<p>My son’s 1997 Honda Accord may be on its last leg. He is in medical school 2 1/2 hours from our home and comes home every so often and was home this weekend. He called from the road about an hour into his trip home to say he had lost 5th gear; his car is manual transmission. Next call was he was heading to campus and his car died in the middle of the street; luckily he was back in town so a friend could come retrieve him. AAA towed the car to the repair shop he has used in the past and they are looking at the car now. We called our mechanic here at home that we have used for 22 years; he said if it is the clutch to go ahead and replace it, but if it is the transmission, we might not want to fix it. We have been putting a bit of money in this car over the last couple of year due to an oil leak issue and something else that as the wife I don’t know what that was!!</p>
<p>I believe his car has 120,000 miles on it and we bought it used exactly 10 years ago for his 16th birthday. The car has given us all that we could expect and we knew the time was coming to replace it; we were just hoping to wait a bit longer. It is no longer worth him driving this car with break downs a big possibility, especially when he is traveling on the road. If he were in his city only, I wouldn’t worry so much.</p>
<p>While we would love to buy used again, but he needs a car ASAP and with him being out of town and us not having a ton of time to look, we figured a new with 0% financing and rebates would be better for us. We are looking at either the Honda Accord again or the Civic, and the Toyota’s Camry or Corolla. I am thinking that Toyota might be willing to deal a bit more due to the current recall. My hope was that they would sell us a car and get the recall done as soon as the parts were available which I heard this morning would be the end of the week. I might be totally wrong about Toyota being willing to negotiate more, but I will try just the same!</p>
<p>My husband would rather my son go with the larger of the two models-the Accord or the Camry as he feels my son would be happier down the road with the larger car. It seems that the smaller models are similar in size to my son’s Accord and the new Accord is larger. My son wants what ever is the cheapest so that he will have money to get Lasik surgery this summer! Last we spoke, my husband was thinking he would buy this last car for son as his own father paid for his car during medical school. I am hoping that son’s loan money can cover some of the payment, even if just the down payment. </p>
<p>Anyone have a recent Honda or Toyota with manual transmission? Any likes and dislikes I should think about? Trying to buy a car in a few days is not what I want to do, but I will do what I have to do. We can always have him rent a car for a week or two and it might be the easiest thing to do to allow us more time to find what we want.</p>
<p>Hmmm, I see two questions here … (1) is the current car worth fixing?; and (2) if it isn’t worth fixing what would be a good replacement? Regards (1) a quick internet search turned up no wide-spread issues with the '97 Honda 5-speed manual transmission, so perhaps that’s not a major issue. The engine quitting may also be something relative simple since “the car just died.” Regardless, I think you’ve done all you can until you get the mechanic’s assessment. Regards (2) I really think it’s appropriate for your son to decide what kind of car best suits his needs. I’d take a Mazda 6 over the Accord or Camry … but that’s just me. Good luck!</p>
<p>H. just bought Lexus that had an option to be switched to manual (unless I totally misunderstood him). We never buy new. It is small though. He bought it in a hurry also. Price was reasonable. I like German cars better. Would you consider German vs Toyota/Honda.</p>
<p>If I had to buy a car <em>this week</em> I would walk next door to my local independent used car dealer. </p>
<p>He’s got awesome cars at good deals and I have been very happy with the three cars I have bought from him in the last 2 years. (We have 4 cars – one from the Infiniti dealer and three from Marty)</p>
<p>I have no idea if there are other used car dealers like him in the world … we’re in a gold coast sort of town and he gets some real gems, usually from the local new car dealers where the car in question is the wrong brand for them to hold onto.</p>
<p>We are looking at VW Jetta and the Nissan Sentra, but I think we will most likely got with Honda or Toyota. We have been very pleased with his current Honda as has my mechanic. The goal is to have a car that is easy to repair when needed as far as being able to get parts and the cost of the repairs. Because we don’t know where our son will be after he finishes medical school, I want to make sure he doesn’t end up with a repair that can not be handled easily if he is in a smaller town.</p>
<p>My husband is a car person and we have not had a new car in our house in over 10 years. I think he is excited to be able to buy a new car, even if it is for our son instead of himself!!</p>
<p>I wish it were easy to come up with a used car, but we have searched online and with CarMax and finding a manual, 4 cylinder car with the mileage we want is not easy. A few dealers has a car, but the price was almost as much as a new car!</p>
<p>NewHope-the Mazda 6 was on the list also; I don’t remember why we removed it, or moved it down the list.</p>
<p>The Corolla actually has quite a bit of room in it for the size car it is. Go ahead and sit in the front and back and you might be surprised. The trunk also has quite a bit of room.</p>
<p>You might be right on the ‘dealing’ aspect but you also need to see if they’re even able to sell it to you for immediate receipt of the car. I thought they weren’t permitted to sell them at the moment until they get them fixed - actually I believe they were forced to quit selling until fixed.</p>
<p>We had what we thought was the clutch died on our 11 yo, 140k Honda CR-V. Turns out it was the slave cylinder for the clutch (for you CarTalk afficionados) and it only cost us $250 instead of $1800.</p>
<p>We’ve had an Accord and a CR-V (both stick shifts) and this was the first time we’ve ever had a clutch issue. We had clutches die on a Mazda at 103k and on a Chevette at 76k.</p>
<p>We have been looking at Corolla/Camry vs. Civic/Accord vs. Prius and hybrids, and if you aren’t looking for the bells and whistles, the larger car sans nav system, sunroof, etc. are about the same as the smaller car with more stuff.</p>
<p>Costco and USAA also have car buying agreements that can save some $$.</p>
<p>I also heard they were not selling the cars, but I will find out tonight when we go look. Just got the phone call that it is the transmission; around $2,500 to repair and the clutch needed something also. The car is no longer worth $2,500 so out it goes! </p>
<p>The Corolla is what we are looking at assuming we can find one with a stick on the lot. Actual, we are finding that the manual transmission cars are not sitting on the lots for any of the above cars. We will most likely have to get it from the port, but that usually only takes a few days. If we have to rent a car for a week or 2 we will. Son says he is ok without a car this week, yet when I just told him he needed to go empty out the car, he said he was too busy studying and didn’t want to bother a friend to take him to the shop.</p>
<p>My guess is we will go with the Corolla or Civic if we are buying new. Honda does not have a rebate right now, but I think if I understood correctly, if you go with the 0% financing, you can’t get the rebate anyway; at least one manufacturer showed that.</p>
<p>I heard an interview with a Toyota dealership manager and she said that their maintenance staff will be open 24 hours a day when the pedals come in. I need a routine service soon and want to beat the pedal recall as it will most likely be a zoo at dealerships for a while. I also don’t want a mechanic that’s working 12-hour shifts.</p>
<p>The pedal fix that they have right now sounds like a bit of a hack to me (though hacks often work just fine). I’m hoping that they do a proper engineering solution in the next model year.</p>
<p>I found the Corolla to be small - if I’m in the front with my son, we have the seats pushed all the way back leaving little room for anyone in the back seat. The Camry is a pretty big car but I don’t know if they have it in a manual.</p>
<p>My current Avalon which I love has 190,000 miles on it and runs fine. I do not like the current models. I have been looking at the Accord and the “cheap” Acura (it starts at $30K) as an additional car. My previous two cars were German and they got 190K and 225K miles on them before I sold them. I have a friend with 225K on his Acura Integra (basically a really nice Civic) and is looking at a newer car. 120,000 miles isn’t much on an Accord. I’ve replaced clutches on older cars and it’s not a big deal though it can cost quite a bit. Engine stuff is a pain because there are all sorts of things that can cause problems. Routine maintenance is the best insurance against oil leaks.</p>
<p>I think that one of my big items is the quality of maintenance services. I need to have a place where I can get appointments easily and where the mechanics are very good. Extra hours at night are a plus as are loaners and a shuttle to/from work. Toyota has done an outstanding job for me with my current car. I do feel that they let quality slip in the 2004-2007 period and that they are trying to get back on track with quality and reliability. It’s obvious that they have additional work to do.</p>
<p>I’m curious as to what they find on the Accord. I would likely have it fixed up if I were in the same position but that’s because I hate shopping for cars.</p>
<p>Well, that’s a pretty big expense. Did they have any clue as to why it went? 120K is pretty young for a transmission to go.</p>
<p>Why the preference for a manual transmission? I think that 5-speed automatics are competitive with manual transmissions for fuel economy. I loved driving a manual when I was younger and they’re good for a lot of highway driving but they can be miserable in the city in stop and go traffic. They can also be rough on older knees.</p>
<p>I don’t know the current pricing and we do have automatics, but we have 2 Honda Civics, 1 regular, 1 hybrid. They have given us no trouble, get great mileage and are quite roomy, even the trunk. My S is 6’2" with long legs and he is very comfortable in the cars. He can even have passengers in the back seat without them chewing their knees!</p>
<p>We have a manual Matrix that we bought new in 2003, and apart from a persistent minor electrical problem that the dealer never has the part in stock to fix it has been great (and cheap, and no sticky acceleration).</p>
<p>Re used cars – Remember, Cash For Clunkers just sucked all the supply out of the used car market, and over a year into the recession the rental car companies and corporate fleets aren’t throwing off as many used cars. You should expect used cars to be scarce and expensive. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if new cars are, relatively, a better deal right now.</p>
<p>We are working on autotrader now; the problem is I can not drive a stick and my husband has next to no time this week to go look at used cars all over the city. If my son were in town it would be easier, but basically we are getting him a car without him seeing it. He knows what each model looks like, he just won’t be around to see the actual car we get. Being that he is in medical school, he isn’t going to spend the time looking where he is either; although we are both shopping online.</p>
<p>I have already been in contact with Costco to find out the dealers in my area; of course non of the dealers around the corner are on the Costco list, but we will still go look. I hate that I am going to have car salesmen calling me all day tomorrow; I made the mistake and gave them my cell number along with my home number!</p>
<p>I was wrong on the mileage; he had 138,000. I do not know what was wrong with the transmission, but I know my local mechanic say it was a possibility from what my husband told him. This car has been maintained well by our mechanic, at least when the car was here for regular maintenance. While in college and medical school my son took the car to other repair shops, so I can not say it has always had the care the other cars we own have had. The problem with the oil is something we have been dealing with for the last 2 years. I again can’t tell you exactly what the problem was, but the guys have had it under control along with our mechanic. I trust him and he told us this morning if it was the transmission to go ahead and dump the car. For him to say that is huge! We only got a price from the shop the car was towed to and we feel confident that they know what they are doing. Our home mechanic this morning said it would run around $2,000-$2,500, just what this shop quoted us.</p>
<p>We are big fans of ‘newer’ used cars. So much $$ is lost on new vehicles–considerabe depreciation just for driving it off the lot. If you could used find a car that suits you with few miles and utilize the remaining factory warranty, you’d have the best of both worlds. Good luck!</p>
<p>When my sister went to buy her Accord and said she was looking for a manual transmission they looked at her in shock. They told her no one buys an Accord with manual. They had to do a search for her. She recently replaced that Accord with a Lexus. At age 58 it is her first automatic.
My friend just recently found herself in a similar situation. She ended up with a 2 yr old Nissan Altima. She has been very happy. She looked at Toyota and Honda but found her best deals could be had on the Nissan.</p>
<p>When we got our last Accord it took some hunting down to find a manual transmission, too. You should have seen the sales rep when I asked if the Odyssey came with a stick shift! :D</p>
<p>Why do you want a manual transmission? Last time I drove my H’s car with manual transmission I was in stop and go traffic for over an hour and my knees were hurting so bad I haven’t touched his car since.
I am told that the mileage between a manual vs. automatic is negligible and the resale value may be lower.</p>
<p>For those of us who like to drive a manual transmission, piloting a car with an automatic transmission isn’t driving at all. I lose concentration when driving an automatic (something along the lines of texting, eating, and putting on makeup while driving). AND, it is fun to drive a manual.</p>
<p>My 1995 Camry with approx 190K miles on it, is currently in hospice (parked outside the house). We could live with the dents and the growing ‘funkiness’, but when the air bags deployed, that was the sign that the end was near. Who knew the expense is high to replace air bags.</p>
<p>S1 was looking for a used manual Honda Civic, but ended up buying a used manual Mitsubishi Eclipse.</p>
<p>Manual transmission for me isn’t about the mileage – it’s about the control, especially in snow. I <em>like</em> driving a stick. It’s also good to be able to drive a stick when one is the designated driver and driving someone else’s vehicle (which happened to me a number of times in college). My college BF and my H also thought it was hot that I taught them to drive stick. :D</p>