I learned manual on my 325ci - more (long) (archive)

Honestly, if you aren't very very patient, I don't recommend you get the manual. It is extremely difficult to learn on this car. I could drive a Dodge Colt or a Honda Prelude easily after I learned the Bimmer's transmission.

But now that I have 3,000 miles on my car, I think I'm doing great and now I appreciate the manual. I just love downshifting into a turn and then upshifting when i get out of it. You can just do so much more with the manual. I truly love my car now but at first it irritated me that the car doesn't give you much feedback, hence the difficulty in the learning process.

I live in the Washington, DC area. This area is notorious for bad traffic and was ranked 2nd worst in the country next to Los Angeles. It's not as fun when you're in traffic but I still like it. Plus, you can't forget that while in traffic you'll be in a very comfortable and aesthetically pleasing interior.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't learn but you must be VERY patient. The clutch doesn't tolerate error. If you don't give it enough gas on an hill, it will quickly stall on you. But everyone goes through these embarrassing things during the learning process. I consider myself extremely uncoordinated and I was able to learn. That means you can, too. I don't think you could enjoy the pleasure of 2nd gear unless you got the manual.

At this point, unless I get arthritis, I will always get manual. I would even get another Bimmer despite the difficult clutch because it's no longer an issue for me.

I'm thinking about buying a 330i and wanted some opinions on which transmission I should get. I know the manual is a bit faster(and more fun to drive) but would I be disappointed if I got the automatic? Is the automatic still fast and fun? I would like to get the manual but there are some issues. The first is I have never driven a manual before. Well ok, a couple of years ago I drove one for 5 minutes. I couldn't seem to get the hang of it(please don't laugh, I'm really not that uncoordinated). I either let out the clutch too much or not enough. After 5 minutes I gave up, mainly because I was felt I was ruining the cars transmission. I guess 5 minutes is not enough time to learn how to drive a stick. I also live in a large city and traffic can get heavy. I always hear people who have manuals complain about them when they get stuck in traffic. Are they really that annoying in traffic? I plan on going to the BMW dealership this week to test drive both the automatic and manual(I guess the salesman will have to drive the manual for me). That way I will get a better idea of the difference in performance and fun factor. Still, I would like to get your opinion on which one to go for. Thanks.

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