I am looking at a variety of E46 M3's. Can someone fill me in on what the major differences are in the earlier years, like 03's and 04's and later years? I am looking at SMG's- were there major ugrades made in the SMG also?

 

2003.5 + , you got LED in the back. But don't let that fool you with the 03s. A lot of 03 owners invest and buy OEM LEDs to fool the potential buyer. Make sure it was actually an 2003.5 built. Also later one around 2005/06 came Competition package. Nothing crazy with the major packages though. Premium has always been there, Cold Weather has always been there.

 

no real differences with SMG between the years........

besides the LED tails, some of the early 01's and 02's did not have front strut bars..

-on the SMG domes, the 04's and up didn't have the letters "SMG" on there

 

Read this: http://m3.madrussian.net/modelchanges.shtml

 

04+ with BMW Assist has a square mirror and shark fin.
01-02 has no OEM front strut bar.
01-03 are all CPOd - they are fine cars now but make sure they had recalls performed.
03.5+ - LEDs added.
05-06 has Competition package (wheels, brakes, interior trim, steering ratio) available, but not standard! If looking at one, make sure it has the wheels. Maybe obvious, but I've seen many ZCP cars for sale with the standard 19s.
01 - gloss black trim only, 02+ has titan shadow or brushed aluminum
2002+ has 16:9 NAV screen. Avoid the 2001 NAV.

I'm probably forgetting some...

 

02's do have front strut bars.

 

I guess just 01s dont?

I also forgot I think 02 DVD was CD whereas 03 switched to DVD based.