# Manual Transmission cars



## zed_kid (Sep 25, 2012)

Hi guys, so I want to buy a new car and actually want a manual transmission, but my local buddies are saying that if I buy a manual I’ll have a hard time trying to sell it later on… true or false? I’m looking for a bmw m3 or Porsche cayman S or maybe even a carrera, so it’ll be a sports car, surely the manual shift is not such a huge turn off?


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

People here have a hard time operating cruise control. I cannot even imagine how they could figure out a clucth


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

You don't see too many manual M3's as people seem to like the SMG, or whatever BMW call their semi-auto boxes now, and most manual Caymans are pre 2009 when the generation two with PDK was introduced. 

I have a manual Cayman S Sport and I was looking for a manual as after four years of driving a DSG VW R32 I felt like I was deskilling. 
Whilst I love the manual my next Porsche will probably have a PDK for a couple of reasons. 

Firstly, when traffic inevitably grinds to a halt due to some halfwit welding himself to the Armco or 200 halfwits rubbernecking from the opposite side of the road it can be a bit of a pain. 

Secondly, if you're buying a second hand P-Car you need to get it checked by either Porsche, ARM or HOC to get a DME printout of the over revs. With a PDK it's not possible to over rev the engine with a missed downshift and Gen 2/3 engines tend to be a bit more robust. 

As far as the value goes you're resale might be slightly lower but your initial purchase price will also have been slightly lower and there are always plenty of people looking for manual Porsches, although they'll nearly all be expats. 

U know where you're coming from with the manual but if you haven't tried the twin clutch option go for a test drive as its a pretty cool bit of kit and bears no resemblance to a normal auto box. 
Apologies to non petrol heads who probably fell asleep after the first sentence.


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## zed_kid (Sep 25, 2012)

Hi Felix, I’m sure the PDK is an insane piece of kit, and all the car reviewers are recommending that over the stick shift but I’m looking for a 2nd hand car and the manual ones are cheaper and it doesn’t concern me coz the car will be a weekender or light use during the week etc.

Anyway the reason I’m getting all hot and bothered is coz I saw a manual m3 on dubizzle with supposedly 10k kms on the clock. I’m going to try view it this weekend and if the kms are legit I just might bite


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

I think I see the one you mean, White E92? If it were me I'd definitely be having the main dealer check that out prior to handing over more than 1000dhs refundable deposit as 10,000 seems strangely low mileage on a five year old car that someone went to the trouble and expense of putting an 8000dh race exhaust on. 
It does look tempting though but be careful that it hasn't been tracked. You might be able to tell by seeing if the rubber on the brake pedal has significantly more worn on the right hand side than the left, a sure sign of heel'n'toeing. If the tyres are more than three years old they'll need changed regardless of mileage and if they're less than three years old I'd want to ask why, the tyre manufacture date is on the sidewall. 
Apologies for telling you stuff you already know, let me know how it goes!


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Felixtoo2 said:


> I think I see the one you mean, White E92? If it were me I'd definitely be having the main dealer check that out prior to handing over more than 1000dhs refundable deposit as 10,000 seems strangely low mileage on a five year old car that someone went to the trouble and expense of putting an 8000dh race exhaust on.
> It does look tempting though but be careful that it hasn't been tracked. You might be able to tell by seeing if the rubber on the brake pedal has significantly more worn on the right hand side than the left, a sure sign of heel'n'toeing. If the tyres are more than three years old they'll need changed regardless of mileage and if they're less than three years old I'd want to ask why, the tyre manufacture date is on the sidewall.
> Apologies for telling you stuff you already know, let me know how it goes!


Agreed, i had BMWs in UK, so know them well.
If it is the white one with black wheels then it looks at bit "billy boy" to me!
Worth ckecking if all keys present and remember that BMW stores vehicle mileage in keys as well as in the car ECUs - dealer can check integrity of data on car and all the keys.
Best of luck with the viewing and if you buy it just remember to stock up with white socks (to be worn with a business suit) and change your name to Kevin (apologies if this is already your name!)

Cheers
Steve


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## zed_kid (Sep 25, 2012)

Hey guys, yeah it’s the white one with black rims. I don’t mind too much if it has been tracked, and I think this one has been for sure (I mean race exhaust and manual shift? Come on) there is not that much that can go wrong in 10k kms, also depends on how hard he tracked it, and to be honest I want to track this car too. Anyway I’ll still meet the guy and have a chat. 

Will definitely get AGMC to look over it.

Lol I’m not really getting the Kevin/ white socks reference, I guess it’s a British thing?

PS. Did you guys see the black one in emirates hills for sale? Why does it NOT look like an m3 in the 1st photo??


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

zed_kid said:


> Hey guys, yeah it’s the white one with black rims. I don’t mind too much if it has been tracked, and I think this one has been for sure (I mean race exhaust and manual shift? Come on) there is not that much that can go wrong in 10k kms, also depends on how hard he tracked it, and to be honest I want to track this car too. Anyway I’ll still meet the guy and have a chat.
> 
> Will definitely get AGMC to look over it.
> 
> ...


Yes - white socks is very british humour!!

Point being that 10k hard track miles on a manual car can be very damaging - as you dont get over rev protection on downshifts.
Also, you really need to verify whether it is actually 10k km or whether it is a 100k car that has either been damage repaired or had a "haircut".
Try to get hold of VIN number, then tale this to BMW dealer and ask them to check service history and warranty history on their database.
If they have been looking after this car then it may show that they have already serviced it at a higher mileage previuosly.
Also worth taking a note of the registration number and checking fines on the RTA database - may also provide a clue to the driving habits of the existing owner!!

Black one looks like a 335i with an M3 badge!
Wrong bonnet, front wings, chrome grille!,wheels etc.

Let us know how you get on!

Cheers
Steve


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## zed_kid (Sep 25, 2012)

Im not sure what you mean by over revving, all cars have rev limiters installed that are way under engine threshold, whether is a manual or a PDK / SMG. 

Anyway I reckon I’ll be able to tell a lot about the car when I see it and meet the owner, if he comes off a drop kick sorta bloke then 99% chance his car is rubbish. 

I hate when people try to re-badge other spec cars. Like someone is going to rock up and see the M / AMG badge and go yep, that’s legit, heres the money.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

zed_kid said:


> Im not sure what you mean by over revving, all cars have rev limiters installed that are way under engine threshold, whether is a manual or a PDK / SMG.
> 
> Anyway I reckon I’ll be able to tell a lot about the car when I see it and meet the owner, if he comes off a drop kick sorta bloke then 99% chance his car is rubbish.
> 
> I hate when people try to re-badge other spec cars. Like someone is going to rock up and see the M / AMG badge and go yep, that’s legit, heres the money.


For over revving you can do this on accelarating up through the gears or when slowing down and down-shifting.
When accelerating, a rev limiter cuts the engine when you approach the red-line to prevent over revving the engine.
As part of an ECU tuning package to increase horsepower, you often see the rev limit lifted to a higher threshold than the manufacturer sets - this removes a bit of the safety factor but is not generally a problem.
The big problem comes when racing around the track/road and down-shifting.
If, for instance the range for 2nd gear is 30 to 90 kph and you approach a bend at say 150kph in 5th gear and downshift to 2nd gear, by mistake - then this is mechanical over revving through the gearbox - causes valve bounce and worse if speed is really much too high for the chosen gear.
Modern autos with flappy paddles do not allow incorrect downshifts - thus protecting the engine from downshift mechanical over revving.
Cheers
Steve


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## INFAMOUS (Apr 19, 2011)

Manual cars will not get you less money in the future.... If you are looking for one it means someone else will be looking for the same! People here make a big fuss about non-gcc cars, manual vs auto etc.

At the end of the day if the car is well kept and enthusiast owned (which it sounds like the OP is), then someone else will appreciate it as much as you do later.

As for the traffic stuff and people complaining about a manual... I have an SRT-10 RAM manual 6 speed with a centerforce clutch and the driving here is much better than the traffic I was used to in Austin TX. But I am a true enthusiast that refuses to drive an automatic lol

Like any "opinions" shared on these forums, many people are comparing apples to oranges as so many come from different backgrounds/experiences and only compare to what they "know" as it may differ greatly from the person asking.


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## zed_kid (Sep 25, 2012)

so i called the guy and obviously the car has 100k kms on it not 10k. bloody hell. im sure theres an edit function on dubizzle, use it bro


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## DubaiTom (Nov 3, 2010)

Just FYI: AGMC will not provide any details about service history or accidents if it's not your car. They will do a full checkup incl. report for you for ~2500 AED (iirc). They will need the car for two days for this check. So unless you have some friend at AGMC it will be problematic to get these details. I also wanted to buy an M3. In the end I went for a 2011 Cayman S with PDK incl. warranty. Nice thing about Porsche is that you can extend the warranty up to 7 years as long as the car is OK.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

DubaiTom said:


> Just FYI: AGMC will not provide any details about service history or accidents if it's not your car. They will do a full checkup incl. report for you for ~2500 AED (iirc). They will need the car for two days for this check. So unless you have some friend at AGMC it will be problematic to get these details. I also wanted to buy an M3. In the end I went for a 2011 Cayman S with PDK incl. warranty. Nice thing about Porsche is that you can extend the warranty up to 7 years as long as the car is OK.


That is a real shame.
In UK, the BMW dealers normally give you detailed information as part of their customer service.
I was lucky to have a very good local BMW dealer that looked after my last car from new until I sold it with nearly 150K kilometres on the clock.
That car was 100% reliable and did not need anything between services except two sets of brake pads, one set of discs and summer & winter tyres.
The standard run flats cost around 6000 AED per set!
Like you, I really like the Cayman S - but need a car with 4 seats - so would need the bigger (and more expensive) brother to the Cayman!
Cheers
Steve


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