All I can say is that manual transmissions rule!:thumbup:

Had you been half as neglectful with an automatic transmission...can you say $2k?

I don't think I'll ever buy a daily driver that's not manual transmission. Maybe if it's a leased weekend car (if I ever get to that point in life). But never an automatic in a car I know I'm gonna dog out on the highway or just running errands around town. Maintenance costs on the important stuff--transmission--is soooooo much more sensible. Even if you're a bad shifter and burn out your clutch, you can get a shadetree mechanic to put one in for like $300. Much better than someone asking you for $3000 to rebuild a 4-spd, Japanese-engineered transmission.