Welcome to the forums and congrats on the purchase! If you haven&#;t already, I&#;d recommend taking a look at some of these resources for new/prospective owners:

Buying an E46: http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index...#Buying_an_E46
A Buyers Guide for the E46 (Part 1): http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=
A Buyers Guide for the E46 (Part 2): http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...3#post
Just Bought Your Non-M E46? Bare Essentials Maintenance Checklist: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=

Plenty of good reading material and answers to a lot of questions you&#;ll eventually have in the links above. If you take the time to read through everything, you'll be a step ahead of most new owners.


As far as finding parts go, take a look at our forum sponsors, along with this list of other popular/reliable parts vendors: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ison%29-v2-8-1. I&#;ve bought parts from most vendors on that list and will agree with Mless5 above that FCP Euro is one of the best.

They&#;re the only vendor that offers a lifetime warranty on everything they sell, and it covers high-wear items like suspension components, brake pads, filters, etc. Here's more info on their lifetime warranty, and I'm always surprised at how many people aren't familiar with it: https://www.fcpeuro.com/page/lifetime-guarantee.

Customer service also goes a long way in my book, especially when the company you&#;re doing business with is a thousand miles away. You&#;re fortunate enough to be "next door," but something will inevitably get hung up in the purchase/shipping/warranty process and it's nice to have quality people to work with if that happens.

Of the vendors who actively advertise free shipping, FCP also has one of the lowest shipping thresholds at $49. They're a great company, fantastic guys to do business with, and pretty attentive here on the forums since they're a sponsor here, as well. Think you'll be hard-pressed to find a better vendor out there.


Side note: you mentioned doing some suspension work, and if you&#;re looking to do a refresh/overhaul, here&#;s a post of mine from over on E46Fanatics that includes links to a lot of helpful resources, including parts lists/torque values/DIYs/install tips/videos/etc. Might be of some use: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...1#post.