Buying an E86 auto or manual?

J

Jrichard16

New member
Hi guys,
new to Z4 forum and keen to seek some advice/guidance.

I'm interested in buying an E86 coupe 3.0 and am interested in general thoughts on manual vs auto transmission.

I'd naturally prefer a manual (this what I've always had in previous cars) but theres seems to be some lower mileage autos around for sale.

- are E86 Autos still fun to drive (understand this subjective but interested to know what others have experience of) Any known issues over manual?
- is the auto paddle shift box on the E86 considered 'ok', or are they v slow/unresponsive?
- are demand/values for autos lower than manual?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
 
why not just test drive both and see which u prefer

Ive manual as i prefer them, but these obviously have clutchs that wear and dmf`s that fail and can rattle, yeah theres time when i think a auto would be nice but also think id regret it more having one lol
 
I bought a manual a few weeks ago and, nice as it is to drive, I think I could quite happily live with an auto. My previous daily was a Cayenne V8 with Tiptronic box and that was so chilled to use. The Z4 covers largely similar miles (60 miles of school run, five days a week in classic car season and some client mileage on top, not much traffic overall) and there is no doubt that the auto box with this engine would be very bearable.

Demand for auto is lower as most new buyers want manual - your post sort of rubber-stamps that. So the residuals for manual when all other factors are identical will be a touch better. But buy it right and there's no issue about future value.
 
I think it absolutely depends what you mainly use the car for. If you are stuck in a big city with mostly town driving the auto makes sense. If its more a weekend car for B road blasting then it could be nothing other than the involvement and interaction of a manual for me.
 
Mine have only ever been weekend/high-day toys, so no commute or rush hour use - a manual is fantastic with a 7,000 rpm red-line!

For what I use mine for it has to be manual, but I can see why others may prefer an auto.

Stop and think about how you are likely to use one before you commit either way - then try both if you can. :thumbsup:

But being very old-school I'd never buy any "Sports-car" that wasn't a manual. :lol:
 
Thanks for the replies
I will aim to test both a manual and auto to see. I live in a city so its likely I'll be doing a fair bit of town driving as well as longer more driver focused pleasure driving. So auto (must also have paddles) could be a reasonable option.

Thanks will keep posted.
 
Best to try both Auto and Manual and decide which suits your driving style. Maclaren only sell cars with Auto boxes, so perhaps times of people's perceptions of Autos has moved on!

I think that BMW's Auto boxes, are far better than there Manaul's. My low mileage Manual gearbox
in my E85, reminds me of the Tremec T5 gearbox fitted in my old TVR - very NOTCHY.
 
After 10 z4s now I blight one auto the other month (an e86) and hated it. Propper ruined the characteristics of a sports car for me. I love being able to get involved in the driving experience by stirring the gears myself on a b road blast and clicking those little paddles or mashing your foot to the floor And let it hunt for a gear just isnt the same
 
Mine is an auto - there’s unfortunately not many options out here in Thailand

I drove a manual Z4 recently on an overseas trip and immediately did some research and shopping

6845EACA-8283-4B20-AB54-A7484B1A6508.jpeg

Just a few more things to source before I can go ahead with the swap

Can’t wait!
 
Natishin said:
No question, manual. You're buying sportscar. Automatic don't exist in sportscar vocabulary.
Click to expand...

I know it's to each his/her own but keep in mind by today's market there are many going auto only production. F-type higher trims R for example only auto. The new supra, new C8 mid engine corvette auto only and that's not hitting real high end market.

For those in auto wanting more engaged experience in performance driving instead of using your left foot to brace yourself on the kick plate try your hand at left foot braking....and always sport shift in sport mode. :driving:
 
Piper1 said:
Natishin said:
No question, manual. You're buying sportscar. Automatic don't exist in sportscar vocabulary.
Click to expand...

I know it's to each his/her own but keep in mind by today's market there are many going auto only production. F-type higher trims R for example only auto. The new supra, new C8 mid engine corvette auto only and that's not hitting real high end market.

For those in auto wanting more engaged experience in performance driving instead of using your left foot to brace yourself on the kick plate try your hand at left foot braking....and always sport shift in sport mode. :driving:
Click to expand...

These are propper auto boxes tho with twin plate clutches and that are faster than manual. Not the old slush box fitted to the z4 e85/e86
 
I had a E85 2.5 auto for 10 years and now have a E85 3.0 manual which I have had for a couple of weeks. I would go back to an automatic tomorrow. However I really like my new zed but like others have said the gearbox is a bit notchy, I found the auto very smooth and responsive.
So as others have said it really depends upon the type of driving you will be doing. Having been stuck in slow moving traffic twice this week, how I missed my auto, but hey ho, I still love my new Zed and it has many more nice updates than my old auto.
 
Current owner of a E86 Auto have owned the car for more than 3 years now.
Initially I was only looking for a manual car and was a purist against autos, however I wanted all the available options, cruise control, sat nav, heated & electric sports seats etc etc etc, I saw my car and was very excited until I realised it was an auto, after a few days of mulling it over I decided to go and see the car and give it a try. Prior to this I had tested the Audi TT 3.2 V6 with a DSG box and absolutely hated it so I wasnt expecting much.

Straight away the BMW box was far better, it felt more responsive and less dithery (TT couldnt seem to pick and stick to a gear), add to that the M/S mode on the Z4 box which almost entirely removes the auto changes (unless revs drop too low) the car in this mode with the sport button on and the DSC completely off is a fantastic animal, unbelievably smooth and the changes are almost instant.

I use the car as my daily and I am absolutely smitten with it, 90% of the time I drive it in the "manual" mode which means I'm responsible for the changes except downshifts when the revs drop, but if you want to slap 7k rpm you can.

The only time I miss having a clutch is when I'm sliding the car but its still perfectly capable of wagging its tail :rofl:

I have covered in excess of 30k miles in the car and that included a weekend on the North Coast 500 with the forum along with multiple other forum runs and I havent once wished the car was a manual.

All that being said however, I am currently watching the M market and that will obviously be a manual car. :driving:
 
jamie_z4 said:
Piper1 said:
Natishin said:
No question, manual. You're buying sportscar. Automatic don't exist in sportscar vocabulary.
Click to expand...

I know it's to each his/her own but keep in mind by today's market there are many going auto only production. F-type higher trims R for example only auto. The new supra, new C8 mid engine corvette auto only and that's not hitting real high end market.

For those in auto wanting more engaged experience in performance driving instead of using your left foot to brace yourself on the kick plate try your hand at left foot braking....and always sport shift in sport mode. :driving:
Click to expand...

These are propper auto boxes tho with twin plate clutches and that are faster than manual. Not the old slush box fitted to the z4 e85/e86
Click to expand...

True, was just making the point that it was a very generalized comment of autos don't belong in a "true sports car". I drove a 79 auto vette last year and completely horrid to the z4 auto box and I'm sure in the 70s it was the same mentality of auto/manual. And even now I prefer the z4 auto box over a new mustang auto that I had leased. Same could be said with electronic steering, drive by wire vs. throttle cable and on and on. Truth is cars constantly evolve and it's to the driver what they feel they enjoy. I personally would like to find a new car these days without a touch screen so big you could watch a foot ball game on....
 
- are E86 Autos still fun to drive (understand this subjective but interested to know what others have experience of) - Yes. I use mine for town traffic, motorway cruising, country road blasting and occasional trackdays. It does all of them well.
Any known issues over manual? Yes, the auto is faster in real world conditions.
- is the auto paddle shift box on the E86 considered 'ok', or are they v slow/unresponsive? Very fast gearchange.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! Try an E86 Auto, it's the only way to know. :driving:
 
I have an auto family car (A200) and a manual Z4. The a class is much better doing the day to day stuff. It's also fun to use the paddles and change gear manually.

But, the Z4 feels more fun down a country lane and changing gears yourself.

All depends what you want to use it for. If daily. Get the auto and hope it isn't too slow to change gear. If it's for the weekend, get the manual.
 
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