Battle of the Transmissions: M/T vs. A/T

[Bogeyman]

^ thank you so much! now its comfort againt fuel efficiency for me.. and maintainance/durability..

The only real advantage A/T has over M/T is comfort and the convenience of multi-tasking behind the wheel.

For maintenance, I will have to quote what motor guru niky said in another thread. This is with regards to choosing either an M/T or A/T on a pre-owned car:

It's much easier to break an AT outright, with poor maintenance, than an MT. The clutch of the MT provides an outlet for any transmission destroying foolishness, and costs little to replace.

With the AT, the torque converter fills the role of the clutch, but is dependent on good ATF to work. If the previous owner did not care for the car well, and did not regularly change the ATF, things can break. Expensive things.

I've had good luck with secondhand ATs, but I've seen people with very bad luck. And while fixing a secondhand manual is often the simple work of replacing a clutch or a gear or two (gears can sometimes break if the previous owner drag-raced the car...), fixing an automatic is more expensive, which is why some people just go for full box swaps.

Besides, if we're talking secondhands, the fuel economy bonus of old 5-speed manuals over old 4-speed ATs in traffic is a good reason to just go for the manual.