[JBOO]

I would never consider buying a 3 series without a manual transmission. To me, it suits the style and personality of the 3 better. (i.e. 3 series = compact sport sedan, less luxurious and more sport)

I have a 5 series now and I chose an automatic because it's preffered in that class of car. (i.e., 5 series = luxury sport sedan, less sport, more luxury)

Unfortunately, that's dampened the whole experience of what otherwise is a wonderful car. Even though the car is fast, I don't get the excitement I do in a 330 or even 325 manual. That's why I'll be trading it in soon for a new 3.

However, if you were already set on getting an auto or you don't prefer the sportiness of driving a manual, I'd say don't change your mind based on our feedback. You might regret changing your mind more than you would regret not getting a stick.

[lumberman]

cheers,

me gettin auto too~

[BMW Enthusiast]

I agree with JBOO, you need to decide for yourself and what is gonna make you the happiest. Remember, your driving the car not us. I prefer a manual but that is just me. Goodluck with your new machine!

[flyboy-sa]

i have an auto and it is great. pop it into Sport mode and its a racing machine taking the revs all the way up to 7000rpm. which is basically no different from a manual if u want to drive it hard. why have everyone bob around in the car when you row away at your stick when the car can do it BETTER hehe...my opinion :-)

[marcus330i]

Originally Posted by JBOO

I would never consider buying a 3 series without a manual transmission. To me, it suits the style and personality of the 3 better. (i.e. 3 series = compact sport sedan, less luxurious and more sport)

I have a 5 series now and I chose an automatic because it's preffered in that class of car. (i.e., 5 series = luxury sport sedan, less sport, more luxury)

Unfortunately, that's dampened the whole experience of what otherwise is a wonderful car. Even though the car is fast, I don't get the excitement I do in a 330 or even 325 manual. That's why I'll be trading it in soon for a new 3.

However, if you were already set on getting an auto or you don't prefer the sportiness of driving a manual, I'd say don't change your mind based on our feedback. You might regret changing your mind more than you would regret not getting a stick.

I agree 100% JBOO. My 5 is very fast and very comfortable....but it seems to drive ME. There is no substitute for a clutch, IMHO.

[CorporalCarrot]

LOL I am always amazed at the differing attitudes to transmission types and the snobbery that goes along with it.

I live in Ireland where cars cost ridiculous amounts of money (due to penal government taxes....for example a base 330i costs approx €57,000 over here and it doesn't come with a lot of stuff you US buyers get as standard) so people tend to try to save money where they can and approx 90-95% of the vehicles sold here are manuals. Further everyone learns to drive with a manual only, and when you go to do your driving test if you do it in an automatic, you get a specially endorsed licence and are not considered to have a full license for manual.

So I have driven manuals for the last 15 years but my next car is going to be an auto, probably a BMW one. Why? Because while I love a weekend back road blast as much as the next guy, the traffic here in Dublin is just frigging ridiculous, and the tedium of the daily crawl into and home from work is just getting me down. I just can't take it any more.

So to the OP, ignore all the dopes who will "laugh" at you for having an auto, and listen to Athos who gave the only decent advice here; choose the transmission the suits the type of driving you do 90% of the time. Forget about the 10%.

If that means buying an auto, well rest assured in the knowledge that the BMW box is one of the best there is and in many ways is the best of both worlds. It can change gear faster than most humans and if you want a semi-auto experience and want to change gear quasi-manually you can do that too.

And frankly I laugh at people who claim that driving isn't really driving without a clutch. The whole point in changing gear manually is to be able to have precise control over the gearing and revs of the engine to suit the particular circumstances. You can do that with the BMW steptronic box, you just don't have the clutch. The clutch is not the end-point in itself. I can sort of understand the mystique or exclusivety factor in the US where 90% of cars are autos, but trust me; there is nothing sexy or exclusive about a clutch. Once you can control the gear the car is in (which you can using the steptronic), thats it! You have 90% of the control you would have with the manual box.

Look at the direction that most ultra high performance cars are going now. You don't see people laughing at Ferrari Enzos because they have a clutchless F1 style paddle shift gearbox. No, they drool with envy.

And finally, someone earlier on said the BMW clutch was effortless. It may be on the demo cars, and on cars that dont do much stop-start driving, but if (like me) you have a daily grinding commute (with lots of first gear crawls where you barely get into second), the clutch does get heavy fairly fast. My 2002 E46 has just 20k miles on it and the clutch is already feeling pretty leaden. I don't really notice it that much normally, but my car was in for a service last week and I couldnt believe how much lighter the clutch was on the loaner.

So IMO choose the transmission type that suits the type of driving you do 90% of the time. Rest assured that either way you are getting a fine gearbox either way.

C

[Armen52]

Fine advice there Corporal. Welcome to E90post.

[JBOO]

I agree with you Corporal Carrot on this extract from your post

Originally Posted by CorporalCarrot

choose the transmission the suits the type of driving you do 90% of the time. Forget about the 10%.
C

but the following were neither sound advice nor justified (IMO)

Originally Posted by CorporalCarrot

LOL I am always amazed at the differing attitudes to transmission types and the snobbery that goes along with it.

So to the OP, ignore all the dopes who will "laugh" at you for having an auto, and listen to Athos who gave the only decent advice here;

And frankly I laugh at people who claim that driving isn't really driving without a clutch.
C

I only found one post out of two pages that wasn't a valid opinion that frothboy should consider. Hardly enough justification to warrant such comments.

[CorporalCarrot]

Jboo

Please don't take offence. My post wasn't intended as an antagonistic one and wasn't solely directed at just this thread, more at the same arguments that come back and forward whenever this particular topic is discussed. I had just come from reading a very similar post at bimmerfest (I think) where every second post was a slaggin one referring to slushboxes etc and when I saw the pregnant women and people will laugh at you comment I decided to give my opinion.

I understand that there was really only one individual who proferred such a view, and my comments were not directed at the other posters in the thread, rather against people who hold this view in general.

Best Regards


C

[JBOO]

I understand CC ...no offense taken.

I agree that whatever tranmission is chosen, you're getting a fine gearbox and a wonderful car to boot.

Cheers-

[agarbati]

Thought about a manual myself but then, everyone can drive an automatic but not everyone can drive a stick, so I figured when I turn around and sell my car, an automatic transmission won't 'automatically' decrease my potential pool of buyers.

[wannabe]

Good comments CorporalCarrot and I value your point-of-view. You are the rare driver that knows how to drive a stick and chooses an auto because it's more convenient. My posts were aimed at the people who don't even try to learn how to drive a manual or are afraid of it. I find it funny that the Irish give people that drive automatics a "special" and "incomplete" license. Do they hand out helmets for them to use too?

Also, being the intelligent man that you are, CorporateCarrot, you know that there is a HUGE difference between an SMG and automatic transmission. Just because the controls as similar, doesn't mean they work the same mechanically.

Agarbati, whenever I shop around for a "used" BMW or G35 coupe and see that it has an automatic transmission...I cry inside for the waste of sheet metal on display on my computer.

Honestly, I want a BMW because I want to drive and dissect curves with accuracy and precision. I don't want one to look "cool" and have my friends envy me. I don't care if you drool at my car or not...just don't give me a dull scalpel...which is what an automatic is.

Just my opinion, respect it as I respect yours.

[voltron1011]

Here is another view. Since BMW's infamous straight-six motor has such a HUGE and flat torque/horsepower band, you can usually leave your manual in either 3rd or 4th just for tooling around town. For instance, if you are driving around town with a few traffic lights, the engine will pull the car in 4th gear as slow as 15-20mph (without lugging the engine). It is important not to let the motor lug though, because you will do long term damage to the piston rings. If you are good at it, you can minimize the amount of gear changes needed just by driving smarter, anticipating traffic lights, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people driving manuals completely wrong. Either they are shifting their 3 cylinder Geo to early (lugging the motor), driving in too low of a gear (engine racing at 5000 rpms), or they simply up/down shift too frequently. Granted, there is nothing worse than L.A. traffic to put a damper in your spirited manual driving. However, here in Germany we have worse traffic than Cali, yet 80% of all the cars here still have manual tranies. Just food for thought.

[Robin_NL]

Agreed @JBOO, you have a E60 535d, the fastest/greatest diesel on earth today, (un)fortunately not available with a 6 speed manual

272BHP an 600Nm.

OT:I 've driven a few E60s and must say this: Comfy and sharp, but the smaller(and less weight) the more agile.

I prefer a 5/7 E/S with a bigger engine + autobox.
Smaller cars need manual or SMG like trannies.

[CorporalCarrot]

Wannabe

hehe. I know it might seem funny but theres a certain logic to it somewhere. I mean, a lot of people find driving a manual VERY difficult at the start. They are so focussed on the co-ordination effort required to changes gears etc that it distracts their concentration on the road ahead. Most of the driving instructors here have cars with dual pedal controls for this reason.

Also, I know that the SMG is undoubtedly a better transmission but the Steptronic is not completely without value if most of your driving is trudge trudge crawling but you want a frisson of excitement every weekend for example.

Voltron,

And others by the way. I am probably talking about traffic in a different sense to most of you. Here in Ireland, traffic congestion has got completely out of control. Many commuters find that large sections of their journeys are spent in huge tailbacks interspersed with sections where you can actually drive a car. It goes pretty much like this.

1) Arrive at tailback. Depress clutch. Into neutral.
2) Car in front moves forward about 10 metres. Depress clutch, into first, find bite point, get car crawling forward.
3) Play imaginary game to see how long you can keep the car rolling at 2 mph before hitting the vehicle in front.
4) Depress clutch, into neutral. Search for new radio station. Play brickbreaker on your blackberry or read newspaper.
5) Wait until you hear the horn from the guy behind. Look up and see that the car in front of you has moved forward approximately 8 metres
6) Briefly consider getting out of car and walking back to the car behind, knocking on window and saying "Listen a$$h0le, why in the name of phuck are you beeping your phuckign horn at me, can't you see that it doesn't make one god damn difference if I move forward another 8 poxy meters or not. You ain't getting where you're going any faster" or some choice words to that effect.
7) Decide that he might actually be a complete maniac so go back to Step (2)
8) Repeat steps 2-7 10 times.
9) Finally get through traffic lights/junction/roundabout
10) Accelerate to approx 30 mph for 30 seconds
11) Arrive at next tailback. Go back to Step 2.

All joking aside, it really is that bad. Its not possible to drive in such a way as to avoid it. And it really does wear down a clutch which is why more and more people are moving to autos.

C

[bozo5521]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both..It just depends on what you want...A lot of traffic? Forget about the manual...Do you like manuals and dont have to deal with all the traffic? Then get it..Everyone has their own personal taste...

I personally get more out of selling a car than driving it..So, I buy an auotmatic even though I love manuals...I drive the thing for 3 years, keep the interior spotless, put 2 coats of Zaino Z-6 on it, then Im back on this board talking about my order for the 2007 facelift baecause I just sold my car for 1000 dollars more than I paid for it...But thats just me...Thats the good thing about Bimmers, they dont lose resale value, and in the US, most people want autos' wether we want to admit it or not...And that is what will sell faster - much faster...Just my 2 cents...

Frothy, you probably want to strangle all of us right now, huh? but thats whats great about this board...You get it from all angles, instead of jumping into something without getting any advice..Agin, it YOUR money, do what makes YOU happy....

[wannabe]

CorporalCarrot, thanks for illustrating, vividly, your traffic situation there. I forget, living in Arizona, that there are parts of the world where an auto is a must. You should get a DVD player in you dash and just catch up on your movie watching.

It's starting to get that crowded here too, but most of the time, there's still an opportunity to redline all the way to 3rd gear getting on the freeway...and that's when the manual really pays off.

I find that learning how to treat the clutch as an on/off switch and RPM matching rather than "riding" it will keep clutch wear to a minimum. There's a lot of people that think holding the clutch down is no big deal...but they don't realize that they are realy grinding the synchros all the way down the street. If you drive a manual properly, the clutch wear should be on par with automatic transmission wear, no matter what the traffic situation is. I admit, it does get pretty tiring dealing with stop-and-go traffic.

I've never driven an SMG transmission, but it might be the perfect combination of auto/manual. I'm gonna have to check it out.

[frothboy]

Going Auto...

[pharding]

I have driven both in the e90 and I will offer my observations. The manual transmission is awesome with a very sporty feel. The power assisted clutch requires very little effort. It is like lifting your left and setting it down with very, very little force required. The e90 will be my son's car in LA. The traffic is attrocious on the freeways. It is rare for a dealer in LA to sell a 3er with a manual transmission for that reason. My son decided to get the Steptronic after thinking it through. Personally I like the manual tranny for the sporty feel, however it is his car.

[wannabe]

Originally Posted by frothboy

Going Auto...

We've lost another one to the dark side. Sorry in advance if I've offended any Sith with this post.

[romeo26]

the choice is yours
if you have a family i would go with auto but if you dont i would get the stick.
from my point of view i would get the stick because thats what i started driving even befor i got my licence. rite now i dont like auto because, i think you have more controll with stick.

[quackman]

Originally Posted by wannabe

We've lost another one to the dark side. Sorry in advance if I've offended any Sith with this post.

Don't worry, you gained another.
I currently drive an E46 325 auto, but in a month I'll have a new manual 330i!