Question for Manual Drivers?

[Anonymous]

You'll be fine OP.

I used to drive manuals when I lived in London, but looking back, I don't know how I did it. Now, I'm an automatic only person.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been driving a manual in DC for 15+ years. No issues.

[Anonymous]

I chose a manual Audi A4, partly because I love driving a manual and partly so that I'll have one around to teach my teenagers to drive. Definitely not a lot of options for stick shift in that class. Subaru WRX is the other one I considered.

It's fine for my commute, which is a combination of suburban neighborhood, stoplights, and freeway during off-rush-hour times (not a ton of traffic). I don't think I'd enjoy it in 66/495 rush hour. It's the constant stop-and-creep that gets really annoying.

[Anonymous]

I recently owned an old manual Subaru Forester for hauling stuff and quick errands. I sold it during the pandemic because we were never driving it and I was sick of paying for it.

Such a fun ride in DC whenever it snowed.

If I buy another manual, it will be a weekend sports car (Corvette or Porsche). No way would I want a manual to be my daily driver in DC traffic.

[Anonymous]

It will take some practice OP to relearn your skills, especially when some dumbass stops right behind you on a hill at a traffic light leaving you no room to roll back a bit. But do get a manual before they disappear altogether.

[Anonymous]

Most of the world has driven manuals in cities. You'll be fine.

Do post here what you end up finding in terms of new or used manuals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm also looking for a new car with manual transmission. Slim pickings.

I think Audi has one or two.

Maybe a Mazda too?

+1 It is really hard to find a manual transmission these days, unless you special order from the factory or want a sports car, like a Mustang. I know that there are about 40 models that hypothetically come with stick shift, but many of these are not really available. For example, you can hypothetically buy a manual base Jeep Wrangler for about $29K, but the reality is that even before the current chip shortage, you could not find this vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Driving manual is really fun. I don't see it as an issue in city driving. The only time I hate it is in traffic in mountainous or hilly terrain, but that's not an issue at all here in DC.

We have a Jeep and a mazda that are manual. It was hard finding manual cars. Audis used to be manual, but no longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also looking for a new car with manual transmission. Slim pickings.

I think Audi has one or two.

Maybe a Mazda too?

+1 It is really hard to find a manual transmission these days, unless you special order from the factory or want a sports car, like a Mustang. I know that there are about 40 models that hypothetically come with stick shift, but many of these are not really available. For example, you can hypothetically buy a manual base Jeep Wrangler for about $29K, but the reality is that even before the current chip shortage, you could not find this vehicle.

NP. We got our manual Jeep last year. We actually flew to another state and drove it back. It wasn't hard to find a manual then, but manual + your preferred color/features was hard. They were willing to order whatever, but don't negotiate much on price on factory orders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also looking for a new car with manual transmission. Slim pickings.

I think Audi has one or two.

Maybe a Mazda too?

+1 It is really hard to find a manual transmission these days, unless you special order from the factory or want a sports car, like a Mustang. I know that there are about 40 models that hypothetically come with stick shift, but many of these are not really available. For example, you can hypothetically buy a manual base Jeep Wrangler for about $29K, but the reality is that even before the current chip shortage, you could not find this vehicle.

+1 Two of our three cars are manuals. There are very few models but you can actually get a good deal - even now - on a used car with a manual since so few people want one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will take some practice OP to relearn your skills, especially when some dumbass stops right behind you on a hill at a traffic light leaving you no room to roll back a bit. But do get a manual before they disappear altogether.

Really?

We rent a stick every few years or so on trips and are usually good to go right away. No need to “relearn” anything. May take time to adjust to a sensitive clutch or changing gears with left hand but generally it all works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also looking for a new car with manual transmission. Slim pickings.

I think Audi has one or two.

Maybe a Mazda too?

+1 It is really hard to find a manual transmission these days, unless you special order from the factory or want a sports car, like a Mustang. I know that there are about 40 models that hypothetically come with stick shift, but many of these are not really available. For example, you can hypothetically buy a manual base Jeep Wrangler for about $29K, but the reality is that even before the current chip shortage, you could not find this vehicle.

+1 Two of our three cars are manuals. There are very few models but you can actually get a good deal - even now - on a used car with a manual since so few people want one.

I don’t know about now but before pandemic manual cars were plentiful, new and used. I was looking for one in late 2019 and never had an issue with a dealership not having a manual version of Miata, Jeep, corvette, Camaro, Porsche, 86, bmw, to mention a few I test drove. Also, I don’t think used manual cars are any cheaper than automatic. Few people want them but also few people have them for sale

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also looking for a new car with manual transmission. Slim pickings.

I think Audi has one or two.

Maybe a Mazda too?

+1 It is really hard to find a manual transmission these days, unless you special order from the factory or want a sports car, like a Mustang. I know that there are about 40 models that hypothetically come with stick shift, but many of these are not really available. For example, you can hypothetically buy a manual base Jeep Wrangler for about $29K, but the reality is that even before the current chip shortage, you could not find this vehicle.

+1 Two of our three cars are manuals. There are very few models but you can actually get a good deal - even now - on a used car with a manual since so few people want one.

I don’t know about now but before pandemic manual cars were plentiful, new and used. I was looking for one in late 2019 and never had an issue with a dealership not having a manual version of Miata, Jeep, corvette, Camaro, Porsche, 86, bmw, to mention a few I test drove. Also, I don’t think used manual cars are any cheaper than automatic. Few people want them but also few people have them for sale

PP here we bought a used Mustang convertible a few years back and only around six of the roughly 250 available on cars.com and autotrader.com were manual.

[Anonymous]

I have a manual, have a longish (40-50 min) commute in traffic and it doesn't bother me at all. I really don't even notice it. But manuals are all I've ever driven since I got my license (25 years ago), with the exception of rental cars, so I might just be used to it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your commute is short I think you'll be fine with it. I used to drive an hour to Bethesda and it was kind of a pain.

The new Acura Integra will be released soon with a manual version.

Manual is a huge pain if you get stuck in traffic. I'm still traumatized by the Delaware toll backup (pre-ez pass I think) over the Susquahanna that I was in for hours. My foot was going to fall off.

+1 I hated getting stuck in traffic in my manual car.