And they’re less likely to be stolen too. 
The downside is that manual transmission cars will be more difficult to sell, unless they’re in a niche market as an “enthusiast’s car.”
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Correct! I told my daughter she has to drive it for 10+ years! 
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That would also alleviate concerns about odd shifters mentioned by someone in this thread. Unless you look at antique cars, manual transmissions generally have the usual H pattern, extended to >4 speeds if necessary. The only possible oddity is how to put it in reverse.
I drove a stick for 30 years, but I am all in on EVs now. Manual transmissions are old polluting technology. I won’t be buying another. We bought our 20 yr old a Ford C-Max plug in and will probably be looking at an EV for our D22. We still have a gas Honda Odyssey, but will probably get rid of that before too long. It gets taken out for a spin once or twice a month. Our Chevy Bolt is our daily driver. I have been looking a little on AutoTrader for EVs for D22, but I think we will wait a bit until this market corrects itself. We also might just hand down the Bolt and buy ourselves a new car.
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Will your D have a place to charge an EV? That seems to be a sticking point for young people right now who often are renters.
We are now a 2 PHEV family. The first one we kind of got by accident because it was cheaper then the hybrid version after the tax credit. I could see that 1 PHEV and 1 EV would work fine for us now - having 1 PHEV makes 500 mile drives a lot easier.
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My daughter’s apartment complex has chargers. The price is included in her garage rent. So not only does she save on gas, as long as she lives there she doesn’t have to pay for the electricity to charge her car either.
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Shouldn’t be too big of a problem with charging. There are a lot of chargers around here and both our kids know how to find them. There’s an app for that! My oldest works next to a Nissan dealer and can charge over there at lunch if needed. The C-Max doesn’t take very long to charge.
Have no idea where D22 might end up after college, but I don’t think it would be a problem to charge at her college.
Funny, I live in Minnesota and we’re in the market for a new-to-us car for the kids. Husband and I decided today that heated seats are non negotiable! Hahaha
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I’ll take a heated steering wheel over heated seats every day of the week.
My son is going to a college out of state (Midwest, we are living in CA). Is it a good idea to just buy a car in the midwest? We plan a campus visit in February.
What model did you buy? I am driving the 4th car of my life, and I’ve been driving it for 20 years and need a new one. All manuals. I LOVE it because it is less likely to be stolen. I may keep driving my old one but it needs a new catalytic converter and that would cost more than the value of the car. Otherwise, it’s great.
One of my kids can drive a manual. I told her to put it on her resume because she’s an engineer and is often doing site work. It is amazing how many males cannot drive a manual - like her boyfriend! He can’t drive her car. She gets crazy mad at him because he can’t take the dogs to the vet or go to the grocery store that is ‘uphill.’
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Most reliable vehicles by brand: (This article is dated 11/22/2021)
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Lexus–76
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Mazda–75
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Toyota–71
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Infiniti–69
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Buick, Honda, & Subaru tied = 66
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Acura–64
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Nissan–63
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Mini–60
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Hyundai–56
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Chyrsler–54
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Porsche–52
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Chevy–48
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Audi–47
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Cadillac–47
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BMW–45
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Ford–44
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Kia–43
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Volvo–42
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Ram–40
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GMC–37
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Mercedes-Benz–34
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VW–31
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Genesis–30
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Jeep–26
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Tesla–25
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Lincoln–18
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We got a 2017 Jeep Renegade. It’s been really wonderful so far! Good luck!
Just to follow up on my soon-to-expire lease, I was able to get a very good deal for a new car by using the spread in the current market price and the residual value for my old car. It wasn’t the complete spread, but I’m very happy.
As some posters pointed out, it’s not easy to do this because the leasing companies have restrictions on whether a third-party car can buy the leased vehicle. However, the stars sorta’ lined up for me, and I found a willing dealer with a great manager with whom I struck the deal.
One thing I would strongly suggest: see about getting a car broker to source a new car for you (lease or purchase) and to work on the trade-in. There are some really good folks in the Bay Area, and I am sure throughout the US and elsewhere that can do the same thing. The market is completely haywire, and it helps to have a good broker do this for you given their massive contacts in the auto industry. I had actually signed up a broker but was able to do a deal on my own.
This is definitely something to consider. If you have a current vehicle that you are thinking about getting rid of, this MAY BE a good time to do so, or, at the very least, to explore your options. There are more options than you might think. I’m not very picky about the car I drive, so that made it easier, as I had many makes and models that I could choose from. Hopefully, three years from now, the market will get some stability.
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I own more than one car with a manual transmission and have owned various MT’s since I was 16. I’m one of those car aficionado types.
And as long as they pass emissions inspections every 2 years here in CA, then I’ll keep occasionally driving them and polluting the air when the weather is nice.
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Manual transmissions do not work well with hybrids, and multi-speed transmissions are not worth the added complexity for EVs*, so they are not found there (other than the mediocre early Honda hybrids).
However, some non-hybrid non-electric vehicles offer manual transmissions in the lowest emissions class for such vehicles, so manual transmissions are not inherently more polluting within the scope of non-hybrid non-electric vehicles.
*Though they are sometimes left in place for EV conversions of old cars, for example: https://www.zelectricmotors.com/
I have only owned 4 cars in my life, and all 4 had/have manual transmissions. I prefer them. The other day driving my mother’s Honda CRV, I stamped the floor looking for the clutch (and I haven’t done that in a long time).
Went out looking for cars for my daughter and me today. She wants/needs a much bigger car than me to drive dogs around and to drive to the mountains for skiing. She’s finding that the price between a 2018-2021 is not that much different than a 2022, and the new car comes with the full warranty and all that.
I want a smaller car, just for the city. There is an Accord 2018 and it is only $3-4k less than a new one. I like the color of the old one better, but it is from Florida and no idea if it went through hurricanes or flooding or salt water issues.
I hate car shopping. Hate it. Last time I did it was 20 years ago.
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Seems like a Toyota Sienna van with AWD and 35mpg would have plenty of room for the dogs and AWD that can help in snowy mountains.
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Vans aren’t great mountain cars. She’s looking more at a VW Tigua or today found a Jeep Compass (and Jeep something else). We liked the Jeep salesman and the VW dealership is owned by the family of a girl she went to grade school with and the dad/owner was the basketball coach for 2 years - hoping for a ‘good friend’ discount. She’s much too cool for a ‘mom’ van (which in this market is just paying the MSRP and not a mark-up).
I’ve never seen a Sienna in Colorado where one or both sides of the rear bumper isn’t dented (usually from hitting a pole). Not enough damage to get fixed, just enough to look bad. Every last one of them.
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Your daughter may find the Subaru Outback Wilderness attractive for her needs (dogs & challenging terrain). All Outback Wildernesses have the same turbocharged engine. Plenty of power. Skid plates on the bottom of the car to protect the undercarriage from rocks & other rough terrain.
The Subaru Outbacks (86) are rated higher than the Toyota Sienna (77) suggested above & much higher than any Jeep model. Subaru Outbacks with the turbocharged engine are very hard to find, but they are well worth the effort. All Subaru Outback Onyx & all Subaru Outback Wilderness have turbocharged 4 cylinder engines (260 horsepower). Lots of ground clearance. Travel well in snow, mud, rocks, & rough terrain. All are AWD (all wheel drive). Very comfortable, solid, utilitarian vehicles. 2022 is the first year for the Wilderness version & the second year for the Onyx version of the Outback. Incredible vehicles.
We tried to place a deposit on an incoming Outback Wilderness today–actually yesterday–but were too late for the vehicle that is expected in February.
Both the Outback Onyx & the Outback Wilderness are very comfortable & fairly upscale vehicles. Classified as a “midsized SUV” by Consumer Reports. The Subaru Outback is the top ranked vehicle in its class by Consumer Reports & by Motor Trend.
Unfortunately, there are no discounts on turbocharged Subaru Outbacks (Onyx , Wilderness, & Touring XT (not regular Touring)versions of the Outback all have the turbocharged engine). We paid a premium & are now actively seeking to buy a Wilderness , but still cannot find one that is available.
The Toyota Sienna has a new version this year = Woodland Special Edition which has AWD (all wheel drive). The technology / infotainment touch screen is easy to use in the Toyota Siena.
The Subaru Outback gets a higher (better) crash test rating than does the Toyota Siena. The Jeep Renegrade crash test rating is higher than Toyota Siena, but lower than all Subaru models including the top rated Outback, Ascent, Crosstrek, Forester, etc. (Subaru has the highest safety ratings & highest resale value.)
Subaru Outback Wilderness ground clearance = 9.5 inches.
Jeep Renegade ground clearance = 6.7 inches regular / 7.9 inches on the four wheel drive version.
Jeep Wrangler = 8.3 inch ground clearance, but the Rubicon model clears 10.8 inches.
The Jeep Gladiator Mojave has a ground clearance of 11.6 inches.
Jeep Grand Cherokee = 8.6 inches of ground clearance.
Ground clearance for a Toyota Sienna is just 6.4 inches. The Toyota Sienna Woodland Special Edition has 6.9 inches of ground clearance.
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