i've owned an e46 3 series before... then afterward i switched to lexus... is300, is350 then gs430... here's what i saw... the BMW killed the Lexus cars in handling.. when i used to go on the freeway on ramps, the more i gassed it, the more it seemed to stick to the road... that was the good thing about the BMW... now for the downsides...

Things were breaking all the time on the BMW... things that you would not expect to break on a $35k car... and based on threads from the e46 forums, everybody else was having the same problems... my window trim would fall down every summer when it gets hot and i'd have to glue it back up... my subframe cracked... car had an erratic cold idle problem that warranty fixed, but started happening again a year later... and numerous other things that i had to get fixed... by the time my car was at 100k miles, i'd brought it in for repairs many times for various malfunctions... I got sick of always having to find a ride to work while my car was in the shop... and the thing about fixing BMW's is that you can't just bring it in to any shop and fix it. Fixing BMW's requires special BMW tools.... tools that only BMW mechanics have... and guess what??? BMW mechanics charge $150+/hour for labor...

Now for the Lexus cars... After driving these cars for the last 4 years, I've never had to get anything repaired. Nothing ever breaks on these cars... just do the routine maintenance and you're good. Doesn't handle as well as the BMW but way more luxurious... Now don't get me wrong, handling is not bad at all, just not quite on BMW's level... they drive much smoother... which is better for me since i don't take my car to the track or twisties... I just need a smooth and enjoyable ride since I do a lot of driving for work.

So my final conclusion is... if you're the type that takes your car to the track or goes flying through twisties, then go the BMW... other than that go Lexus... better ride and MUCH better reliability... it's just an overall better car...

did your bmw actually completely break down to the point of being undrivable?
or were the problems just a bunch of small annoyances ?

Yes... a few times...