Makes sense to not put any money into fixing the SMG and convert it to MT. It's not even going to cost you money, because it adds more value than you pay for it most likely..

Congrats! That is a dream of every 30+ , with mortgage bills and belly

What a beauty. Really excited for the upcoming videos on this classy monster

Awesome man! Congrats on the wicked car!!

What a beauty of ride, congrats

Looking forward to seeing this treat of a car with a manual. God luck guys!

hmm yum yum, looking forward to some great videos.

Just brilliant mate!, and for 16 grand... that is outstanding buying!

I just recently pulled the trigger on a nice E90 RWD 328i 6 speed and am going to put my Acura up for sale. I'm so excited to join the Beamer world with something RWD and I must say a big reason that bug had been planted in my brain was because of your channel. Excited to see what you do with this E46 M3 and dig deeper into the BMW world. Clean E46 M3 prices here in Ontario Canada have started to climb and are starting to approach E9x M3 territory so this one might be a smart money move on your part in addition to a gear head move haha.

You mad man 😂… love it

Nice! Happy u chose to go manual with it 🎉🎉

Great buy, such a BMW icon. I was also looking at an M3, but not that cheap. However after driving a DSG 135i I am probably going that way.

Oh my goodness 🤤 good noise

We seem to have the same taste in cars. I'm hooked in the channel again. Manual swap, check subframe, rod bearings and you should be solid. Got my cl9 a year (low km 1 owner), sold my E36 motorsport 2 last week and putting my daily w204 on the market soon to make space for an E46 m.

Need longer videos with this 🤤

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy the E46! Its one of my all time dream cars! ( i want this and a E39 M5 ) Please check service history for rod bearings if they have been done

_lol, love how your friends (proxy) did the testing until it failed 🤣, oh man, you should be a politician👏🏼😭_ … _cool vid man_

Damn thats rad wish I could get an E46 M3 for that little over here in Australia. Definitely convert it to traditional Manual, luckily same transmission all the smg stuff needs to be removed!

congrats on the awesome car, it sounds great. i am curious what your petrol usage was like in the 130i? cheers

What an absolute ripper deal my dream car (in manual), shame about the SMG. mate has a 325ci SMG e46 and it goes into reverse sometimes has the same sloppy kinda mid upshifts too. That cars gonna be a absolute gem in 6mt form.

Wow! That’s a steal mate. I’m also after one but torn between an M3 or a facelift W212 E63. Congrats!

Outstanding, looking forward to seeing how this one progresses. So many Japanese cars are pricing themselves out of the market now with fanboys paying well overvalue for them.

Hey mate amazing car, if you ever get another opportunity like that I would love to take it.

Nice!

Good lad converting it to MT 👍

this looks like a fun car to drive

Nice buy. I’m not sure if it’s the e46 or the e90 N3 is leak M3 did me. It’s a shame the SMG is cactus. It’s good when people learn to drive with it by all accounts.

I've always been a big e43 m3 fan but would stay away from smg but you got it for a good price anyway

With some preventative maintenance (if not done already), this will last a long time and be hard to get rid of in terms of being a youtuber and looking for the next big thing. Nice purchase. Lets see you compare against some newer cars and see if they're any better. Pretty sure i already know the answer to this question...

nice car..did new zealand not get the fk2 civic type r?ive owned mine for 18 months great car very reliable as well

Finally a decent replacement for your ISF

That's really good, lucky man! I'd buy one instantly for 16k

I wonder if a ZF8 conversion has been done, or if there's a kit available? Because if you're going do drive it in traffic a fair bit, as well as sportingly, then a ZF would make is much better box than a SMG or DCT. They have sequential style, clutchless manual, step-ronic mode (way better than any triptronic. Instant and down a gear is forward, and up u pull back, sequential style), or a silky smooth full auto mode, sport auto, or awesome paddle shifts that change as fast as any DCT, and even faster (especially the downshifts) if you get xHP on your phone to stage 2 or 3 flash the box's software. Full on supercar gear change performance. The extra gears would make an M3 like this a real weapon, cos mated to the newer N55 engine onwards, they are even faster than a manual equivalents and ZF8 boxes are super reliable in stock trim up to 600hp, and have the most insane service intervals. I couldn't stand autos until I drove a ZF8 box . I thought DSG wasn't half bad, in golfs. Then drove a stage 2 xHP flashed in a M135i, and was truly blown away. Changing gear instantly with no rev drop, just pulling and pulling. So mated to those non-turbo rev monsters that have an epic top-end, a ZF8 box in your car would be something amazing to drive. 8 gears! There's a reason every supercar from a Lambo to a Dodge Hellcat, uses a ZF8. Stick one of them in if you can. Awesome car bro.

$16k- woah, lucky guy! Any mod plans aside from the manual swap? Surely a CSL airbox is on the list?

nice

How's the reliability been on your 130i? I have an e82 (125i with 3L n52) and my god what a lemon. Most recently, the evaporator went (15 hours labour to replace). I've always wanted an e46 M3, but not sure I can stomach the BMW maintenance anymore. Best of luck with the build!

I'm sticking to my 130i for now lol it's the best car for the money, that's all that matters 😂 the reputation of the 130i is starting to pic up here in NZ (in Europe they are rally rockstars)😂

You could easily spend $20 k in repairs in 2 years... I hope mate it's reliable all the best , there pretty cool 😎

Powerwise, how would you compare this m3 with the typical full bolt on k24 making around 250hp?

yeah take out the smg hydraulics and you got yourself an MT easy fix, probably laborious but saves the SMG cars from death 👍

Should have got another ISF ;)

Keep this.

Did you sell your honda jacket too?

16k NZD?! Great find

Manual conversion and shorter diff will transform the car

Would you consider selling it before you modify it? Looks to be completely original and I imagine with fsh.

Time to sell the 130i and put that cash into the M3! Exhaust? Intake?

Wow, you can barely find a running car in good condition for 5k in tassie, crazy how you got an m3 for under triple

You forgot the Honda Legend.

What happened to the Subaru legacy?

I paid less for mine, deregistered it was 15k, pretty sure it was stolen though haha

Nice Car

Manual swap it!

Manny swap ❤

No offense...but JDM shitboxes are way overpriced for stupid reasons. Great review!

Asked u a lot now, review the skyline 350gt sedan HR 07-08

I'm repeating the obvious, but swap it to a manual!

Fix it Sell it Buy a Lexus

New Zealand wins the worst European themed custom licence plate.

Nice buy. one owner original car! Get reading about the chassis and motor - nam3forum is a great resource with a fantastic community. Rectify the common faults and they're great cars. Biggest issues are rod bearings, vanos & chassis rear end. Fresh 10w-60 + a filter every 5,000km!

$16,000 for a M3. It will cost you a lot more once it is said and done. There will be a lot more things go wrong.