Money pit is a pretty subjective term. All old cars are money pits if you start to change old parts to refresh\restore them to a near new driving experience and condition. Doing the bare minimum for servicing and WOF requirements may or may not be depending on the condition of car, how its been used, service history and luck.
No real information or photos so hard to say much. Japanese imports of this era arent as good as NZ new equivalent (possibly Jatco transmission(jerky gear change issues), IR remote instead of RF, maybe extra emissions gear, no euro trims, little to no service history etc
M52 engines are fairly solid and cheapish to repair but usually lots of aged plastics and rubber that can fail. ZF's transmissions last if they have been serviced at some point. Tired suspension is big cost on these but you can things like random electrical failures like ABS modules which can get expensive to fix. Interiors are usually failing to varying degrees, A\C buttons, dash pixels, headlining, rubber seals, wear of seats etc.
For a daily driver i dont see the point unless you want to carry passengers in comfort. Be better off with E46 6 cylinder, much cheaper to run\fix and generally less to go wrong. Even a E39 5 series which still has decent space but lighter and more examples to choose from.
If you do end up locking something in then get a pre-purchase check by someone who is familiar with the model before you hand over money.