e46 M3 advice please.

[loud430]

hello all,
I will soon be selling my tvr chimeara & looking at buying an e46 m3 as ive always hankered after one, ive had a few bmw's in the past, the last one being an e30 that we put an e36 3.0 m3 lump in so don't mind a bit of general spannering.
what would you say are the most important things to look out for on an e46? ive been told its important it had its 1st service done & to check the rear subframe/area for cracks.
ideally im going to be looking for a manual one rather than smg,
any advice/tips greatfully received.
thanks in advance.

[loud430]

many thanks for the replies so far,
some people have mentioned a face lift, is that just the led back lights or is there more to it?
I have been told smg cars can be problematic & to stick to looking for a manual one, or is this just a myth?
also, I do like the look of the csl wheels on an e46, is there a certain brand of replica wheel that do staggered copies as I assume original csl wheels are mucho moolah!
ive have heard of spacers being fitted, is this a handling thing or just a looks thing?
sorry for so many questions, there will probably be lots more when I get one!
thanks again.

[loud430]

thank you for all the advice guys, much appreciated.
certainly lots to look into & think about!

[loud430]

pidsy said:

Let us know how you get on!

will do, got to sell the tvr 1st & then look about but will post up when I get one.

[loud430]

thank you guys for all these bits of advice. one thing ive been wondering is do the convertibles suffer scuttle shake? I drove an e30 convertible once while helping out a friend of mine & thought the scuttle flex was quite bad?

[loud430]

cheers guys.