Looking to buy & I'm torn....6MT or DCT??

[dparm]

Dude, it's a personal decision. This site is full of DCT haters and 6MT haters. Everyone has an opinion.

Go drive a bunch of M3s with each transmission and go with your gut. We can't decide for you.

[Thik]

To OP: Too many threads on this topic. Search.

[BimmerRob08]

Originally Posted by ibmike

Well this wont go well, BUT listen to me please, You've probably had a stick shift car before, but if you've never had a DCT before you gots to get one there awesome.

Trust me there Great.

Agree! I kick myself for not getting the DCT. I test drove on in Germany and I was about to trade mine in just because of it. Look OP, you can buy any car as a manual, but not too many DCT for the price/performance of the M3. Its modern, it's modern technology, its the wave of the future, its also usable, it's NOT an automatic!! And its bad ass! Just remember though, I heard the transmission costs about $7,000 if you ever have to get a new one someday after the warranty so think abou that. I'm sure my 6MT is still an arm and a leg too.

[rjd598]

This is from someone who started driving with an automatic, briefly learned manual, and drove dct for three years before getting into a manual daily driver. Ideally the dct is great for either the track or weekend driving. It's got lightning quick shifts and makes great rev matching noises. However if you use it for daily driving I would think it would get old fast. Don't forget this is from someone who started with dct and then got a manual for a daily driver. If I could do it again I THINK I would lean toward the manual

[Semi-Poor]

Like arguing about which color is best only you can decide. Previous car was 6MT, current is DCT, doubt I will ever go back. Old age may be a factor for me, put in my three pedal time lol.

[schnell325]

Own a 6MT, will get a DCT on my next car.

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by spdy330

I went with DCT so my wife can drive it if needed. I am not disappointed with my decision. As others have stated test drive both and make your own decision.

My wife drives mine.

[Koldun]

This car was designed around the DCT and is a better fit for the engine and the car's all around flexibility. This particular iteration of the 6MT is also pretty notchy and overall terrible. The new manual in the M4 seems to be finally up to snuff and I'm betting will be one of the highlights of the new car (since the engine won't be).

That said, if you are hardcore purist that likes rowing even in traffic, go manual. You save a good bit of weight.

[fuzzybam]

Wife can't drive a manual and I find the DCT fun, in a technological way, without the constant worry of it breaking (SMG).

[speedaddictM3]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

Agree! I kick myself for not getting the DCT. I test drove on in Germany and I was about to trade mine in just because of it. Look OP, you can buy any car as a manual, but not too many DCT for the price/performance of the M3. Its modern, it's modern technology, its the wave of the future, its also usable, it's NOT an automatic!! And its bad ass! Just remember though, I heard the transmission costs about $7,000 if you ever have to get a new one someday after the warranty so think abou that. I'm sure my 6MT is still an arm and a leg too.

First of all, yes it is an automatic. Secondly, DCT is becoming more and more common. Almost all high end non-American sports cars have DCT. And even more affordable performance cars like the Evo X have it and some VW models too. And in a few years almost every car will have a DCT option as the technology becomes cheaper and more available. Sooner or later even a Camry or Corolla will have DCT. It's not really as exotic as you make it sound. In fact, I can argue that the fact that the DCT is the "wave of the future" is the best reason to by a MT now while they are still making them and you still have a chance to drive it before it goes extinct completely.

[Koldun]

Originally Posted by socalm3lover

I do not understand some who feel more "in control" with the 6MT. With the DCT you decide what gear and when to shift......, what more could a driver ask for?

I always wondered that too. While I see the appeal of manually moving the mechanisms that change gears yourself, if we are talking about being in control of what the car is doing, the DCT allows for instant, perfect shifts at a flip of a finger. So the control and performance crowns go to DCT, manual gets the crown for old timey nostalgia and I guess manliness? (if you derive your self-worth and masculinity from transmission choice, anyway).

[speedaddictM3]

Originally Posted by Koldun

This car was designed around the DCT and is a better fit for the engine and the car's all around flexibility. This particular iteration of the 6MT is also pretty notchy and overall terrible. The new manual in the M4 seems to be finally up to snuff and I'm betting will be one of the highlights of the new car (since the engine won't be).

That said, if you are hardcore purist that likes rowing even in traffic, go manual. You save a good bit of weight.

I agree the 6MT in the M3 is a mediocre and terrible gearbox. But what proof do you have regarding this often quoted statement that the M3 was "designed around" the DCT? In fact the M3 didn't even come with DCT option for almost a year after its launch!

[Koldun]

Because the 6MT is "a mediocre and terrible gearbox" and the car is more balanced and controllable with DCT? Don't ask me for documentation, I'm just going by personal feeling. I didn't know this was a commonly expressed sentiment, but I'm not surprised. As far as I'm concerned that gearbox was a placeholder that remained in production as a bone thrown to the small segment of the American market that clamours for manuals (and then usually still buy the automatic "for the wife").

I can't wait to try the new manual gearbox, sounds like they actually tried to make it something special this time.

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by Koldun

I always wondered that too. While I see the appeal of manually moving the mechanisms that change gears yourself, if we are talking about being in control of what the car is doing, the DCT allows for instant, perfect shifts at a flip of a finger. So the control and performance crowns go to DCT, manual gets the crown for old timey nostalgia and I guess manliness?

In a true manual, you are the one engaging and disengaging the clutch, and engaging the gear you desire. In the DCT, you're pulling a lever which tells a computer to change gears for you. The tech in the DCT is incredible, but like electric power steering, it's another thing that separates the driver from the actual mechanical function of the car. I bought an M3, and all the "feels" that came with it, in large part for that connection. I want to hear the engine and the exhaust, I want to feel the road surface through the steering wheel, I want to row my own.

I daily mine, and I love the level of engagement with the machine every time I'm in the car.

They're both good choices, OP. Like the rest said, it just comes down to personal preference.

[Koldun]

I can totally appreciate that, which is why I suggested he gets a manual if he like rowing even in traffic. In my decrepid age (32), I don't really much care about having a manual anymore, but I'm still a jerkbag purist when it comes to electric steering, blegh.

[PhillyNate]

Originally Posted by GreeKon

I can only speak from experience talking to other guys. They say "DCT is fucking awesome....for the first two weeks." Then they get bored as hell...it's a glorified automatic.

Up to you...but I'll ALWAYS choose manual. There's nothing like controlling your car through and through.

Again...my $.02

What he said^

[scutts]

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

My wife drives mine.

As does my wife... She enjoys rowing through the gears and I'm proud of her

[pkimM3r]

Originally Posted by e-solo

In my opinion there is only one reason to buy a dct, if it's going to be your daily driver and you drive in traffic a lot. I love manual but my leg was not happy with me when I was constantly stuck in traffic. Hence I chose dct this time around. I couldn't be happier!

Its the exact opposite for me.

I like manual for city, but starting to think dct for the track. Its hard keeping up in a manual!!!

[Krockit1]

No right answer to this. It's why there's so many threads on this topic that all end the same way- with a mishmash of nothing more than opinion. With that in mind something perhaps more crucial needs consideration- what other features/options are more important than the trans type? I shopped coast to coast daily for over three months to find a 6MT with the right options and color and never did score one, missing six cars that sold before I could get to inspect them.... the point is that manuals are rara avis and sell quickly. I finally "caved" to a local car with the exact specs I wanted except... yep, it had DCT. My 2010 M3 is the first non manual car for me since 1992, and it is a f'ing blast to drive at high revs at the most aggressive settings. If you have ever watched modern F1 racing from the cockpit camera, you will come to appreciate fully why those incredible machines are shifted from the steering wheel.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Lute

I know my friend..It always returns!
This time i will say nothing ! DCT !!!...ohhh no 5H1T

[Someone?]

ROFL, No thread gets the crowd fired up like a DCT vs MT thread, It will soon be 10 pages.

[Denk]

I wasn't impressed with the manual on the e9x. The DCT is awesome! Try to test drive both and see what wow's you the most.