I've only ever bought ONE new car, and it was a manual. So, 100% of the NEW cars I've bought have been stick?
Out of the 8 (7 used) cars total that I've bought in my car-buying life (15 years), 5 of them have been manual. My last 2 were automatics, simply because we are a one vehicle family, and my wife refuses to drive a stick. Unfortunately, my next one will also be an automatic. But that's because I'll be getting a truck, and you can't get a fullsize truck with a manual anymore. It's too bad, because if I could, I would.
So, I guess I'm not putting my money where my mouth is...
I buy all my vehicles new, with the exception of my wife's latest wagon, which I bought with 8000 km on it.
My first car, the 20V quattro coupe, was only available in manual and I wouldn't have bought it any other way. It was my grad present from my dad and I have never enjoyed one of my vehicles as much since that one. Other than that, my only other manual transmission was in my GTI.
In my defense, I would have bought my S4 wagon in a manual, but they were available in such limited quantities (I believe they brought 3 into Edmonton that model year) that I had to search high and low across the country to find a wagon and there were no manuals left to be bought. I waited too long to treat myself to that car - I thought about it for over a year. Had I bought it sooner, I would have been able to get the manual. Interestingly, when I traded it straight across for a new Odyssey (because our third child, unexpected on top of everything else, ruined my life!), the dealership network advised immediately that they were interested because they had several prospective buyers that were waiting for S4 wagons - but would only buy one if it was automatic. That surprised me as I often caught flak from other driving enthusiasts that my S4 wagon was an automatic. Yet, in the resale world, it got snapped up immediately BECAUSE it was an automatic - and fetched what was, in my opinion, a ridiculously high amount for resale value. (to be clear, I also ridiculously overpaid for this car in the first place) I was very surprised at the time of the trade-in as I thought I'd do much better selling privately, but walked away very happy - when it came to the money end of things.
On a final note, and this has completely derailed from talking about the G70 I reviewed here, the evening I brought in my S4 wagon and drove home the Honda Odyssey was the only time I shed a few tears over a vehicle. That was a rough night. This third kid better be worth it some day.
