-
Did the E46 airbag recall happen over there? Here in Aus many many perfect E46 were killed by the Takata airbag recall. Dealers either had to buy back examples to be scrapped or offer a replacement vehicle. Owners had to cease driving them until fixed. Not sure what the outcome has been but it basically wiped out that series.
TRA-
Don’t know what exactly happened here, but as far as I understand it, it affected pre 2001 models. My HPI check included recalls but came up clear.
-
The recall was done here, twice on some models first drivers airbag then passenger air bag, most were straight swap, the second wave had a much lower percentage change rate as only one batch was effected, we had to remove and check the numbers on the label and only change defective ones.
Nef
Fixedwheelnut
A lot of the e46 range has been whittled down by emergent faults too. Autos not as reliable, certain versions had problems that only emerged at 90k (something about a timing gear being machined directly on the crankshaft as a cost saving measure only for it to cause wear and have the chains fail IIRC).
By no means an expert, but I definitely came across certain versions to avoid.