Technical Does a manual transmission hurt the value of your ride?

As someone who enjoys shifting a transmission as opposed to letting it have a mind of it's own. I have wondered as to the affect it has on the value of ones ride if you were to sell it.
Many people today have no idea how to shift a manual transmission, and if it's a column shift, it is also a theft deterrent!
So tell me, and the rest of the H.A.M.B. community your feelings on this subject.
Thanks, KK

 

As a over generalization it's not a deduction in value, its the base line & probably with a 3 speed.
4 a little more, 5 a bit more, then the autos with OD being most popular.

It all depends on the buyer though and what they want. Of course whatever it has in it will be wrong for negotiating purposes.

 

Hot rods should have 3 pedals.. However I'm building one now with only 2.. What do I know...

 

If it does not have three pedals I won't look at it. For my self that is. First thing I taught my wife was to drive standard shift. I would not own an automatic hot rod! Not concerned about value. If a person does not want standard shift they should not buy one of my cars anyway.

 

Why would it hurt the value of your car? Well unless your car is an 85 Dodge minivan.

If you are going to sell your are it will sell to the person who wants it and that person if it has a stick is going to be someone who wants a stick.

 

Kind of with Beano on this one. When your selling anything, the right buyer is the key to getting the best price.
31 Vicki has a point too. Whatever it is, a wiley buyer will use it as a minus as far as negotiation is concerned. LOL

 

Must help because when I sold my '34 with 4 speed the guy said it was exactly what he was looking for.
Then he paid someone to put an automatic in it.
Go figure ???

 

Depends on the car. Muscle car, 4 speed = more desirable, premium price. For most cars, manual trans is very hard to sell and goes cheap. In the case of a hot rod it could go either way. Manual trans might be a little slower to sell but price should be practically the same.

 

There are buyers for both automatic & manual transmission cars,some cars are just natural stick shift cars,big luxury cars generally are automatics. HRP

 

Tough one because it really does depend on the car as was mentioned above. I know a 41 Cadillac with a stick sells faster because the car runs better than the old slush box version. Many were automatics but the stick is desired last time I was talking about those. A GTO with an auto? Hard sell, lower price, same with an early Vette. A hot rod? I love the bravado about 3 pedals or else, but if we admit it to that asshole over the top of our bathroom sinks an auto OD is sometimes a welcome addition. Wives and girlfriends can drive em easy enough, that stick may not be in the way of your leg room, especially on a long trip if you shift position in the seat as you go simply for comfort. Even some bigger trucks like diesel duallys, a stick version has a specific use in mind. Generally an automatic works best. Now if you were to tell us the car in question maybe the topic will get better legs. I don't know if there was ever one built, but a 65 Riviera Gran Sport with dual quads and a 4 spd would seem like heaven on styled steel wheels Just sayin...

 

In the Good Ol' Days all performance rides were standard shift. Powerless Glides and Slush-O-Matics were for little old ladies. Today a good 4L60 or 700R4 will be several tenths quicker. It all comes down to how you like to drive and then build it to suit you. It will not be hard to find a buyer for any quality built car.

 

that's only true in VERY fast cars and for people who don't know how to shift quickly.

I'll take a stick shift (4 or more speeds) over auto in any HOT ROD and leave the autos for customs.

 

Not when it comes to HAMB friendly vehicles and muscle cars. As many have previously stated, stick cars generally pull a premium.

 

I don't think it makes ANY difference at all, people do, and buy, what THEY want. There's a LOT of people out there that would be completely lost if they got behind the wheel of a manual trans car. My wife won't even CONSIDER trying to learn how to drive a stick (she won't learn to swim either), my daughter wanted a stick and had a couple; now she's leaning towards the automatics. I have BOTH. The DD truck is a transamatic automission, the Delivery a 4 speed, the 51 Coupe an automatic as that's what the nephew wanted (but I've collected everything to swap it to a 4 speed), and the Bracket Car an automatic. I sort of look at electronic fuel injection the way i look at transamatic automissions, they just don't belong in traditional hot rods. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Yeah!
My dad bought a BRAND NEW 85 chrysler minivan. 4 cylinder, 5 speed. we had it for 6-7 years, I NEVER saw another one with a stick....

 

Just bought a TKO600, but I did wonder in 15-20 years at age 75-80 will it be an easy sell.

The young kids are not learning to drive stick, even the driver training companies are not teaching stick cars anymore in our area.

Time will tell. There will be a market, but I bet the market will be smaller in 20 years.

 

Only if a buyer can't shift a stick shift...
Especially a (3) or (4) speed on the column. !!

 

I had to go with a 4-speed for my '59 Ford. The pedals were already there, 1/2 the battle. Any weenie can drive an automatic.

My aunt gave up her '60 Dodge Seneca in 1974 and bought a new Dodge Swinger.. with an automatic, her first. She always drove sticks. The problem for her was that the automatic was ready to go before she was!

 

I like the feature of being able to roll start if problems arise...ie. weak battery, silent get-aways, etc.

 

WHAT !! ? I've actually refused to sell some cars to prospective buyers, just because I don't like the way they look. More so, if they're too much of a pussy to bitch about my car.

Your vehicle will have less value when you have some cross eyed son of a b#tch show up trying to re-engineer something that maybe they are just too damned old or too fairy to understand. I like three pedals and pink panties, but realize pink panties fly with a two pedal cruiser. It's all in your perspective.

As well .... please dear Gawd' don't be another "what color should my wheels be" thread. Please. Build it how you want and leave us out of it.

 

If you like to really drive a car nothing beats a stick. Don't care too much for putting in a request for a downshift.

 

After reading a few threads on here about the prices for repairing/rebuilding some of the older automatic transmissions (Dynaflows, Powerflites, Hydramatics, etc.) that have been on here for over the last couple of months, you couldn't give me one of those. The last thread I saw had justification for a $5000 replair bill on a '57 Dynaflow that seemed logical to me. I have always been a stick guy, but when you get up in years, sometimes you just can't do it. Five years ago I was thinking of selling mu O/T '68 Corvette with a Turbo 400. Lately, I have been thinking about selling my 4 speed '67 and keeping the automatic. I'm resisting, but.....

 

Kinda like a house with a swimming pool,50 % of the people want them 50% don't want them,,,,

 

My daily drivers are automatics. My toys. A 3 speed column 40ty Ford coupe, 56 & 59 HT Chevys with 5 Speeds and a 62 Corvette with 4 speed. They are my toys and I love shifting them. Value? Don't much matter. I never selling them anyway. Someone else can address the issue. The only problem is the wife won't drive them and I think that would be cool if she would. She enjoys going on the outings. Just my 2 cents

 

The only time I ever regretted having a stick was when I had Belinda Bosco sprawled across the front seat of my pickup with compound low 4 speed. Yeah 3rd gear moved it out of the way some but she was a big girl. There was the silent get-away afterward, that was good.

 

you dated Belinda?

 

If i'am looking to buy a car/Truck, a auto hurts it for me but it all depends on what a person wants. I personally never liked autos and converted a few to standards after i got them, even after having knee surgrey on that knee a standard trans is what i still like. Can't get over how many people can not drive a standard these days.

 

Muscle era cars, stick is a big premium, and 50's era cars, the stock early automatics are generally poor performers, so stick is usually a premium, or at least, doesn't hurt them any.

Around here, even late model cars are hard to find as a stick, and they don't typically go cheap. I've heard people say that stick cars are hard to sell, but I've never personally witnessed it.

The only single example I can think of is the 55-57 Thunderbird, as I can't shift reverse or first without picking my leg up over the shifter, just not enough room.

 

As stated it depends on the car. Who would want an older Vette with an auto? Location might be a factor also, clutches suck in stop and go traffic and that seems to be the only thing we are growing here on the East Coast.
No offence there Tubman, I did not read all the posts. I just have a thing for late 60'searly 70's Vettes with a clutch. First shift car I had the pleasure to drive.

 

No offense taken Wrayman, but in a couple of more years, I think it's gonna have to be the automatic 'vette or the ole' ladies Kia.