Question about buying a car with cash

[disneysteve]

Looks muscular.

Yeah, they're much sportier looking than they used to be.

[AJSimon]

A related question - if I wanted to buy a new car with a manual transmission, and the ones at the dealership are all autos, can I request they call the factory and have them build one out and ship it over?

[disneysteve]

A related question - if I wanted to buy a new car with a manual transmission, and the ones at the dealership are all autos, can I request they call the factory and have them build one out and ship it over?

If the make and model you want offers a manual transmission option, yes, you can special order one.

I believe less than 15% of models have a manual option and I think actual sales of manuals is down around 5% of all sales. Special ordering one is probably the only way you're going to find one.

[kork13]

A related question - if I wanted to buy a new car with a manual transmission, and the ones at the dealership are all autos, can I request they call the factory and have them build one out and ship it over?

They're difficult to come by. I'm only willing to buy a manual transmission for myself (they're just more enjoyable/interesting/engaging to drive), and I've generally found that the only options available to you (in the US) will be sport (or sport-derived) cars, certain base-model economy-class cars, or sometimes a small truck/SUV... Oh, and the Jeep Wrangler. I've currently got a VW Golf, previously had a Honda Civic Si, and DW previously had a Hyundai Elantra...all manual transmissions. That's pretty representative of the options available to you/us. But yes, if your preferred car has a manual option available, you CAN special order it through the dealer. Just be prepared to accept that you may not be able to get much of a deal on it, being a special order.

[AJSimon]

I've currently got a VW Golf, previously had a Honda Civic Si, and DW previously had a Hyundai Elantra...all manual transmissions.

Of those three, which did you find was the most reliable in terms of not breaking down?

[kork13]

Of those three, which did you find was the most reliable in terms of not breaking down?

Actually none of them ever broke down, had big issues, or really have any problems at all -- I'd readily recommend any one of them (though my favorite is definitely the Golf).

DW's Elantra (2007) was sold to her sister in 2016, who still drives it daily, and to my knowledge it's not had a single big repair... Just regular maintenance, tires, etc. Same story with my 2006 Civic, never had a problem with it until I moved overseas in 2010 & sold it to a friend, who still drives it today with no problems. My 2012 Golf TDI was part of VW's Diesel-gate scandal, so they bought that back from me in 2017 & I replaced it with the 2017 Golf TSI (gasser). It's only a few years old, but no repairs besides regular maintenance.