Hi Shane,

Auto is definitely better than manual for resale further down the line – buyers expect a prestige car to come with a self-shifter these days. The N47 problem has never quite gone away. BMW tried to fix it, and was partially successful, but buy carefully and don’t touch anything without a full BMW service history. Downsides to UK imports are that you have to do all the Vehicle Registration Tax legwork yourself and, if the car comes with a lot of options, Revenue can slam you for extra tax, which is annoying. Worse, you won’t know how much until after you’ve bought the car (still a ridiculous situation).