Car shopping - a rant

[LuvMyE92]

So I'm looking to buy an M4 (or maybe an M3 if one fell in my lap) and so I was on cars.com comparing prices and such, and I only want a manual, so that really helps narrow down the options.

Why do so many dealers, either through incompetence, laziness or just plain stupid ignorance, list their DCT cars as manual transmission? That is so annoying!

And just to make it more difficult, none of them list the options, or don't list them correctly, or list standard features (it has cruise control!) as an option.

It makes it really frustrating to shop for a used car.

OK, I feel better now. Thanks.

[NYG]

I know it's a little annoying but the M-DCT is not technically an automatic transmission. It's more of an automated manual transmission. BMW follows the same definition on their build codes so what you're seeing is consistent.

[luthers4]

You're not alone buddy.

Searching for Cayenne, X5 or equivalent to replace my aging Touareg. Have to spend time researching VINs for accurate options.. dealers listings are rarely correct. Most vehicles have more options than listed. I would assume if you're trying to get top $$ for your car giving the consumer as much info as possible would help your plight.

[agentrnge]

+1 OPs rant. Its very frustrating.
And regarding inaccurate feature listings, I have seen a lot of places that list all possible options and even alternate models/engines in a heap of keywords at the bottom of listings to make sure the car comes up on -every- search.

[gunsmoker]

It's intentional, anything that can keep you there. Have you noticed the same thing at Amazon? A few years ago the search was spot on. Now a large percentage of the results are irrelevant. It's either Amazon doing this or the sellers are gaming the system by putting in irrelevant keywords.

[NYG]

Put your VIN into a VIN decoder.

It's an M Doppelkupplungsgetriebe Manual, same as a Porsche PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe Manual)

Of all the sketchy tactics private sellers/dealers use to sell you a car, them listing the M-DCT as a manual isn't one of them. Automatic would technically be wrong also but would make sense to more people than Manual would.

[jmg]

The M3/4 is not alone in this. Shopping for P-Cars brings up the same frustrations. You need a vin decoder like someone else said. Or you need to look at the interior pics to see the gear shifter and what buttons are present or not. So annoying.

Looking for a P-Car with the Sport Chrono is also difficult because a lot of people take the same angle photo of car interiors and the steering wheel blocks the chrono in the middle about 75% of the time.

Also, people listing Competition F8X's as CS cars. Come on guys. Do some research!

[jd__m4]

BMW does this as the DCT is an option, so it’s listed under options. All their M’s show as manuals, you have to check the options list for DCT.

[Mar48]

Had the same problem when I was searching a year ago, frustrating, but you just have to live with it.... some people with a DCT get VERY offended if you call their car an automatic, so there you go

[LuvMyE92]

Thanks guys and gals. I get that a dct is technically an automated manual, but I'm old school. So if the word "automat..." falls in there, and it can shift itself and there are only two pedals, then it's an auto.

[Darth One]

We've been bitching about this since the days of E46 SMG's. After all this time there's no excuse...if you do this you're doing it to be deceptive

[RugbyBro]

*pushes nerd glasses up from nose*

Well... akchually... DCT is a manual with a computer controlled clutch

[buster84]

Originally Posted by RugbyBro

*pushes nerd glasses up from nose*

Well... akchually... DCT is a manual with a computer controlled clutch

This. I originally wanted a manual when doing my search but finding one with my color and options was already hard enough adding manual to it and I'd have almost no cars to find lol. At first I thought the DCT was more automatic, but it really works exactly like you mention. The car behaves exactly like a manual transmission except for the fact that you dont push down a 3rd pedal or use your right arm to shift gears. You can use the paddels or tap the dct for gear shifts if you prefer.

What I actually like most about the setup is that I can take my foot off the brake pedal anytime Im sitting at a light or not moving and the car doesnt move just like a manual does, but you have to be careful because it also rolls backwords on a slope too just like a manual.

Overall after owning it for a few months now I will say that owning many manual cars over the years I do not feel like im missing out much at all. I actually think that I prefer this transmission over the regular manual since it also lets my wife drive the car. Also whats funny is that the DCT is Techniccally and option so the manual cars are actually the cheaper models, but the used market works the opposite way since their are more DCT's for sale than manuals.

Good luck with your search op, just pick your #1 top option that you want the most and aim for that, the rest will fall into place when searching. I choose color as my #1 over the tranmission to broaden my search.

[LuvMyE92]

A further observation:

Last year when I was shopping for a Jaguar XK-R I posted a thread on a forum there about a car I looked at, just sharing the experience.

Well over half of the replies were "hey, I might sell mine, are you interested" and a couple of PMs as well. That was not my intent, it just happened.

Here: Zero. No one wants to sell their car. That says a lot about us, and the car, don't you think?

[Humdizzle]

yeah its common.

partly its because dealers are lazy and the default option like someone said is manual, and then you tac on the dct as an extra option.

partly its because manual cars will get extra clicks from enthusiasts who select that filter in their search. And maybe 1 of a 100 they can sway over to the DCT side.

[IB M]

How about all the wrong "CS" model listings. Almost comical.

[RugbyBro]

Originally Posted by IB M

How about all the wrong "CS" model listings. Almost comical.

This was more egregious and comical IMO. I noticed that cars.com has removed the CS trim level altogether - the only way to find one on there is to filter by price

[gunsmoker]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

Here: Zero. No one wants to sell their car. That says a lot about us, and the car, don't you think?

Geez, I did not think we are like Apple fanatics but I guess we are.

[PKL]

6MT for life!

[Jim B]

Originally Posted by PKL

6MT for life!

+1

[Tangent]

I knew exactly what this was going to be about from the headline alone. I learned long ago that shopping for BMWs means ignoring what they say the trans is and just checking the interior pics for 3 pedals and/or the shifter. The only site I've ever used that only lists 3-pedal manuals as "manual transmission" is CarMax.

[LuvMyE92]

Thanks all for the comments and sympathy.

As a final note for those following along at home, when I saw the prices that the F8x cars are selling for, and with the prodding of a couple of friends of mine (one of whom just got a new M3) I found an almost-local new G82 M4 with the correct number of pedals and purchased it. It should be here soon.