E46 bmw M3, Manual or SmG II ?? Plz help !

[Andyrew]

Hey guys,

Can any ye help me !

I'm about to buy an E46 M3 and i dunno what to go for, SmG or Manual ??

I have read reviews after review and they both seem to come out 50/50

I know an SmG can be very problematic ie Pumps going but i'm not to pushed about it as long as i get the most fun out of it.

CAn any 1 advise me what to go for and why ?

Cheers lads,

Andrew

[SoliD]

Think your best bet is getting out there and giving the two options a try, by reading around as you say its about 50:50 with regards to what people prefer and comes down to personal driving style and what you are using the car for.

[NickXX]

I went for SMG after much research and a test drive. Don't regret it one bit. As mentioned above you really have to test drive it.

I thought SMG was the better system after owning an e46 manual for 3.5yrs and still owning an e36 manual.

[fridaypassion]

Manual! SMG on the E46 = Expensive trouble. Unless you get a car with a pump change in the history walk away.

[waremark]

Some people love SMG, others hate it. You cannot possibly know which camp you will fall into without trying both.

[thehos]

fridaypassion said:

Manual! SMG on the E46 = Expensive trouble. Unless you get a car with a pump change in the history walk away.

I'm looking at a car with 36000 mls, still on the original smg pump!, I'm walking away!

[rassi]

Here is a novel suggestion: Testdrive both and see which one you like best?

[outnumbered]

fridaypassion said:

Manual! SMG on the E46 = Expensive trouble. Unless you get a car with a pump change in the history walk away.

Utter b*l*x.

[thehos]

outnumbered said:

fridaypassion said:

Manual! SMG on the E46 = Expensive trouble. Unless you get a car with a pump change in the history walk away.

Utter b*l*x.

hey good shout outnumbered, thats what i was trying to get over in my post, but you, straight to the point, i like it

[gizlaroc]

fridaypassion said:

Manual! SMG on the E46 = Expensive trouble. Unless you get a car with a pump change in the history walk away.

Complete crap.

Out of the tens of thousands of owners on the UK forums I know of about 10 cars that have had pump failure, half replaced under warranty and the other half replaced using a pump from a breaker at around £3-400 fitted.

The hundreds of threads you here about SMG not going into gear always tend to be the bonnet switch or the smg relay, replaced in 30 seconds sing a £4 part.

The SMG makes it a real experience everytime you take the car out, the manual is also nice if a little notchy, but really comes dow to which you prefer.

[Andyrew]

Thanks for all the great advice. I have tested both and i like the SmG but just worried about the problems it's gonna cause me.

How often does an SmG pump have to be changed ?

[AngryApples]

gizlaroc said:

fridaypassion said:

Manual! SMG on the E46 = Expensive trouble. Unless you get a car with a pump change in the history walk away.

Complete crap.

Out of the tens of thousands of owners on the UK forums I know of about 10 cars that have had pump failure, half replaced under warranty and the other half replaced using a pump from a breaker at around £3-400 fitted.

The hundreds of threads you here about SMG not going into gear always tend to be the bonnet switch or the smg relay, replaced in 30 seconds sing a £4 part.

The SMG makes it a real experience everytime you take the car out, the manual is also nice if a little notchy, but really comes dow to which you prefer.

+1

Why do people insist on coming out with this bks about the SMG, time and time again with either

a) very little research

or

b) reliant on "my mates brother's 2nd cousin's next door neghbour....." stories


You need a drive, and a long one - do not rely on a quick 10 minutes, insist on 30 minutes good run

[Andyrew]

Thanks for all the great advice. I have tested both and i like the SmG but just worried about the problems it's gonna cause me.

How often does an SmG pump have to be changed ?

[DjSki]

CSL only available with SMG....enough said?

[fridaypassion]

Lol @ at the hate. Mate of mine got an SMG and two weeks later the SMG stops working. Its not the relay, its the pump. 2k spent that he would not have had to spend if he'd got a manual. Totally pointless waste of money as the car does not need to have this silly system.

Novelty wears off after about 10 seconds too.

[tonto1]

I had SMG in my CSL and once I got used to it I absolutely loved it!!

I moved to the CSL after having a manual E46 M3 and my main concern with buying the CSL was the SMG, but soon forgot all about that!!

Even my wife liked the SMG and got on well with it!!

[Deniz.S]

fridaypassion said:

Lol @ at the hate. Mate of mine got an SMG and two weeks later the SMG stops working. Its not the relay, its the pump. 2k spent that he would not have had to spend if he'd got a manual. Totally pointless waste of money as the car does not need to have this silly system.

Novelty wears off after about 10 seconds too.

Sounds like he should have got one with a warranty, his fault for buying what was probably a dog of a car?

Sounds like the 9 seconds you spent driving it wasn't quite enough.

[gizlaroc]

fridaypassion said:

Lol @ at the hate. Mate of mine got an SMG and two weeks later the SMG stops working. Its not the relay, its the pump. 2k spent that he would not have had to spend if he'd got a manual. Totally pointless waste of money as the car does not need to have this silly system.

Novelty wears off after about 10 seconds too.

I wouldn't want a manual M3, I would rather have a different car than go with a manual. We're all different.

Sounds like your mate just bought a crap car.

[Slurms]

gizlaroc said:

I wouldn't want a manual M3, I would rather have a different car than go with a manual. We're all different.

+1

this has been covered many many times before on this forum.

Everyone is different, try both and see which one you like.

[mat205125]

fridaypassion said:

Novelty wears off after about 10 seconds too.

Is this your personal experience? Maybe you should have tried the car for longer, driven the car harder, or got onto a circuit.

In stop-start traffic I would sometimes prefer a manual over my SMG, but on a nice flowing A/B road or any circuit I'd take SMG every time over a manual. Ignore the Clarkson crap that is regurgitated by people with no first hand experience ... On the right road, and for my type of driving, SMG adds to the experience over a manual a million times more than a couple of occasions where it has limitations.