Thanks! That last point is very helpful. I did inspect the main VIN plate, under the front wind-shield and that looked kosher. I will look at the body panel stickers and see if they are all there. I presume, if the panels had to be replaced, the stickers won't be there or have different manufacturers' details on them?
VSorry, I lied.
My E36 has VIN numbers on stickers on the various body panels, but my daughter's E46 does not have them. I do not know why BMW stopped putting them on.
If the stickers _were_ there, they would carry the same VIN, or a generic BMW logo on the same type of sticker. My E36 had a fender replaced long ago before I bought the car, and the sticker on the replacement finder is identical except that the VIN is not there, and has a generic DOT (Department of Transportation) certification printed on it instead. All the replacement fender tells me is that it is a genuine BMW part, but all of the rest of the body panels have the VIN printed on them. The E46 has not got the stickers that I was telling you to look for.
E36 and E46 ... These are chassis designations. E36 is production from 1993-ish to 1998-ish, and E46 is 1999-ish to 2006-ish. I forget the precise cut-ins for the various chassis, but you should get the point. The M3 you are looking at is an E46, I'm not sure what the 335d is. The current chassis is the E60.