There is no right answer as to which is better - it all depends on your personal situation. If you have drivers in your household that will or want to drive the car, and they don't know how to drive a manual transmission, then the obvious answer is get an automatic.

If you frequently drive the car in heavy daily traffic, a manual car can get a little tiresome. If you are driving highway miles - it really makes no difference other than the 6 speed manual gets slightly better fuel mileage than the 4 speed auto. If you are autocrossing or road racing the manual is a better choice, although an automatic can be driven manually by simply manipulating the shifter.

The nonsense that it can't be a sportscar with an automatic is just that. Nearly all of the top performing high end sports cars today come only as clutchless.....many are manuals with electronically engaging clutches. I don't think you can get a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Maserati or a Mercedes-Benz with a traditional manual transmission any longer.

A rebuilt 4L60e from a reputable transmission builder like RPM Transmissions http://www.rpmtransmissions.com/page8.html ranges anywhere from about $2000 to $5400 depending on the build and horsepower/torque of the car it's going into.

Replacing a clutch - again depending on what you buy is about $800 in parts plus about $1200 in labor.

Bottom line - get what you like and want. Get what fulfills your needs and requirements.

FWIW - I own two manual transmission C5's.

 

Could not have said it better.

 

looks like clutch prices are all over the place anywhere from $200 -$750 so am guessing around $ 300 for something decent

 

There will probably come a time when many of us will have one issue or another where the automatic is the only answer.

Until that point in my life occurs I'll enjoy shifting gears!

 

Stick is more fun. Automatic is more convenient.

 

Been shifting gears for 50 yrs so it does get a bit tiring but can see the advantages

 

Don't care if sticks are faster or slower than ATs.......They're "funner" !

 

Spent $100 for auto trans flush/filter up to 75k miles....if you're picking Corvette and are worried about maintenance costs, you might consider a different car...but Imguessing a clutch is more but replacement is probably more based on driver style.

 

just $100?? got mine flushed/filter last yr $150!! and no I don't beat my cars, infact couple buddys ask me why I go so slow

 

All in all it comes down to personal preference. Neither is a bad choice and while some might frown upon getting an auto you're the one who's going to be driving it day in and day out so get the one that suits you.

 

Exactly...and beside, i have gotten lazy. Put it in Drive and go !

 

For putting around town, road course driving or top speed runs = Stick

To win drag races, roll races, glide through traffic and wife driving = Auto..


Maintenance/repair costs are nil... both are expensive to fix.. Once you start making some real power, (600rwhp+), stick tranny repairs and clutches are a common occurrence.

After breaking 2 "built" MN12 transmissions, 2 "built" rear ends, missing shifts, hurting clutches etc... I gave up on stick trannies..

I put an expensive RPM level 7 auto in it, knocked 7 tenths off my ET, gained 2 mph (pulling an additional 150lbs from a roll cage I added) I win a TON more roll races on the street, its easier on parts (although I did break an axle with the auto at the track)..

I do occasionally miss the "sporty driving" of a stick and the "fun" of loafing around town in a stick.... but for acceleration, autos can't be beat, particularly once you are making some power.

Both of my Vettes are auto, both can still go around turns fast and both when races on the track and street... Autos are a better fit for me.

On a stock power level, a stick is probably the better option.

 

Same story here. Six vettes with auto's (even a powerglide!) so the wife could drive them. She never did. Seventh one is a manual. All is right in the world. This is from someone who had his left knee replaced, TWICE!

 

Well said!!

 

I think clutch costs vary so much due to all the other options to spend money on while doing the job. Do you go ahead and add the bleeder extension (yes) , do you replace the slave cylinder and throw out , do you go ahead and replace the clutch master, what about the torque tube joints? Of course if you have a lot of miles do you dive into a refresh there to? What about the axle seals? Some of this applies to auto's too but I don't think there is a lot of difference in the two especially if you are paying someone to do the work.

 

In my case there was hardly a choice, where I live, in the middle of North Dakota, the nearest traffic light is 45 miles away. The closest good curvy roads are 300 miles away in the Black Hills. So if I wanted to be involved at all I needed to have a manual. You need to get what you want,not what everybody else tells you is best.

 

For all out drag or daily driver then auto all day long. If it's going to be a toy or weekend cruiser then manual.

 

Mines an auto, I love stick especially for daily driving but I got an auto for racing.

 

If you have miles on the car - you'll likely want to replace the rear main seal and rear cover seal, as it's exposed when you pull the clutch.

This is not a job for an average DIY'r. It is involved and the potential to screw it up is pretty high. The exhaust, the rear sub frame, the torque tube with the trans and diff all have to be removed. As mentioned above - it is a good idea to consider replace torque tube bearings and couplers at the same time.

 

sticks are probably better for road racing etc but I wouldn't know. I drive an auto with 3:73 gears with one having a 3,600 and the other has a 3,800 stall which flashes to 5,200. if you have never driven one or raced one, you might think twice, they are a whole different animal with consistent 1.3X sixty foots and 130+ mph in qtr with stock cubes - a toy and or weekend cruiser and able to hit the track for some 10.50 index of bracket racing

when an automatic fly's by you like there's no tomorrow, I bet no one is saying "that car just jacked my *** BUT he wasn't shifting" so it doesn't count. I know I don't care how hard they are shifting or even why they missed the shift - choices made before pulling along side of a (stalled) auto vette

I have to admit that an auto with 2:73 gears can be boring. I used to shift into drive at over 110 mph - now they shift into drive at 85 and at times, the traction control light comes on when shifting into drive... pulls like a big dog.

agree with blacksedan87 --- Bottom line - get what you like and want. Get what fulfills your needs and requirements.