Manual Transmission Cars For Sale Craigslist (2025)

FAQs

Are manual cars in high demand? ›

Manual sales made up less than a percent of cars sold in the US in 2021, but last year, that number was around 1.7 percent. Not a lot, but not nothing. Many automakers have expanded their manual offerings, too, perhaps most notably Toyota bringing a manual to the Supra for the 2023 model year.

"Because of the way cars are built, manual transmissions used to be the cheap car, the value car because they got better gas mileage and they cost less," said Brian Moody, executive editor of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. Automatic transmission vehicles became more popular in the U.S. due to the model's convenience.

Chances are the manual transmission won't be with us much longer. It's a dying breed. But don't have your left foot removed just yet: there are still new cars available in the United States with a manual gearbox. (A handful of SUVs come with them too, but we covered those in a separate list.)

Automatic transmissions have become far better than they once were. Current auto boxes are both efficient and intuitive. They outperform humans with a stick shift, whether it's on track or in everyday life. The laundry list of practical reasons one used to opt for a manual — like fuel economy — no longer exist.

Congested traffic conditions can require a lot of shifting and working the clutch pedal. Because relatively few buyers are choosing manual transmissions, the car could be harder to sell later.

In the US, less than 1% of new models have stick shifts (compared to 35% in 1980), according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It's really only sports cars, off-road truck SUVs and a handful of small pickups that still have clutches.

New Mexico has the highest rate of manual transmission vehicle purchases at 5.65 percent, followed by Idaho (5.29 percent), Rhode Island (5.16 percent) and Utah (4.94 percent). Residents of Illinois are the least likely to purchase a stick shift, with a take rate of only 2.04 percent.

Are manual cars going away? In short, yes. There's no set ban on manual transmission itself, but there is a ban coming into place in 2035 on all petrol and diesel cars. That, by default, rules out manual cars, as all electric cars are automatic.

If we're talking hands down the best manual transmission in cars today, the one in the current Civic Type R is tops. The engineering gone into the gearbox's feel and function is uncanny. Smooth, confident, and responsive, the Type R's stick shift will spoil other manuals for you.

There are various reasons for this decline that can explain why the manual transmission is disappearing in modern times. Here are some of the biggest ones: Improvements to automatic cars. In the past, manual cars often enjoyed better fuel efficiency, control, and performance.

Why do manual transmissions go bad? ›

The most common reasons behind why a manual transmission fails are lack of lubrication, incorrect lubrication and improper or no clutch release.

Manual transmission cars require very little maintenance, and generally maintenance and repairs end up being significantly less costly. Be warned, however, because one thing that a manual has that the automatic doesn't have to worry about is the clutch, and if that thing quits on you, then you could be in trouble.

Following advancements in engineering and driving technology, by 2023, approximately 1.7% of all new cars were equipped with a manual transmission. However, according to a report by CarMax, there has been an uptick in sales for cars with a stick shift in the last few years.

According to the purveyors of collectible car insurance, knowledge and enthusiasm at Hagerty, more than 2,000 different vehicle generations are worth more with a manual than with an automatic, carrying an average premium of 17%, or roughly $14,684.