The owner's manual says to use Dexron II. I found some at AutoZone for $2.50 a quart and I'm guessing it's not high-tech stuff. I'm looking for something I can easily find that will 100% work for my car. There isn't a BMW dealership for hundreds of miles from here so it would have to be something I can find at AutoZone or a similar store. Thanks

Dextron II is all you need.Buy it in one gallon jug save a few bucks.Don't over fill,fluid expands as it warms up.Shift the gears front to back slowly,top off to the full mark.

Call the guys at Bavarian Autosport (www.bavauto.com) to check. Even if you're not buying from them, they can give really reliable and good advice on what suits your model.

You do not need to buy the fluid from them, even though buying from them will guarantee you (100%) would have the right fluid. They ship all over the US pretty reasonably.

According to their website, you need 5.5 liters of "Automatic Transmission Fluid - 5 Liter Container - Shell LA 2634"... so you will need 0.5 liters more than 1 container.

Not cheap, at $129/container. But it's the right stuff, and it's cheaper than BMW dealer. (Part # 83 22 9 407 765)

You should also change out your transmission filter. Bavarian sells the kit (filter & gasket) for $40.

I just changed my own fluid on my E46 not long ago. Fortunately, my fluid came in 1 liter bottles... and I returned whatever I didn't need.

You may find that there could easily be 0.5 liters of fluid stuck in your transmission anyway (just like in my case) and you could get away with not needing to buy another 5 liter bottle for the sake of that 0.5 liter.