Soon-to-be E46er saying hello

Have lusted over bimmers since I was in middle school but only quite recently an actual owner. An otherwise kindly grandfather back in October, driving his Jetta to go golfing, T-boned my Taurus in an intersection, and my subsequent search for a commuter turned up a little '95 318ti compact to get me through the winter. I love my commute now for the first time in, well, ever I guess, but it's not worth it to restore the little guy (what I assume is teenaged-driver-caused body damage will easily cost double what the car is reasonably worth). While it looks the hatch will unfortunately be relegated to my garage shelves as a collection of parts to be sold on the forums and eBay, it fortunately means I'll be looking for a full-time replacement from the era I'd wanted to land in.

I'll be lurking here a while learning what I need to to find myself a deal on a fine early E46, and will soon get to join yall as an active owner.

- Matt

P.S. I'm one of those nerds who grew up driving a station wagon and loving it, so if anyone has a handle on a touring with a standard transmission, you've got a potentially interested buyer in me