Manual or SMG 550i?????
06-19-2006, 08:01 PM
#12
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Of course, manual is more fun to drive! But you, hartgeE60, hollywoodtrash, EBMCS03, and I all live in Socal and we chose the best compromise available. 
6-speed in bumper to bumper traffic? No way. Steptronic? Can't row the gears and doesn't have the fun factor.
Heezy, you do have SMG right?
6-speed in bumper to bumper traffic? No way. Steptronic? Can't row the gears and doesn't have the fun factor.
Heezy, you do have SMG right?
06-19-2006, 09:13 PM
#13
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My Ride: 2006 550i SMG
Originally Posted by jiio' post='300041' date='Jun 19 2006, 11:01 PM
Of course, manual is more fun to drive! But you, hartgeE60, hollywoodtrash, EBMCS03, and I all live in Socal and we chose the best compromise available.
6-speed in bumper to bumper traffic? No way. Steptronic? Can't row the gears and doesn't have the fun factor.
6-speed in bumper to bumper traffic? No way. Steptronic? Can't row the gears and doesn't have the fun factor.
06-20-2006, 10:33 AM
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Auto SMG!
06-20-2006, 11:27 AM
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Road and Track just gave the M5 last place honors this month, behind the Merc CLS55 and the Audi S6.
What did they cite as the reason? The SMG.
I know cost and resale aren't things that contribute to daily enjoyment of any purchase, but I can never really wall that kind of thinking off when making a decision. For that reason, I'd never buy an SMG new. You pay a premium that you'll never recoup at resale. With the history of some BMW cars as a guide, the SMG could very likely mean -lower- resale than a manual equipped car.
What did they cite as the reason? The SMG.
I know cost and resale aren't things that contribute to daily enjoyment of any purchase, but I can never really wall that kind of thinking off when making a decision. For that reason, I'd never buy an SMG new. You pay a premium that you'll never recoup at resale. With the history of some BMW cars as a guide, the SMG could very likely mean -lower- resale than a manual equipped car.
06-20-2006, 06:15 PM
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My Ride: 2006 M5, Silver Grey, Silverstone Full Leather, Alumium trim, Active/Ventilated Comfort Seats, HUD, Comfort Access, Split Rear Seats, Rear Seat Heating, etc.
I think a big factor in this decision is where you live and how you drive. If you live and drive in the burbs, along some quiet streets without a lot of traffic or starting and stopping, a manual is fine and dandy. If you live in, say, San Francisco where the hills burn through your clutch every 15,000 miles, or in Los Angeles where you spend half your life in bumper-to-bumper traffic, an SMG is definitely worth considering. The SMG is not perfect, it has quirks, it takes some getting used to. But once you do, it really can offer the best of both worlds... more control than a Steptronic, more comfort than a manual. After 5 months of it, I would never go back to a manual, at least not in SF or another urban city. Granted, the SMG on the M5 is supposed to be better than that of a 550, but I test drove several 5er SMGs before settling on the M5 and I still found them to be just as fun as my old manual, with far fewer headaches.
Oh yeah, people who don't own SMG cars (and uninformed magazine reviewers) looooooove to complain about the SMG Auto mode, how it's not as smooth as a steptronic or whatever (and admittedly, it's not). But the truth of the matter is there is no real reason to use the Auto mode (I rarely if ever do) so it's kind of irrelevant. Since you're not asking people to compare the SMG to the Steptronic, I have to assume you wouldn't use it much either. And, despite the Road & Track review, it was ONE review compared to many, many more that have heaped praise on the M5, including its transmission. (R&T rated an Audi first... how knowledgable can they be?)
Oh yeah, people who don't own SMG cars (and uninformed magazine reviewers) looooooove to complain about the SMG Auto mode, how it's not as smooth as a steptronic or whatever (and admittedly, it's not). But the truth of the matter is there is no real reason to use the Auto mode (I rarely if ever do) so it's kind of irrelevant. Since you're not asking people to compare the SMG to the Steptronic, I have to assume you wouldn't use it much either. And, despite the Road & Track review, it was ONE review compared to many, many more that have heaped praise on the M5, including its transmission. (R&T rated an Audi first... how knowledgable can they be?)
06-20-2006, 07:09 PM
#19
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Originally Posted by heezy545i' post='300574' date='Jun 20 2006, 08:51 PM
^For the e46 m3, I don't think the resale value differs that much between SMG/manual cars.
I just checked KBB, and it appears they agree with you - there is zero difference between the manual and SMG used prices. I haven't looked at actual listings in a few years, but I recall that the E46 M3 with SMG was several thousand less than manual cars when I was looking at them on AutoTrader... and with good reason - those things ate transmissions. Perhaps over time things have evened out.
Even if it's even - that means you spent $3K on a transmission that you're getting zero on at resale. -Plus- you've likely had to endure some headaches and service adventures.
As for hills - I have lived in Pittsburgh, which has hills that are every bit as bad. Maybe it's because I learned on those hills, but I've never had to replace a clutch - and I've run some of my manual cars over 100K miles. I don't need a "hill holder" clutch either...
I drive in bumper to bumper quite often, and while it's not enjoyable, the 5 is one of the better manuals I have driven in stop and go - the transmission is never the source of my ire when the traffic gets to me.
You're just trading headaches in my opinion. The boards have more than a few threads about cars that are in the shop with SMG woes and replaced transmissions. I'd rather deal with the headaches associated with the normal expectations of a reliable, properly functioning device than the headaches associated with a quirky, broken, or unreliable one.
Car and Driver openly mused about how much better the M5/M6 will be once the manual is introduced.
06-20-2006, 10:27 PM
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My Ride: 2007 550i White/Black, SMG, Sports Pkg, Comfort Access, Nav, HUD, Satellite Radio, Anthracite Maple Trim
2006 X5 3.0, Black/Black, Sports Pkg, Premium Pkg, Xenon Adaptive Headlight, NAV, Rear Climate Pkg, Anthracite Trim
I vote for SMG.. I love it