hello everyone. my dad is in the process of purchasing a 335i sedan and is wondering whether to buy now or wait for the '08's to come in. reason being the paddle shifters. we will be getting an auto transmission because of the fact that my mom dosn't know how to drive a stick and my dad wants her to experience driving the bimmer to it's potential. but my dad would like to have the paddle shifters. as they have been discontinued for the 07 model year, i was wondering if anyone knows if BMW will be redesigning them and reintroducing them on the 08's. thanks alot in advance and i can't wait to get my hands on our first BMW.

just to mention, the BMW won over IMO it's only and very stiff competition, the g35 sedan sport PKG.

paddles are still available. My car is April production and I ordered them. There on the BMW site as well as an option

apparently they just discontinued them last week from what the salesman told me. i really didn't like the current somewhat cheap design anyways.

apparently they just discontinued them last week from what the sakesman told me. i really didn't like the current somewhat cheap design anyways.

I wouldn't trust him without independent confirmation. There hasn't been a hint of this anywhere else. He may be confused because the paddles are not an independent option. You can only get them with Step and Sport Pkg and they will come automatically if you order those two options.

I think a car with an automatic tranny is better off without paddle shifters, but thats just an opinion. Better to get your dad to teach her how to row the gears, or let her get her own car :)

Unfortunately not all salespeople know what they are talking about. I had one the bet me $20 that the rims I was looking at were 18" and not the 19's". I was right and copped the $20. I took it too because of his arogant attitude.

i also thought the guy didn't have his facts straight. so we called up bmw canada and as far as they know, the paddle shifters are still available and must be taken if you select the sport pkg and auto transmission. we test drove both the auto and manual versions and i, being a frim beleiver in manual transmission, even like the smoothness and responsiveness of the atuo tranny. i think the car even felt a touch quicker than the manual. i would have loved an smg option on the 3 but that's unfortunatly not an option. anways, i'm just awaiting a call back from bmw canada to confirm the paddle shifter topic and whether there will be any significant changes for the 08 model year.

f1fan99- my mom does have her own car(05 murano SE) and we have attempted to teach her to drive a stick in our mazda(which will be traded for the bimmer) but i think there is just too much power for her to handle with a manual box, especially in the winter.

First off, congrats on the choice! The 335i in any form is just a marvelous car to drive.

From what I know, the paddle shifters can still be ordered on the sedan as I considered ordering the sedan in the end of '06 and planned to order the '07 sedan with them... luckily I opted for the coupe and have been in love since.

Although I think you got your question answered, I think the shifters will be there. Why not? An inexpensive option people purchase and have few if any complaints with.

The paddle shifters are a novelty item imo. I never use them, but they were only $100.

alright so i just got off the phone with the sales rep and he double checked the bulletin that stated that the paddle shifters are discontinued for the sedans for the 07 model year. but they will be back for 08's. hopefully with a better design. i like the G35's paddle shifters, mainly the fact that they are magnesium, not plastic, and that on side shifts up while the other shifts down, not this double duty, thumb using nonsense. although i do like the fact that the bimmers shifters are connected to the steering wheel hence being able to change gears in mid turn.

I wonder if things are different in canadia?

there is a bulletin on 4/6 stating that there is an error ordering a car with nav, auto sport package and paddle shifters. then on 4/10 there was another bulletin stating that the problem was fixed. there wasn't anything since then... and if they are discontinued, why make it so you can order them?