The complete automotive resource for buyers, sellers, and owners like you.
Car, Truck and SUV Forums at Roadfly
+ Bentley Forums
+ BMW Forums
+ Cadillac Forums
+ Chevrolet Forums
+ Ferrari Forums
+ Jaguar Forums
+ Lamborghini Forums
+ Lotus Forums
+ Mercedes-Benz Forums
+ Maserati Forums
+ MINI Forums
+ Porsche Forums
+ General Discussion
+ Marketplace Forums
Hold out for the 5 speed (archive)
[ Follow Ups ] [ 5-series (E12) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]
Posted by Lars PNW 82_528e on November 27, 2001 at 23:22:18:

In Reply to: 5 Speed vs Automatic posted by Johno in NH on November 27, 2001 at 21:05:06:

I have purchased about 7 five series cars in the last few years and only one has been an automatic, proving that it is extremely possible to find sticks over automatics. The automatics are goo-buckets compared to the manual trans. They are a 3 speed that costs $1500 to $2000 to rebuild and have a notorious history for bad experience on the rebuild. There is an excellent
FAQ on www.firstfives.org regarding the conversion from auto to manual. From all I can gather, everyone who has done the conversion would rather have sold their automatic car and looked for a standard.

I know that old cars die an early death in the NorthEast due to rust. That is not true in many other parts of the country. There are still hundreds of good, rust-free e12s around. I look for fairly straight, rust-free, manual transmission cars, in years 79, 80 and 81 for the better engines/heads. I have little trouble finding them. Your car is out there somewhere, but probably not in the NorthEastern US.

Follow Ups:


[ Follow Ups ] [ 5-series (E12) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]
Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.
Roadfly.com Logo © 1997 - 2009 Jump Internet Inc. All rights reserved.