E46 325ti with SMG 6-speed

[Budget M3]

City car to drive in Paris (and weekend excursions away from the city) while I am working here as an expat. I take delivery next weekend. Sport package with a genuine SMG 6-speed!!!

Anyone more knowledgable than me know how many e46 ti's came with SMG from the factory? Most of the e46's I have seen are 4cyl where SMG would seem pretty useless. The few 325ti's were either 5speed manual or slush boxes, so it seems to me the SMG 6-cyl might be a rare car....

[Budget M3]

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[Budget M3]

Interior much more upscale than our E36/5

[BMW_Hatchback]

Awesome! I would love to have an E46 Ti over here in the states

[pdxmotorhead]

Based on the chat on the E46 fanatics page,, Take very good care of the SMG it will punish you if you dont.. LOL

Dave

[jca]

Nice car! Do you plan to try to bring it back to the States? John

[Budget M3]

Originally Posted by pdxmotorhead

Based on the chat on the E46 fanatics page,, Take very good care of the SMG it will punish you if you dont.. LOL

Dave

Yes, I am aware of the fragility of the SMG. My wife's e46 M3 has the same transmission and has held up well so far (fingers crossed ).

[Budget M3]

Originally Posted by jca

Nice car! Do you plan to try to bring it back to the States? John

Originally Posted by BMW_Hatchback

Awesome! I would love to have an E46 Ti over here in the states

Thinking about trying to bring it back in two years. It would definitely be a cool addition to my e36 ti. I can find no evidence, however, of anyone ever having successfully imported an e46 ti.

I doubt it would qualify for a show and display exemption due to the relative commonality of the e46 compact in the EU, so am looking for some production info on how many SMG-equipped 325ti's might have been made. If I can make an argument that it is "technologically or historically significant" (i.e. low production numbers), then I might have a chance.

Any of you BMW and internet-savvy surfers know how to find production info on this model? In my experience BMW protects that stuff pretty carefully, so any leads would be much appreciated. I have two years to work the issue, so time is on my side!

[erikerikerik]

Originally Posted by Budget M3

Yes, I am aware of the fragility of the SMG. My wife's e46 M3 has the same transmission and has held up well so far (fingers crossed ).

the SMG2 is a wildly different animal than the SMG1. the SMG1 was a fragial beast... that people would beat to death.

[Budget M3]

Originally Posted by erikerikerik

the SMG2 is a wildly different animal than the SMG1. the SMG1 was a fragial beast... that people would beat to death.

Mine's a 2003, so SMG2. You still gotta take care of 'em. With only 192 hp on tap in stock form, the SMG can handle a lot more than the 325ti can dish...