Getting extremely frustrated while searching for a car.

[nsl]

Was shopping crossovers and such, but after deciding that I would't be happy with 99% of the ones out there, so I've turned my attention to Japanese 2 door or 2 seat puddle jumpers with a manual trans, and non-***** color.
I'll add that there are a few 4 door or hatchbacks on the list, too.
Anyway, should be a simple task since I'm within 20 miles of the capitol city of my state, and that's were a large amount of car dealers are, but they just simply don't have what I'm interested in.
It's not that they are selling like hotcakes,it's just that the dealers just aren't getting them in.
On my main list to test drive are;
2019 Mazda Miata RF and regular convertible
2019 Toyota 86
2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback
2019 Civic Si Coupe
A few are around, but most are in terrible colors and in auto trans.
Getting frustrated as I need a new car soon.

 

[armorer951]

You might check to see if there is a Subaru dealer in your area. Some of their sedans and wagons still offer manual transmissions.

 

[chief38]

Are the Dealers in your area not willing to order or swap with another Dealer to get you what you want? If so, time to let your fingers do your shopping on your computer keyboard! I'd bet there are Dealers outside your local area who would be happy to locate a car that you want.

I only had manual transmissions in my vehicles up until 1992 when they stopped building them into the vehicles I wanted to drive. Although I had to bite the bullet on that, I do miss them. That said, the vehicles I like (full sized SUV's) just do not come with manual tranny's anymore. these days I have gotten use to the automatic transmissions and since there is nothing I can do about my choice, I've sort of stopped caring. They won.

 

[URIT]

Wow, the list of new cars with manual transmissions has shrunk quite a bit since the last time I looked in 2012.

I looked hard at a new Honda Civic but made the mistake of testing a used 2005 Infinity G35 Coupe. Needless to say, I knew it was the superior choice. I still have the car and get it serviced at a Nissan dealership where the mechanic tries his best to get me to sell it to him.

I got curious and searched the internet for "used cars with manual transmission" and found plenty of surprising choices if a used car was a consideration. CarMax seemed to have a huge choice in their multi-dealer system.

Well, good luck on your search.

 

[nsl]

You might check to see if there is a Subaru dealer in your area. Some of their sedans and wagons still offer manual transmissions.

Kind of like some Subaru's, but I'll admit I'm kind of scared of their reliability, and there are not many dealers around.
With Toyota and Honda, there are several dealers, and one of each about 10 miles from my house.
Local Honda place was great when it came to having the Civic I had serviced.

 

[Doug M.]

Older Subarus (pre-2010) had head gasket problems, but that has been addressed. My 2011 Legacy is over 160K miles and has had no major trouble except the clutch heading south at about 140K. It's look paid for and I plan to run it until it dies on the side of the road unless something changes. It still doesn't use oil, etc.

 

[LVSteve]

The OP is somewhat reticent about his/her location, but I suspect the lack of choice is a reflection of the local customer base with his choices being "off the wall".

 

[Farmer17]

I use auto trader and type in the color I want, transmission, features, etc. and it will pull up all dealers in a 200 mile radius that have what I want without wasting time. I might even type in preowned because I’ve heard manual transmissions have worse resale so you might find a car that’s like brand new that’s quite a bit cheaper.

 

[billwill]

How about that car vending machine? Anybody seen one? If you pay attention to TV adds, it would appear that everybody is buying a car on their phone in their bunny slippers

 

[amazingflapjack]

Go drive a Mazda CX-5 with the all wheel turbo.

 

[DWalt]

How about that car vending machine? Anybody seen one? If you pay attention to TV adds, it would appear that everybody is buying a car on their phone in their bunny slippers

They have a Carvana here in town, but I have only driven by it. It's not a vending machine, just a fancy parking garage for purchased cars waiting for new owners to pick them up. Seems to me to be just another hokey gimmick to jack up the price. I drove mainly manual transmission vehicles for most of my life until about 2004. I would never go back to using a stick shift.

 

[nicky4968]

When they decided I should select the gear on my motorcycle with my foot and not my hand, the whole world went to pot.

 

[LVSteve]

When they decided I should select the gear on my motorcycle with my foot and not my hand, the whole world went to pot.

Dang! That wasn't yesterday or the day before.

 

[chief38]

I would BET that a Manual Transmission NOW costs the car company's more money than Automatic ones do. It's simply a matter of quantity! Even though an Automatic Tranny might be much more complicated and contain more parts, most are assembled in China where labor is cheap! The once in a blue moon Manual is more of an inconvenience to them than anything else and so they are well on their way to discontinue them.

I would bet that MANY of the Manuals come in basic cheap cars with little to no optional equipment and are sold in foreign countries where people are not use to the luxurious models we get here.

That said, I'd be more than happy to buy a Manual if I could get one in something like a Yukon or Escalade. Ha - I'll never see that again!

 

[Jack Flash]

When I was younger I always preferred manual trannies. When I bought a new '95 pickup, I ordered the four speed manual. In short order I regretted that choice. As Road and Track has said, I got tired of "rowing" my way through traffic. Twenty-four years later everything I drive has an automatic and I am delighted.

I read some years ago that Mercedes did an auto vs. manual test for gas mileage and performance. They found that only the very best drivers could beat the auto with the manual, and just barely at that. Most drivers using a manual left it in the wrong gear too long, shifted inefficiently when they did change gears, (or even picked the wrong gear), etc.

Funny story:
Way back when my Grandpa was in his eighties, he wanted to buy a new car. He had been driving cars since the 1910s, and they all had manual transmissions. He wanted a four door sedan that could pull a trailer, but everything he looked at had an automatic trans. He actually considered buying a Pontiac Trans Am to get the right engine / trans combination! We all got quite a laugh out of that.

 

[moosedog]

My wife and I bought a Volkswagen and found the quality and service equal to or sometimes better than our Hondas.

 

[Cardboard_killer]

My current car is the first automatic I've owned. I wish I had chosen differently. They put so many gears in cars these days to save fuel that I feel like my car is always searching for a different gear. I want to control what gear I'm in, not the soon to be hacked computer chip under the hood.

 

[stonehorses]

We have had three Subarus. The 06 turbo 5MT Baja was sold at 130k, 15 Forester XT sold at 56k, needed a new tow vehicle. Currently own a base 17 WRX 6MT. None of them had reliability or oil leak issues.
The Subaru BRZ is a cousin to the Toyota 86. The 2019 Crosstrek and Impreza 5 door are available in MT.
PM me if I can answer any questions.

 

[pharmer]

I had 2 different Chevy S-10's with 4.3 and 5 speed, 1995-2010. Never again, manual trans was for a time when left lane was for passing and stoplights weren't 50 yards apart. If'n I can't get there from here I don't want to work too hard doing it. Joe

 

[mauser9]

Choosing the car not a problem for me. Something to do with actual spending cash. The car would be a new Challenger R/T to replace the 70 model I owned eons ago! Now that I wish I still had!!!