I have some suggestions (more) (archive)

The salesman may let you play with an older manual on the lot and actually teach you a little. When my 323Ci came in, I hadn't driven a manual in years and had only driven one a few times and he let me take a spin around the block he made sure to helpe me out a little. Like on these cars you can't go from an idle you have to tack the RPMs up a little, something I was not used to. 5 Minutes, not everybody picks it up that easy, don't worry about it, my dad taught me in his Miata M-Edition, it took a good hour before I was really getting it. Hell, it took me longer than 5 Minutes to keep from stalling it every time off the start. So from those shitty beginings, it's easy now and I could not imagine buying the car with a Step now, in fact I'm pisssed at myself for not getting my last car in a stick (Acura Integra). You will get it down and figure out, trust me. Also, do you have a 2nd car to help you out in beginning when driving in heavy stop and go traffic? Don't take this as a flame, I mean it in a good way, but, it sounds like you want a quick car, which both the 330 and 325 are, but the little difference doesn't bother you much. If you get a stick 325, it's as fast as a step 330 and you save $6K, not a bad deal. Since a little power doesn't seem to make a huge difference to you, I'd say 325 if get a stick and 330 if you decide for Step maybe. Just my 2 cents though.

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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