Originally Posted by newbb
I've read lots of forums and articles about this topic but all they say is basically this
AUTO : easy, convenience driving, like city life etc.
MANUAL : good mpg, fun, more control, cheaper, bad trade-in value etc.
but I heard this too that
manual : require clutch and some part of tranny replacement pretty often, but not too expensive tho.
auto : replace only brake pads once in a while but if tranny goes wrong it costs over $1000.
I need to pick between manual and auto very soon for another honda or acura. can someone tell me the maintenance wise pros&cons of these two?
thanks
Good question!
Personally, I would tend to say that the manual will be cheaper in the long run
if you know how to drive it properly and don't abuse the clutch and gearbox. However, if you're new to it or you suck at it, the automatic may end up being cheaper. My automatic died at 150k miles and I replaced it with a 33k old used example from Ebay for about $900 installed...at 179k miles (62k tranny miles) it's running perfect, especially after I just changed my tranny fluid.
I guess it all breaks even, as there's always the chance of an auto tranny failure requiring total replacement. If I were you, I'd drive both and see which one you prefer and not worry about maintenance costs - they're probably about even.
Which specific model are you looking at? Some models have more reliable transmissions than others.
jobrien: resale value for automatics is much higher.