New X3

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

The big wigs at BMW think that they can pass on DCT to the enthusiasts and do away with manual.

This is where BMW may be a bit too arrogant, imo. I do get just how fast DCT can shift, but there is something to an old school 3 pedal manual that will continue to be desired into the future. Unfortunately, if BMW doesn't offer one and it's competitors do, they may well lose a good bit of sales. Plus, many true driving enthusiasts keep BMW resale value high by supporting the secondary market. If these people dissapear due to automatic only transmissions (DCT is really an auto) then it will hurt BMW in a way. I will admit that BMW will not lose that many buyers if it's SAV's and crossovers are auto only, but if it does not offer manual trans 1, 3 and 5 series cars, they are out of their mind.

Plus, if BMW doesn't step up the reliability of their auto transmissions they will be in trouble. Last I heard, DCT transmissions have all the fun of an automatic and the reliability of one as well, which is a double thumbs down.

I would be interested in replacing my wifes current e53 with a new X3 if the reliability proves to be better. We typically buy our BMW's in the secondary market. However, due to overall brand reliability problems, BMW resale values are dropping drastically. Nobody wants to spend new car money on a BMW that is out of warranty because of poor reliability and repair costs. If BMW can right that ship, we may be interested. Otherwise, we will keep our e53 running because we have already taken the depreciation hit, it still looks modern and feels solid, and it will be paid off in a few months.