Total car noob here so excuse my ignorance

I would say just get an automatic, but if its a honda just get a manual

I had a torque converter blow up, but it was also -40°F that day. Automatic transmissions are fine, yes they can fail in more ways than a manual, but they both still break. Manual just has the option of breaking it yourself.

Fuel consumption has more to do with how you drive the car than what kind of transmission it is. Yes, the automatic wastes more power, but they're going to be roughly on par in thier cruising gears. If you really care about fuel consumption, drive slow.

Performance is subjective. Some automatics are going to let you upshift much quicker than manual, giving you better acceleration. A downside is that transmissions don't know what's going on in the road ahead, so you're probably going to be going slow in gear 3 around a corner instead of going fast in gear 2, and you can forget about engine braking. Something about automatics makes them want to glide in a high gear as you approach a stop, so you can ride the brake pedal the whole way.

Insurance don't cover mechanical troubles.. your bus pass does tho

Autos are ok, but watch out for CVT's. Those are what a lot of manufacturers are starting to focus on, and they're horrible.

euro here moving to manual after a hand me down auto form parents.
If you want to go from point A to point B it makes no fucking difference.

They're not, really. They're very uncomplicated compared to a geared auto, most of the failure points have been worked out, the only problem with them is car bros circlejerk hardcore about how slow they are. Which they are, but 98% of drivers don't care.

In general, a torque converter transmission will last about 2x as long as a clutch, and can if maintained properly last just as long as a manual tranny.
A DCT lasts as long as a manual, but the clutches burn out quicker (unless you're a shitty MT driver).
A CVT lasts about as long as 1 clutch should (120,000-160,000 miles).

95% of failures can be eliminated by changing your ATF on time

Good luck doing that with the sealed units most cars have now.

>and can if maintained properly last just as long as a manual tranny.
I already pointed that out. A CVT can (theoretically) too, but the CVT's belt/chain should be done as often as the engine's timing for maximum life. CVTs are generally sealed units so this is almost impossible.