I'm looking for a new daily driver, I want something that is available with a manual transmission...

I'm looking for a new daily driver, I want something that is available with a manual transmission, and I don't want anything Japanese. I currently have a HHR SS because at the time I needed a wagon for the work I did, it has an acceptable level of power but I miss RWD. I'm looking for something that is fun to drive and is a bit more elegant then the HHR not that, that is saying much. My budget is $20,000 as I will be paying cash for it. I'm curious if you guys will come up with anything I didn't think of

E39 m5? A bunch of fun with the practicality of a 4 door. Look out for maintenance costs though

fuuuck, the 8 series is neat

have one. It's an epic piece of machinery

I have been looking at the E39 m5 I feel like it is a timeless car, I was looking at E46 M3s but I don't really like the way the car builds power, I mostly drive in a stoplight to stoplight kind of commute and I don't think I'd enjoy the high revving engine so the M5 is defiantly a consideration

I've always liked them, I like unique cars you just never see the things, my problem is I haven't been able to find one in manual, maybe I'll come across one.

Thats a nice car you posted OP

I mean, then an 8 series doesn't sound too horrible considering the power delivery of the v12, that being said though, it's not gonna be cheap when something goes haywire. But you can find yourself a decent one for about 15k

Abarth biposto

They never came to the US in manual except the 850csi

That looks like a blast to drive, are those available in the States though?

I didn't realize that. I hate how no one here drives manuals and therefore we never get them here

I think he meant the m5. But yeah, good luck finding a stick 850

the normal Abarth at least is. the biposto, I don't know.

Another ridiculous idea I've been tossing around is finding a nice Jaguar XJ8 and doing an LS/T56 swap. But I feel like the handling would be abysmal on that car have any of you guys driven one before?

Yeah I see the 500s all the time but I've never seen one of those, that looks like a lot of fun.

Not always true, the current gen M5 is only available in manual in North America. If NA got a manual 840ci I would have one, I got an E24 instead after looking at E31s for over a year, just couldn't find one that made sense, I know what it takes monetarily to deal with those cars and most of the cars I did the math on ended up being worth less than 0 dollars to me. I still think lots of E31s are screaming deals but they are going to be money pits no matter what.

GTO?

I didn't realize that I know the E39 M5s were all manual, the E24 is another beautiful car, I know nothing about them but I've always admired them

get one of these op

I've driven tons of them, they seem like really nice cars but I've always heard people complain about the Australian built cars from GM namely the first generation CTS-V. I do like the understated look of them though

>Pass by two E24s every time I go to my cousin's house
>One of them is a 635Csi
>They've just been sitting in this guy's driveway for at least 5 years now
I want to just walk up and throw money at him but there's no way I could afford to own it.

...

They aren't that bad one but I would start with a good example and not one that's sat for that long. So many have been scrapped, it's really easy to get parts for them. You can get a really good one for cheap anyway.

Love the new edge mustangs, it was the first car I ever bought, rolled it over at 90 miles an hour when I was 17 and spent a month in the hostpital lol. But the terminator was a dream car of mine when I was younger

Look for a w204 c300. It's the only Mercedes you can get in the US with a stick.

I originally started looking at getting a new car because I ran across a C63 AMG I was bummed when I found out it didn't come in manual. I'll check that out because I love that body style of the c class

Merc owner here. Don't bother buying a manual merc. MB makes top tier auto boxes, but their manual boxes are mediocre at best. BMW is a much better choice if you want Manual + FR layout.

I'm curious what makes them so bad? I've driven primarily American cars with manual transmissions, so I wonder if I would think it was a big deal lol. I love both manufactures, but I tend to prefer Mercedes styling over BMW on the new cars

I wouldn't say they are BAD, they're just not great. The usual complaint is that they're somewhat vague and sloppy.

BMW/Audi have always catered more for drivers' cars, whereas MB has always been more about luxury, and manual transmissions don't really follow on with that, so I don't think they've ever bothered to invest the time and effort into developing their manual transmissions to anywhere near the same level as their autos.

I mean, if you really want a merc, don't be afraid of getting one with an auto transmission, because the autos are excellent.

I see what you're saying, the last automatic I had was a Camaro with a built 4l80e with a massive stall, I was into drag racing when I was younger I don't see ever having an auto again. I enjoy trying to drink my coffee in the morning while trying to shift and steer with my other hand too much lol

Well, you can still change gears with the stick if you really want to.

I'm not sure about the newer 7G-tronic box, but the 5G-tronic box is also rugged as fuck. It can handle up to 1000lb/ft of torque. Probably safe to say you wouldn't toast your torque converter if you let your foot off the brake and floored it.

They make some beautiful cars, I seem to like their styling from 2005 to 2012 or so, those are random dates but their newest cars I don't love the styling of so much, I guess it'll grow on me

Yeah, the most recent MBs are too curvy for my taste. It works for the A-class hatches, but I don't like any of the others.

Pic related is my car.

Very nice, I really like the round headlights I think it's kind of a signiture look for them

90's and older Merc lover here. Can confirm the autos in these boats are absolutely top tier. Far better than any of the other autos I've ever driven.

I've heard from the guys at Turbobandit (this Russian group who makes turbos for the I6 engines) that they prefer to use the autos since they can handle far more power and by comparison the manuals are made of glass.

I understand, I just like shifting and having a clutch. I realize the auto can shift better than me though