1998 M3 Sedan - automatic?

I've had my eye on a 1998 M3 Sedan (estoril blue). The color is nice, but the performance is what I'm after and I'm afriad a local M3 that matches my ideal has one big drawback.....it's an automatic! My preference is 5-spd standard by a long-shot, but if anyone could advise me on the benefits/drawbacks of an automatic from a performance perspective, I would appreciate it. Also, any pitfalls I should be aware of with this year/model of M3? I will be actively checking the other M3 forums suggested by other users here....m3forums.com, bimmerforums.com, etc.

Thanks,
Josh