I love the E46M too but man, BMW biffed up on some of the engineering with those. The rear suspension rips out over time ($$$$) The VANOS units blow up on occasion ($$$), The rod bearings spun on the early models, SMG pumps go out and cause the car to be stuck in gear ($$), the exhaust catalyzers clog up and need replaced ($$).
Almost everything that breaks on those things costs a fortune to fix. It was one of those cars that I'm sure was bad a$$ to own if you had the scratch to buy one new and were smart enough to dump it before the warranty expired.
