[The Stig's U.S. Cousin]

I'm planning on getting a 2007 BMW 328i coupe. I have heard that if i don't get it in manual i will be losing a lot of power and that's not what i want. I would love to get the manual, but my parents don't agree. My parents have only come up with three reasons
1.) The insurance is more expensive.
2.) It's a distraction.
3.) There is a smaller market for them therefore its harder to sell.
If you have any thoughts i would love to hear them, so i can hopefully put together a decent argument, and get my manual. Also if you are a parent yourself, would you rather have your kid driving a manual or auto?

[doubleIN]

1. Not sure on insurance being more expensive.

2. I would disagree to some extent. When you drive manual you have to be more focused, less likely to be messing around with the radio, idrive, etc because you will be more engaged. Just develop good habits of keeping both hands on the wheel as much as possible and dont drive around with your hand always on the shifter

3. there is a smaller market for manual cars as it seems like the majority of people in the US can't drive it. however it goes both ways because people who only want to buy a manual car will likely expand their search geographically to find the car they're looking for. so I would say this one leans slightly towards being harder to sell, but not much more

one thing to consider is that you will have a risk of money shift and destroying your transmission, but if you're already comfortable driving manual transmission then go for it. 328 has less power than 335 so you will probably be driving at higher revs to get more power and driving at high revs plus making a mistake in shifting ends up as a disaster

I think it's good for young drivers to have a manual car. If you never have a manual you'll probably never learn to drive one, and then later when you're older and you want to buy that porsche you'll be stuck getting an automatic. I think learning to drive a manual just makes you a better driver all around because as I said above, you are more engaged in the act of driving. you're paying attention to the sound and feel of your car to know when to shift and you're planning ahead like seeing a curve and downshifting. i say go for it

[M3Duo]

It all depends on you, you will be the one driving the car not your parents. I think auto insurance companies for most part dont consider MT vs Auto when deciding premiums. For sure there is a smaller %age of MT on the road but that doesnt mean there is no market.
Go for it if that's what you want, enjoy your ride

[edirtaynine]

your parents are buying a car?? nice. i say just take the automatic if your parents are u buying u the car and they prefer the automatic. if they didnt care, i say get the manual. u can always get a manual car of your choice later when you buy it on your own.

if my parents were willing to buy me a car back in highschool, i would've gladly taken a slightly used e36 automatic without a complaint lol. shiet, even a 318i wouldve been okay with me back then lol.

[phazen23]

1) Check with your insurance company. If it is indeed more expensive, I'm guessing it shouldn't be significant enough a reason to not go MT.

2) Completely disagree. Infact, I'd say the opposite is true. Since you actually have to pay attention to shifting gears, youre actually putting more focus into driving than you do an automatic. With an automatic you're more likely to be paying attention to something else besides driving since all you need to do is keep the steering wheel straight and work the "stop" and "go" pedals.

3) Much like #1, Though possibly true, if the car is in decent condition, it will still sell, it just may be a couple of weeks longer than it's automatic counterpart. Again, not sufficient reason enough to dismiss an MT as an option.

When I got my first car, my parents questioned my choice of transmission as well. Ultimately (without too much of a fight) they relented since they weren't going to drive it, and it makes sense that the car's options match its primary driver's requirements, not the needs of others..

[ndog14]

Originally Posted by The Stig's U.S. Cousin

I'm planning on getting a 2007 BMW 328i coupe. I have heard that if i don't get it in manual i will be losing a lot of power and that's not what i want. I would love to get the manual, but my parents don't agree. My parents have only come up with three reasons
1.) The insurance is more expensive.
2.) It's a distraction.
3.) There is a smaller market for them therefore its harder to sell.
If you have any thoughts i would love to hear them, so i can hopefully put together a decent argument, and get my manual. Also if you are a parent yourself, would you rather have your kid driving a manual or auto?

1. Insurance rates are based mostly on cost of the car and your risk. My 07 328xi 6mt with 38k miles was only $12 more a month than my '11 subaru impreza (not WRX) w/ AT


2. It's not, I don't even think about shifting. I just do it instinctively.


3. The market is not an issue. Think about other teens that will be buying our cars after us, they want a manual. That is who they will belong to after us. That's what is happening with the E46s. The prices are lower so that is opening the number of buyers out there.


What your parents should be considered about is YOU. When you are driving a manual it is easier to drive faster because you have control over the gear and potential power available at any moment. I can guarantee you if my car was an automatic I wouldn't have done have the shit I have, which includes a $1.2k money shift.

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by doubleIN

1. Not sure on insurance being more expensive.

2. I would disagree to some extent. When you drive manual you have to be more focused, less likely to be messing around with the radio, idrive, etc because you will be more engaged. Just develop good habits of keeping both hands on the wheel as much as possible and dont drive around with your hand always on the shifter

3. there is a smaller market for manual cars as it seems like the majority of people in the US can't drive it. however it goes both ways because people who only want to buy a manual car will likely expand their search geographically to find the car they're looking for. so I would say this one leans slightly towards being harder to sell, but not much more

one thing to consider is that you will have a risk of money shift and destroying your transmission, but if you're already comfortable driving manual transmission then go for it. 328 has less power than 335 so you will probably be driving at higher revs to get more power and driving at high revs plus making a mistake in shifting ends up as a disaster

I think it's good for young drivers to have a manual car. If you never have a manual you'll probably never learn to drive one, and then later when you're older and you want to buy that porsche you'll be stuck getting an automatic. I think learning to drive a manual just makes you a better driver all around because as I said above, you are more engaged in the act of driving. you're paying attention to the sound and feel of your car to know when to shift and you're planning ahead like seeing a curve and downshifting. i say go for it

Totally agree that driving a manual you get less distracted by other things in the car. And you do become a better driver in that you begin to listen to the rpms to shift right. Then you move on to listening and paying attention to how much grip the car has. At least that's what I did.

On a side note i have a friend that drives an automatic and crashed into the curb one because he was accelerating and playing with his radio. He also got four flat tires 3 going over the curb at 40 and finished the 4th one 3 weeks later on a different curb. I think his stupidity and damage would be minimized if he had a manual because he would be clueless in how to drive one fast. Just my 2 cents.

[The Stig's U.S. Cousin]

Originally Posted by edirtaynine

your parents are buying a car?? nice. i say just take the automatic if your parents are u buying u the car and they prefer the automatic. if they didnt care, i say get the manual. u can always get a manual car of your choice later when you buy it on your own.

if my parents were willing to buy me a car back in highschool, i would've gladly taken a slightly used e36 automatic without a complaint lol. shiet, even a 318i wouldve been okay with me back then lol.

My parents are paying for half, so they get half of the decision i guess.

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by The Stig's U.S. Cousin

My parents are paying for half, so they get half of the decision i guess.

Pay for 51% then. Problem solved

[HitBoostTwinTurbo]

Originally Posted by The Stig's U.S. Cousin

I'm planning on getting a 2007 BMW 328i coupe. I have heard that if i don't get it in manual i will be losing a lot of power and that's not what i want. I would love to get the manual, but my parents don't agree. My parents have only come up with three reasons
1.) The insurance is more expensive.
2.) It's a distraction.
3.) There is a smaller market for them therefore its harder to sell.
If you have any thoughts i would love to hear them, so i can hopefully put together a decent argument, and get my manual. Also if you are a parent yourself, would you rather have your kid driving a manual or auto?

1) dont know about insurance
2) Its not a distraction, it makes you focus more, if you get distracted, you will stall/grind gear aka burn the clutch, you HAVE to pay attention
3) It will be harder to sell because its a 328i, if it was a 335i then it wouldnt be as hard, because the 328i isnt as fast.

I don't know how old you are, but my parents were the same about manual transmission. I ended up getting the manual, much more fun to drive, shows that you are passionate and not just a regular driver.

[ndog14]

Originally Posted by HitBoostTwinTurbo

1) dont know about insurance
2) Its not a distraction, it makes you focus more, if you get distracted, you will stall/grind gear aka burn the clutch, you HAVE to pay attention
3) It will be harder to sell because its a 328i, if it was a 335i then it wouldnt be as hard, because the 328i isnt as fast.

I don't know how old you are, but my parents were the same about manual transmission. I ended up getting the manual, much more fun to drive, shows that you are passionate and not just a regular driver.

I disagree with 3. It's a manual BMW, the next person to own it will be in their teens and not care because it has the roundel on it. A noticeable amount of E9Xs are dropping below $20k and the F30 arrival will not help. If someone can get an E9X for $16k in a manual they won't care if it doesn't have turbos. And if you can old afford $16k you don't want turbos because of the replacement costs. NA > FI for that price range.

[ndog14]

Make sure you get one with the sport package, they have better seats. It also has a different suspension, but that can easily be replaced with an aftermarket. Going back I wish I got my E90 with the sport seats.

[dick.breakey]

sport seats FTW.

manual should be the better choice, if you enjoy driving a manual. I was willing to pay a premium for my manual(I didnt though cause I like to negotiate ) because its the only thing Id buy. I wouldnt buy an auto if it was 50% off. Theres a smaller, but higher paying market for manual cars, imo.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by gunnerxq

Pay for 51% then. Problem solved

hahahaha

1. BS
2. BS
3. also BS

the only reason for your parents not to get u manual is if u cant drive it, you will kill the clutch and they will have to pay for new one.

[M340i Pride]

i do believe on 328 manual will be bit more powerful, where as in 335i auto actually posts better times on track because it does not lose boost. so if you want to maximize power to the wheels in 328i i would say go for the manual.

although i have auto in my 335i, manual is always more fun. it just feels great to extract the power out of the engine yourself than the computer.

[Bimmer100_]

Get what you feel more comfortable with. Me personally, I would never drive an automatic 335i or 328i in this matter...

[ndog14]

Originally Posted by bwsteg

Get what you feel more comfortable with. Me personally, I would never drive an automatic 335i or 328i in this matter...

I would never drive an automatic 3 series.

[Bunkei]

I was shocked that my insurance premium going from my '07 Nissan Maxima to my '07 335i Coupe actually dropped.

[username604]

im gonna ask you one thing... if you end up getting an auto, please don't bitch to your parents or ever bring up "see i should have gotten the manual." don't forget your parents are kind enough to get you a nice car

[ndog14]

Originally Posted by davidkneiber

im gonna ask you one thing... if you end up getting an auto, please don't bitch to your parents or ever bring up "see i should have gotten the manual." don't forget your parents are kind enough to get you a nice car

+1

[fast4door]

wait for the new 328i with the 8 speed auto tranny

[ndog14]

Originally Posted by fast4door

wait for the new 328i with the 8 speed auto tranny

He is looking at about a $22-24k car, not a 40k