Auto or Manual

[Allblackdup]

Can anyone give me some advice on whether the auto is worth the extra outlay over a 5 speed manual in a 530i/530d (01/02 models) please?

From my other thread you'll see another member make a good point about the £ differnce beteen the petrol and diesel models. But if you add the auto box that difference is reduced to practically nothing.

Thanks

Gaz

[rassi]

On the 530d I think the 5 speed auto is ideally suited to the engine characteristics - never felt mine out of gear, and with the steptronic function you can have a go at playing with the gears yourself - although I really quickly got bored with this and left it in drive. For the 530i the manual is probably a good match, but depending on your driving style, don't rule out the auto.

[paoloh]

Depends if re sale is important to you

[Mr_Sukebe]

More importantly, depends upon where you normally drive.
Living in south London, I love my slushbox and am quite happy with the trade off of "less involvement".
More to the point, once you get used to the auto, it's actually rather good and lets you use techniques like left foot braking. Not that I'd recommend LFB on a standard road, but at least you have the option.

[Allblackdup]

Thanks for the replies all.

I do a lot of motorway/A road driving, hence my original look for a diesel. From that i think the auto and manual will both suit. I know it'll take a lot of getting used to with an auto, but after experiencing how smooth it was on saturday and the tiptronic option means i know its got a lot going for it.

I understand that the auto will be worth more come re-sale time and that is something i'm concsious of.

I think at the end of the day, i want the cleanest well looked after example, for the best value price. At the moment, that's a case of deciding between a manual with approx 60k for X amount or an auto with 80k+ for the same amount. The mileage is a concern, especially when i do approx 12k a year, but i suppose i need to know whether that's the better option?.

Gaz

[_Deano]

Allblackdup said:

Thanks for the replies all.

I do a lot of motorway/A road driving, hence my original look for a diesel. From that i think the auto and manual will both suit. I know it'll take a lot of getting used to with an auto, but after experiencing how smooth it was on saturday and the tiptronic option means i know its got a lot going for it.

I understand that the auto will be worth more come re-sale time and that is something i'm concsious of.

I think at the end of the day, i want the cleanest well looked after example, for the best value price. At the moment, that's a case of deciding between a manual with approx 60k for X amount or an auto with 80k+ for the same amount. The mileage is a concern, especially when i do approx 12k a year, but i suppose i need to know whether that's the better option?.

Gaz

At first i wasn't up for the autobox as i had a bad experiance with one in the US and hated them since. But then i had a bad bike accident and it meant that i needed to find a car that was easy to drive and comfortable. I ended up with a 2001 530i Sport and it was the best autobox that i had the pleasure of driving. I was converted from the manual (even though i thought that i would be a manual purest) and i've not looked back. My next car will have an autobox as i loved it so much. As mentioned above, it really does help in London too!

[pincher]

I've just come from a manual S4 Avant into an auto 530i Sport and love it!

Yes, it's a very lazy car to drive but as has been said above, you do have the option of playing with the steptronic - you could even try putting on an M3 SMG steering wheel so you can play with the paddles.

[Allblackdup]

Thanks for the info guys

Think i'll spend a little more and get the auto. Just got to find that well looked after example, i'm hankering after.

Cheers

Gaz