Bought the car last year, it had 152 000km on the clock, i wouldnt know if it was ever changed. My understanding is BMW is using the so called life time oil in the diff and gearbox, may be the previous owner never saw the need to change the oil.
I have a BMW E46 330i with a 5 speed box. I have noticed lately it's becoming more and more difficult to select gears even when the gearbox is on operating temperature. The gearbox is so stiff, it's almost imposible to gear down, up changes there is like a cluck sound when engaging the gears...