John Mace, the really funny part is had both of those threads open and didn’t even notice. In fact, I thought Necros was the one misposting.
Well, if you look at the numbers, I think you’ll find that you see various levels of octane enhancements from even over-the-counter boosters. You can see some extreme examples of octane improvement from a 30 percent mixture of toulene/gasoline, as much as 3 points AKI (RON+MON/2).
Uh, I mean…I never mispost! 
Wait a second, I can up my octane by mixing in toluene? Is that, you know, safe?
(Email soon to be sent, Necros. It sounds like the Caddy might be a little out of our price range, but I’ll take a look and see.)
You never know. 
And yes, you can increase your octane by dumping toulene into your tank. There is a point of diminishing returns (it becomes harder to combust as you increase the amount), but at smaller proportions, it works. People use it as a homemade race gas solution most of the time. A lot cheaper than paying $6 a gallon for 100 or 110 AKI octane gas.
And forgive my repeated, stubborn misspelling of toluene.
Necros, I tried to send you an email last night, but Yahoo was being pissy. Did you get any other emails from me, or are you sitting there wondering why I sent the same email over and over?
I second the BMW suggestion. Although, I had to order my X5 to get it with a stick and the dealer said I probably won’t be able to sell it :eek: I originally just wanted to replace my 4-Runner but found that Toyota had stopped making them with manual transmissions. Rats…I was forced to move up to the Beemer to get a luxy SUV without the auto trans. Darn the luck. 
My next car will be a bmw 3 series convertable. 
I’m not a big fan of 'Vettes, but an automatic 'Vette is just wrong, IMHO. It’s like a gunrack on a Volvo or a low-rider Hummer. :shudder:
Count me in as another manual-only driver. When I bought my Subaru (2001 Legacy Wagon), I was totally upfront that I was not interested in considering anything except a manual transmission. As a result, I had to order mine and wait for it, for almost a month. It was worth it!
Tsk Tsk. All ya manualies don’t know how to drive. Automatic let you sit back and cruise in style. If you’re important enough, they’ll wait. *Runs away before being mobbed by the psycho manualies.
Think about it. In my experience (I am a stickshift driver), a used car with a manual is almost IMPOSSIBLE to sell!. This is because the used car market is chiefly women and teenagers…and neither group drives manuals. It is true-a car equipped with an automatic is about $1000 more (new)-but you get that back when you sell it. As I found, muy high-mileage used car was just about worthless-because of the manual tranny.
Necros, Yahoo is still being pissy - I looked at your ad, and I’m afraid the price is a little out of our range. You can still come visit us in Calgary, though.
I’m not sure about that, ralph. Sure, the pool of potential buyers for manuals is smaller, but so is the pool that us manuallies are buying from. I’m having as hard a time finding manual transmission used cars as you did trying to sell one, I believe.
Hmm… the thing about manual transmissions in used cars is that nobody sells a manual-transmission car with good clutch.
Every used manual-box car I or any of my friends have bought needed a clutch change within 500 miles. There aren’t many cars where that isn’t a massive undertaking - it’s between the engine and gearbox. Only BMW cares enough about their users to make this a simple process. Unfortunately, I don’t have a BMW.
The other problem with manual-transmission cars in the used marketplace is that enthusiasts are the primary buyers of cars. The typical “enthusiast with new-car money” ownersip pattern goes as follows:
Buy the car they really wanted brand new, ordered to their personal specifications. For three presidential administrations, the car receives new parts whenever it needs it, all the preventative maintenence a car would want, but pays for it out on the backroads and autocross courses. By the time the owner no longer wants it, it’s suitable for demolition derbies - or eBay.
Featherlou, as for advice, here’s how it goes:
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Honda, Subaru, Mazda, and BMW are the only companies that sell many mainstream manual cars. Fortunately for you, they’re great cars. Reliable (if expensive to fix), generally easy on gas (except for V8 BMWs and heavy Subarus), tremendous fun to drive (heck, Subaru and BMW can get an SUV to handle well), and well-supported by the enthusiast community.
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Skip the mainstream buying channels, and conduct a broad search. There aren’t many sellers, but fortunately there aren’t many buyers. Go on eBay or the national AutoTrader sites. Comb the listings carefully.
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Use and abuse the owners’ club. Sign up for the newsletters. Go on the forums. Chances are, there’s an E34 525i Touring manual out there looking for you - all you have to do is sign onto a BMW forum and ask.
42 years old, have never owned a vehicle with an automatic. Hate the GD things when I have to rent one. Note to non-US readers: US hire cars are not availble except with a slush box. Every time I walk to the counter, I tell them I’ll pay double if they can put me in a car with a clutch…never lost that bet yet.
Given the amount of searching I have had to do to find one, I conclude that the statements about manuals being impossible to sell are rubbish. It seems to me that they are made in proportion to the demand for them…possibly less so, as dealers almost never have them on spec. IF demand for used cars is similar to demand pattern for new ones, then there should be about the same demand as supply for used ones.
As for dead clutches, Certainly no harder to swap a clutch than to drop and rebuild an auto. I’d say as many autos get put on the market when they start south as clutches that start chattering.
As for traffic, the only vehicle I have with a heavy enough clutch that it is an issue also has a granny low…just let her idle along.
So far the following seems to hold true:
-Woman who can’t drive a standard = high maintainance, will never get me.
-Woman who drives a stick = low maintainance, some hope of getting me.
Yeah, IIRC, automatics need service far more often than clutches. I bought my Ranger used three years ago, and the clutch is still going strong. My husband’s former car (Firebird, good chick magnet but bad family car) also never had any clutch problems. We bought both vehicles from Carmax, so anybody looking for a stick might try there if there’s one near you.
Well, I’m already married, but it’s good to see a guy with some standards.