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I haven't been paying much attention to what are still stick shifts but I seem to see Subarus with stick shifts (probably pre cvt tranny). Other than that it's performance oriented cars like some bmws and oddballs like early Audi tt (which are almost exclusively manual) that I have seen. Also audi S4, S5.My son is 2 weeks away from getting his permit.
I have been actively seeking out MT vehicles for a few reasons:
-I prefer MT, and since my commute went from 37 miles on I-5 in soul-crushing Seattle traffic to a 7 minute back-roads drive, I can now get a MT again
-Many, Many of the newer vehicles I am looking at (2007-2015) have automatic transmissions with a bad reputation but the rest of the vehicle is solid. This seem to begin when manufacturers moved out of 4AT and into CVTs and more than 4 gear automatics...
-Less likely to be stolen.
-Might force my son to focus on the driving, as it demands involvement.
-I have noticed MT versions of vehicles are slightly less expensive, and I feel if I pursue one I might be able to negotiate further savings...
So far, I have been very interested in the newer Accords with the 6MT (well, 2008 and up, I guess that's new to me), I have found a few Nissan Frontier 4WD V6 trucks with 6MT....
Getting a 10 year old vehicle with over 100K on it is a daunting search, vehicle prices are still too high, but by going with MT I can reduce the maintenance costs and probably get a good deal
It'd be nice to find something new enough that it has all the airbags, including curtains....
Re reliability on tranny just depends on 2 things: who built it, and was it maintained well. Some brands are notorious for bad auto trannies and a few are known to be long lived. Have had several autos with over 200k on original tranny but they were maintained properly. Have one right now with 366k on original tranny (Toyota) and shifts literally like new. It has been well maintained.