA 30083: Convertible Details - 340383494 - AutoTrader.com

So there are a few to get you started. Me personally, I'd start out at the BMW dealer and go on. But don't be afraid to spend some time on CL, all Atlanta BMW dealer website, and Autotrader. The AJC can also have a deal a time or two.

 

Also,

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/3724882723.html

Low Milage

2004 BMW Convertible

Even though it has no Sports package -- the mileage is unbeatable and if he's still got it -- its highly likely he'll play with price BIG TIME.

However, out of all the cars I've shown you, this one is definitely without a doubt my favorite and would be the very first car I'd be going to look at;

http://www.carriagenissan.com/preown...14PL47690.aspx

Pros;
All its panels align correctly
There is no color mismatch between body panels
Its not an Atlanta car
Low Milage
Looks like predominately dealer serviced (call the dealers on the carfax below to find out what was replaced on the vehicle)
It came from Sarasota -- which runs on Viagra and old men in nice cars. Most likely garage kept.
Rust Free

Cons;
3 Owners
A bit more than you want to spend.

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory...&partner=REY_Z

I would say though spending a little more for a trouble free car is all kinda of worth it when compared to saving $1-2k and getting surprises down the road.

Edit - If you buy it have them take that goofy as hell "Carriage" sticker off the trunk as a condition of sale.

 

well i went back by the dealer after school and test drove both cars and another that i wasn't expecting. I drove the 04 330ci i was very disappointed. The interior wasn't what i expected it to be the seats have lots of wear for a 2004 and there was a bad second gear clunk that was almost like a slam. Now the audi was better than i expected now the interior was flawless and the ride was so smooth the only thing i didn't like was the slight turbo lag when in normal mode but when in sport mode was quickly solved. Now the third car took the cake it was a 04 m3 with the smg trans and 46 thousand miles on it. That car was so freaking fast that im still smiling from the drive I didn't want to leave that car when i got back from the dealer it he wanted 19k for it so it was out of my price range.

 

Seriously -- call that one at Carriage Nissan.