Why do people buy manuals these days ?

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I've had a few auto cars on the trot and was convinced that I would never buy another manual. That view was firmly supported by an afternoon spent in a manual version of my car. Decent car, new, just much more "work" to drive and hardly a sports car where I could see the desire to become more involved.

I know manuals can deliver better mpg but some of these new ones seem to make a convincing argument on that front as well. There is some up front cost I acknowledge, though somewhat mitigated by the extra received when selling.

My guess is that people simply haven't driven a modern automatic.

vikingaero

Depends on where you live. Walk down some London streets and I'm surprised at the number of ordinary cars that I expect to be manuals are automatics.

I have a choice of manual or automatic and I choose which car to drive depending on where I'm going and whether it involves congestion. But I agree with you. I drive more in the auto than the manual.

On MSE motoring whenever someone posts up "Which automatic car should I buy?" you get the same old bleaters who tell people to buy a manual.

rev_henry

vikingaero wrote: »

Depends on where you live. Walk down some London streets and I'm surprised at the number of ordinary cars that I expect to be manuals are automatics.

I have a choice of manual or automatic and I choose which car to drive depending on where I'm going and whether it involves congestion. But I agree with you. I drive more in the auto than the manual.

On MSE motoring whenever someone posts up "Which automatic car should I buy?" you get the same old bleaters who tell people to buy a manual.

Talking of which its worth mentioning that almost all London cabbies drive autos.

My car at present is a manual because most secondhand small cheap hatchbacks are manuals, but when looking to buy I wasn't fussed whether it was auto or manual, unless the auto guzzled fuel. I've never driven an auto, but my perfect car in a few years time almost certainly will be auto.

Rolandtheroadie

I enjoy changing gear.

Flying-High_2

I've always had Mostly Manuals.... except when I was living in London and the traffic on the way home was a nighmare..No traffic on way in as was in work for 5AM... Had a Auto Cavllier as a Point and Squirt car and it made the journery so much more tolerable than the Golf GTi I was using before.

And had a Auto C Class.. which was what the ex wanted.

tomstickland

I'd always choose a manual. I enjoy having things to do.

jase1

As a buyer of second-hand cars, I am disinclined to buy cars that suffer as a result of the previous owners' driving styles.

As a result I have never bought a common-rail diesel (far too prone to turbo failure if people shuffle around in 5th gear at 30mph, and expensive to fix if filled with petrol), and have no intention of buying a hybrid any time soon.

For the same reason I prefer manuals to automatics. Too many automatic owners sit for prolonged periods with their foot on the brakes at junctions, often for minutes at a time. On torque-converter autos this is a bad idea when it comes to long-term reliability. Automatics are also more prone to failure generally than manuals, and when they do fail they tend to require more expensive repairs or replacements.

That, coupled with the higher fuel consumption, puts me off. The cars also tend to be more expensive to buy second hand.

johnnyroper

jase1 wrote: »

As a buyer of second-hand cars, I am disinclined to buy cars that suffer as a result of the previous owners' driving styles.

As a result I have never bought a common-rail diesel (far too prone to turbo failure if people shuffle around in 5th gear at 30mph, and expensive to fix if filled with petrol), and have no intention of buying a hybrid any time soon.

.

obviously you will not expect to do much trade in diesels then unless old bangers?
why would a common rail be more prone to turbo failure than a conventional injection pump?? the turbo does the same thing no matter how the jungle juice is put in cylinders.

as for the OP question i much prefer a clutch and cogs as i like to change gear when it suites me,however for motorway mile munchers and in congested cities i can see a reason to have one.

esuhl

I don't drive any more, but I feel much more in control with a manual transmission.

jase1

johnnyroper wrote: »

obviously you will not expect to do much trade in diesels then unless old bangers?
why would a common rail be more prone to turbo failure than a conventional injection pump?? the turbo does the same thing no matter how the jungle juice is put in cylinders.

It may well not be -- but anecotal evidence from work colleagues (and the enormous pile of horror stories on the internet) suggests that more of these cars go bang after a few years than don't. Especially Renaults and Nissans it would seem.

I was under the impression though that these engines are under much higher pressure -- so ancillary components, of which the turbo is one of the more expensive, are all more likely to blow (contamination due to failures further down the line).

The Mazda 6 seems to be particularly hilarious -- one work colleague managed to cause NINE THOUSAND POUNDS worth of damage to his car within the warranty period, when the car started to run on its lubricant. Runaway engine, just about everything trashed.

The DMFs put into these cars seem to be a major problem as well.

Upshot -- no, I don't expect to do much trade in diesels. Even the TDCi130 Mondeo I took out for test drive managed to break down within the first five miles :rotfl:

goldspanners

apart from the extra cost to buy,there is the extra cost when things go wrong.
a manual gearbox second hand is easy enough to find for most run of the mill cars,but when your auto box goes wrong it usually means dealer only new parts and a trip to the local auto box specialist,who usually isn't too local.

that said new autos are usually clutchless manuals,this is why you get better fuel economy than thier full manual version and much better than older autos.

personally i don't mind changing gear,im not that lazy yet that i need a computer to change my gear for me.