MT car for 200k and below

**DNA25** · February 24th, 2020 11:12 PM

Hello, any manual sedan/crossover/small suv that’s good for beginners? I’ve always driven AT cars and would really love to get a manual. My current daily is an NX and a Forester as coding car so this would mostly be used during weekends or when I have some free time. I’ve seen 10+ year old MT cars that fit my budget but I’m not sure if they are safe enough for a noob like me.

Priority as follows:

- reliability (wouldn’t break down on me)
- learning curve (i’ve been told not all MTs are made the same?)
- fun factor (something that would not make me swear off manual transmissions)
- resalability (I don’t really plan to keep it for too long)

I’m not sure if the budget and the list above makes sense but I’d be really grateful for your inputs.

Salamat po

**jut703** · February 26th, 2020 04:25 AM

Originally Posted by DNA25

Hello, any manual sedan/crossover/small suv that’s good for beginners? I’ve always driven AT cars and would really love to get a manual. My current daily is an NX and a Forester as coding car so this would mostly be used during weekends or when I have some free time. I’ve seen 10+ year old MT cars that fit my budget but I’m not sure if they are safe enough for a noob like me.

Priority as follows:

- reliability (wouldn’t break down on me)
- learning curve (i’ve been told not all MTs are made the same?)
- fun factor (something that would not make me swear off manual transmissions)
- resalability (I don’t really plan to keep it for too long)

I’m not sure if the budget and the list above makes sense but I’d be really grateful for your inputs.

Salamat po

Fun MT car would be the GK Jazz 1.5V. Sells for about 400k these days. Ticks all your boxes.

Best not to get anything older than 10 years old (so a 200k budget really won't cut it).

If you want a project car, gen 1 Miata is also really good but quite hard to find an unmolested unit these days, and even a well maintained Miata is still a 20+ year old car.

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**Egan101** · February 26th, 2020 07:05 AM

Or maybe a Fiesta MT? Resale value is quite low for Ford cars.

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**dr. d** · February 26th, 2020 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by DNA25

Hello, any manual sedan/crossover/small suv that’s good for beginners? I’ve always driven AT cars and would really love to get a manual. My current daily is an NX and a Forester as coding car so this would mostly be used during weekends or when I have some free time. I’ve seen 10+ year old MT cars that fit my budget but I’m not sure if they are safe enough for a noob like me.

Priority as follows:

- reliability (wouldn’t break down on me)
- learning curve (i’ve been told not all MTs are made the same?)
- fun factor (something that would not make me swear off manual transmissions)
- resalability (I don’t really plan to keep it for too long)

I’m not sure if the budget and the list above makes sense but I’d be really grateful for your inputs.

Salamat po

an early altis or a newer sentra.
i had a 90s sentra, and i have a 2003 altis. nice, reliable, "no surprises" cars.

hey! we're getting the sentra cheap, so we should not complain too much about its low resale value.

**Dr.Kamiya** · February 26th, 2020 06:07 PM

With a 200k budget the car you buy will be fully depreciated already, or close to it. Losing money on resale shouldn't be a problem, it's the maintenance you should be worried about.

**Dr.Kamiya** · February 27th, 2020 08:16 PM

My recommendation for this category is the 6th gen Galant GTi. Good ones are just a bit over 100k, so you'll have plenty left over for maintenance. 4G63 engine is a peach, and there's the option to swap in a 63T.

**travajante** · February 27th, 2020 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by Dr.Kamiya

My recommendation for this category is the 6th gen Galant GTi. Good ones are just a bit over 100k, so you'll have plenty left over for maintenance. 4G63 engine is a peach, and there's the option to swap in a 63T.

I remember the servo on those.

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**JohnM** · February 27th, 2020 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by travajante

I remember the servo on those.

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The pain!!! Never got around to replacing the servo on our 4g92. Made do with an idle up hobo fix until we sold it. Later versions of the engine (flipped orientation and distributorless) had more robust parts IIRC.

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**sean-archer** · May 18th, 2020 06:04 AM

200k is more than enough for a good "big body" corolla including repairs.

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**Egan101** · May 18th, 2020 09:22 AM

Get something newer as possible. Like cars with low resale value - Sentra, Focus, Fiesta, Lancer. I admire people who has kept their 90s era Corollas or Civics in good shape but you’re not sure to get one that is properly taken cared of.

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