Regret not buying manual?

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by ApexResistance

You get a cookie!

Oatmeal raisin, please.

[Solo_M_Tech]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Oatmeal raisin, please.

haha if they would let me ship baked goods from here, you'd have a batch. hahahah!

BTW Im a HUGE Top Gear fan. Watching it right now as we speak, and the 1M episode to boot!

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by ApexResistance

haha if they would let me ship baked goods from here, you'd have a batch. hahahah!

Hehe.

BTW Im a HUGE Top Gear fan. Watching it right now as we speak, and the 1M episode to boot!

I was for a while, but they turned into the Three Stooges with all those goofy stunts and I lost interest.

[Esteban]

I used to be a big Top Gear fan as well, but Jeremy Clarkson has turned into such a pompous ass IMO.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by EvenEsteban

Jeremy Clarkson has turned into such a pompous ass IMO.

Spot on.

He got full of himself and thought he was bigger than the show... Wrong.

[SunnyD]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

That's a gross exaggeration.

It may not be 99.99%, but he's got a point.

[TMR013]

You know, IMO these threads are so stupid.
"If you drive an automatic, your a loser wimp, not worthy of being called a driver"
"If you drive a manual, your a dinosaur that won't join the future"
Who cares?!
My 135 is Step. When I bought it I went that route because I didn't want to wait for the car with everything I wanted that had a stick. I was VERY apprehensive that I made the wrong call. That lasted about 10 miles after the break in period. The Step is awesome. Absolutely no regret. I still think a lot of people who rag autos just haven't driven a modern one made for a performance car. Do I sometimes miss a clutch? Hell yah! But that does not happen often.
The car still puts a big smile on my face in the twisties. And I came from an S2000, which I think has one of the sweetest 6 speeds ever made.

[pick333]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Hehe.


I was for a while, but they turned into the Three Stooges with all those goofy stunts and I lost interest.

I agree. Three entertaining guys, but those silly skits became too common--and they cost a lot more money than hard car assessments. Maybe the three guys will come back with a different and better show.

[Olgeezer1]

Originally Posted by floppyedonkey

The DCT is superior to any manual, for both speed and driver engagement.

If performance is your goal no doubt the DCT is faster. If you're talking driver engagement, you've got to be kidding. Clicking paddles will never replace the skill and engagement of smooth,fast upshifts and heel & toe downshifts.

[integra891]

Before the recent DCT upgrade, definitely regretted buying the DCT transmission. After the software update though, the DCT is actually really good, throttle response is excellent. Before, there was a very obvious delay between gas pedal input and actual engine rev (especially in certain engine situations, coming to a red light, braking however not coming to a complete stop, then the light turns green, significant delay in engine response to throttle input), however now it is imperceptible and the only lag I get now is the actual low engine output between 0 and ~1500 rpm before the turbo kicks in. Still not as good as the DCT in my 2015 Audi S3 but far, far better than it was.

[tuj]

when I got my '13 135i, it was one of only 8 manuals in the US. The manual is fast becoming a rare hen, as is the skill of heel-toe.

[Ox]

I guess the manual transmission is going the way of the Dinosaur. My son just told me that BMW announced today that is was discontinuing the manual in all its 2-3-4 Series autos. I'm on my 2nd 128i so I guess I'll keep it now. I had a 2011 and now a 2013. Both cars were naturally aspirated with manual 6 speeds. Under the circumstances, I think I'll get that 1999 Z3 M Coupe I've been holding off buying too. Perhaps an E30 too if I can find a decent one, a non convertible.

I guess BMW no longer cares for the enthusiast anymore.

[J-Rod]

Sometimes Yes I regret it. but then again color combo and options were a no brainer for me.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by Ox

I guess the manual transmission is going the way of the Dinosaur. My son just told me that BMW announced today that is was discontinuing the manual in all its 2-3-4 Series autos. I'm on my 2nd 128i so I guess I'll keep it now. I had a 2011 and now a 2013. Both cars were naturally aspirated with manual 6 speeds. Under the circumstances, I think I'll get that 1999 Z3 M Coupe I've been holding off buying too. Perhaps an E30 too if I can find a decent one, a non convertible.

I guess BMW no longer cares for the enthusiast anymore.

not sure where he heard that.....but i have not heard that at all. link?

EDIT: i found this---- http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/bm...s-news-rumors/

well to be fair the 228, 328/428 are terrible to drive anyways...so no big loss. They love giving me 228 loaners at my dealer and everytime i drive them i hate their lack-of-feel even more than the last time-----so putting a manual transmission on that is like putting jelly on a piece of foam. it may be the same size as toast, but it won't feel like toast.

[champignon]

I've owned exactly one AT vehicle out of so many cars I've owned that I can no longer count them. Of course I have rented and driven many more.

I don't much care what BMW does going forward. From my perspective, their best days as a producer of drivers' cars are behind them. Driving enthusiasts with enough money to buy a serious driver's car are too tiny of a slice of the driving public to attract a company with the production volume expectations of BMW. I don't even care that the more performance oriented cars that BMW makes are frightfully expensive; they simply don't deliver when it comes to what I want in a driver's car.

The good news is that at this moment there are a lot of good condition, relatively low mileage cars, from BMW's golden era that are available used. I had never bought a used car before I started buying used BMWs recently. For the most part it has been a positive experience. It takes a bit of looking but you can find some good deals on some low mileage cars that have been well taken care of. Of course, with any used car there will be a few bugs to deal with initially, especially if the car is more than a few years old and out of warranty. With careful shopping, however, you can easily find something worth buying and owning for the long term.

Most BMWs depreciate very rapidly in value, so the savings can be significant. My best example would be the 2013 135i I picked up a couple of months ago. It still has 2 years and 2 months warranty left, has only 13000 miles on it, and is essentially a new car. MSRP was $46,425 and I paid only $28K. Granted, it was an exceptionally good deal, but they are out there and you just have to look for them. Now would be a good time, if you have the money and space, to put a couple "new old stock" or real "vintage" MT BMWs into your personal collection since they are out there, they aren't that expensive, and no one can guess the availability or the pricing going forward. But anything that is scarce, and that has a following, generally will maintain its price or go up in value. When the production of these manual transmission cars goes to zero, even though the demand may be relatively low, the supply will be even lower.

Another thing you can do is to support those few manufacturers who are still aspiring to make the occasional drivers' car. Subaru is certainly one with their WRX and STi models, and there are others. They deserve your support, or they, too, will go the way of the company we used to think of as making the Ultimate Driving Machine.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by Ox

I guess the manual transmission is going the way of the Dinosaur. My son just told me that BMW announced today that is was discontinuing the manual in all its 2-3-4 Series autos. I'm on my 2nd 128i so I guess I'll keep it now. I had a 2011 and now a 2013. Both cars were naturally aspirated with manual 6 speeds. Under the circumstances, I think I'll get that 1999 Z3 M Coupe I've been holding off buying too. Perhaps an E30 too if I can find a decent one, a non convertible.

I guess BMW no longer cares for the enthusiast anymore.

Z3/Z3M Coupes are really special and have a really tight enthusiast community. They are also truly rare, and in my view undervalued for what they are, especially the plain Z3 (non-M) coupes, which are actually more rare than the M versions. About 3000 total Z3M Coupes were made during 1999 through 2002, and only ~2000 regular Z3 Coupes were made, both of these numbers representing the North American production. You can double these numbers to come up with around 10,000 total coupes that were made for the world market, with all of these cars, including the RHD version, being assembled in Spartensburg SC.

I am fortunate enough to own both an M and a non-M version. I'm actually in the process of changing over from a 1999 non-M to a 2001 non-M at the moment, selling the 1999 in favor of the 2001 I just bought. Other than for the much more powerful S54 M Coupes made at the end of the model run, there is not much difference in power or anything else, for that matter, in the rest of the M and non-M coupes.

If you are looking for bang for the buck, a regular, non-M, Z3 Coupe is really hard to beat for a driving enthusiast looking for a car from BMW's golden era.