Hermes, thank you for the photo. It looks pretty good to me and based on that photo, I think I would be happy with it. My assumption is that the metal part of the shift knob is almost like a light "gunmetal" shade rather than a bright aluminum. Is that accurate, and are you happy with the way it looks in an all black interior? Also, is that a BMW Performance hand brake grip? I ask because it looks like one when I compare your photo to the official BMW photo, but in your photo the hand brake looks to be a little lighter/more shiny than the shift knob. Or is that just lighting? Sorry if I am overthinking this, but for $100 +/- I want to be pretty comfortable about my purchase.
Jreyes19, thanks for the idea, but I agree with others that the DCT version looks too modern for an E46. I do love it though in an E9x though!