Manual vs Automatic

Well the same can apply to an automagic as well really... with the right person you don't need to replace the whole damn thing.

But the comparison was his "neighbour's" Audi needed a gearbox replacement and the warranty covered the R50k cost... which would indicate a new one was bought from Audi since even aftermarket warranties don't generally cover second hand units, and I doubt you can get a pirate gearbox...
I highly doubt they replaced an entire Audi automatic gearbox with a brand new factory fresh one for just R50k. He used the word "replacement" but most probably just repaired, replaced the mechatronics unit or whatever is susceptible in that gearbox. I would hate to see what a complete Audi automatic gearbox costs from the agents, I would imagine it'd easy be pushing R100k.
 
I highly doubt they replaced an entire Audi automatic gearbox with a brand new factory fresh one for just R50k. He used the word "replacement" but most probably just repaired, replaced the mechatronics unit or whatever is susceptible in that gearbox. I would hate to see what a complete Audi automatic gearbox costs from the agents, I would imagine it'd easy be pushing R100k.

Well I suppose it all depends on who did the work, and under what "warranty" it was done under really.

If it was under Motorplan, they just replace the whole gearbox and carry on.

If it was an aftermarket warranty, then maybe a repair would be covered but I'm not sure.
As for the cost, yeah thats largely why I said R50k is a bargain.. I would also expect it to be north of R100k.
 
Can't Drive A Manual? Neither Can This Thief.

SNL blames this 'new military technology' with three pedals and the stick going sideways.

Hello again my three-pedal friends. We’ve visited this story before in some way, several times in the past (#savethemanuals!). Young thieves or non-car aficionados attempt to steal a car and are ultimately foiled when they realize there’s an actual extra pedal, and the shifter doesn’t move in a straight line.

It’s an amusing bit that even German Automaker Volkswagen jumped on with this commercial released within the last couple of years.

Recently, popular culture revisited this exact scenario in Saturday Night Live’s finest produced a digital short called, “The Heist.” This weekend’s host Kieren Culkin, along with Mikey Day and Chris Redd take on the challenge of stealing a billionaire’s vintage Lamborghini — a Lamborghini Diablo.

https://jalopnik.com/cant-drive-a-manual-neither-can-this-thief-1848015595

 
My Husband Bought Me A Manual 1996 Pontiac Firebird As My New Daily Driver Even Though I Can't Drive Stick

"You wouldn't be the first person to drop a transmission in a Pontiac," he assured me.

When my husband and I bought our 1996 Chevrolet Suburban, our main goal was that we would use it to bring my precious Mazda2, with its expired plates, back from Canada to Texas when the borders opened. That hasn’t happened, and it’s looking all the more likely that there’s going to be a period of time where the ‘Burb is in Canada and I have nothing, so we’ve been shopping for a daily for me that’s under $3,000 and can be easily flipped later. We’ve decided on a manual 1996 Pontiac Firebird. There’s just one problem: I can’t drive stick.

I know, I know. I can already see the comments that will lambast me for not knowing how to drive stick. It’s happened before, and it is miserable each time. “You should know how to drive stick to even qualify for a job at Jalopnik,” some of you will cry. And I get it.

It’s not like I haven’t made an effort. I learned with a friend (very briefly, like literally a two hour lesson in 2017), but as it turns out, very few people are willing to actually give me a shot behind the wheel of a manual vehicle if I don’t know how to drive a manual. So, I’ve remained stagnant.

So, as my husband has proceeded to send me the same listing for the same 1996 Pontiac Firebird for the past few weeks, I finally asked him what’s going on.

“It’s just $2,200,” he’d plead. “It’s in the budget. It’s, like, perfect.”

“This is supposed to be a daily driver for me, right?” I would ask. “The car to tide me over while I wait for both of my cars to come back to Texas?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me how I’m supposed to go pick it up when it’s a manual transmission, I can’t drive stick, and you’re not even in the country.”

Radio silence. And then, a few hours later, a protest that it’s still a damn good car.

The listing is also short and sweet. As per the seller, this Firebird includes the following: “5 speed manual v-6, new tires, CD player, a/c blows cold, runs great.” It is reportedly in good condition. Crucially, it also has that beautiful blue bird painted on the hood.


Snip.jpeg
 
My Husband Bought Me A Manual 1996 Pontiac Firebird As My New Daily Driver Even Though I Can't Drive Stick

"You wouldn't be the first person to drop a transmission in a Pontiac," he assured me.

When my husband and I bought our 1996 Chevrolet Suburban, our main goal was that we would use it to bring my precious Mazda2, with its expired plates, back from Canada to Texas when the borders opened. That hasn’t happened, and it’s looking all the more likely that there’s going to be a period of time where the ‘Burb is in Canada and I have nothing, so we’ve been shopping for a daily for me that’s under $3,000 and can be easily flipped later. We’ve decided on a manual 1996 Pontiac Firebird. There’s just one problem: I can’t drive stick.

I know, I know. I can already see the comments that will lambast me for not knowing how to drive stick. It’s happened before, and it is miserable each time. “You should know how to drive stick to even qualify for a job at Jalopnik,” some of you will cry. And I get it.

It’s not like I haven’t made an effort. I learned with a friend (very briefly, like literally a two hour lesson in 2017), but as it turns out, very few people are willing to actually give me a shot behind the wheel of a manual vehicle if I don’t know how to drive a manual. So, I’ve remained stagnant.

So, as my husband has proceeded to send me the same listing for the same 1996 Pontiac Firebird for the past few weeks, I finally asked him what’s going on.

“It’s just $2,200,” he’d plead. “It’s in the budget. It’s, like, perfect.”

“This is supposed to be a daily driver for me, right?” I would ask. “The car to tide me over while I wait for both of my cars to come back to Texas?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me how I’m supposed to go pick it up when it’s a manual transmission, I can’t drive stick, and you’re not even in the country.”

Radio silence. And then, a few hours later, a protest that it’s still a damn good car.

The listing is also short and sweet. As per the seller, this Firebird includes the following: “5 speed manual v-6, new tires, CD player, a/c blows cold, runs great.” It is reportedly in good condition. Crucially, it also has that beautiful blue bird painted on the hood.


View attachment 1206860
I think the problem with a Firebird isn't the transmission, but how much it's going to cost to fill the damned thing. It's not the kind of car you drive lightly...
 
4-Speed manual
To be more specific:
1st 120 kph
2nd 160 kph
3rd 200 kph (1/4-mile)
4th 260 kph
 
Long live the manual | The Volkswagen Golf Mk8


 
Being a car fanatic, I had sworn to only buy manual cars for myself from the day I got my driver's license. I had kept to that oath for my first 5 cars (which includes the project car) until my aunt's 2015 Honda Jazz with a CVT auto box went up for sale. Been driving the car as my daily since December of last year and I'm not sure why I didn't make the switch sooner. Everything just feels so effortless now without a clutch. I've genuinely forgotten what it has felt like to have to slowly let the clutch out every few seconds to edge forward in rush hour traffic.
 
Being a car fanatic, I had sworn to only buy manual cars for myself from the day I got my driver's license. I had kept to that oath for my first 5 cars (which includes the project car) until my aunt's 2015 Honda Jazz with a CVT auto box went up for sale. Been driving the car as my daily since December of last year and I'm not sure why I didn't make the switch sooner. Everything just feels so effortless now without a clutch. I've genuinely forgotten what it has felt like to have to slowly let the clutch out every few seconds to edge forward in rush hour traffic.

Rush hour commute, an automatic is a god sent. But moving around on clear roads, manual is just more fun.
 

820AC854-F370-40CF-9833-A5106D895325.jpeg
 

View attachment 1260296
Nice. CV8 -Z series as well.
 
I own an automatic and have for the last 3 years. I can honestly say I will never go back to a manual. It's so weird though when you have to drive a manual again (e.g. the courtesy car when your car is at the panelbeater), and you keep stalling the car because you forget to push the clutch in when you get to a traffic light or stop street. Your muscle memory gets completely used to driving an automatic and it takes a while for your left leg to get back into the action when you have to drive a manual again for whatever reason.
 
I have never struggled moving from auto to manual gearboxes, we have one of each currently. Even driving in Europe, the mind quickly makes the switch between left and right hand, luckily the pedals remain unchanged :ROFL:

But I won't lie, the Caddy's DSG gearbox is pure bliss..
 
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