Okay so before anyone asks the question "why didnt you just buy a stick to begin with" I will answer it, I didnt get a 5spd for a few reasons, one ive never owned one nor am i very familiar with driving one. two, i searched for a long time to find a nautical blue tc used in the right price range. three, no matter how much i said i wanted a stick, my parents continued to argue with me and flip out about how 'senseless and impractical' a stick is and how i wont be able to eat, use the phone or mess with the stereo.

in any case, now that I've been customizing my car, trying to boost hp and such, i find more and more that i wish i had a manual, just mainly because i love the idea of having that much control over my vehicle

everyone says it makes no sense to do a tranny swap and im not going to argue that. if it make so much more sense to do a trade in and another purchase can you guys help me out here? basically what i want to know is how i could go about this without spending any more money than i already have? my current tc is an auto 05 nautical blue with 22500 on it. i bought it used when it had 17000 and i got it for $16000 out the door. i'd like to trade it for as close as i can get to the same thing (except maybe the white tc instead :D)

my completed mods include a headunit, amp, dual sub install, an aem cai, gauge led swap, hvac led swap, and the replacement of my interior lights. within the next few days i will probably be doing a header and catback exhaust install as well.

most of these can easily be swapped out with the original parts except for my led swaps, which is why (as unlikely as it seems) i would like to have both cars available in order to swap out my customized stuff for the original stock stuff, basically transforming my current car into a stock tc, and being able to put the stuff from my old one into my new one.

I imagine ill lose in the long run with this, probably being forced to purchase a tc with more miles than what my current one has. but at the same time shouldnt i be making a little more when i sell my current one because it DOES have an automatic transmission?

I guess my ideal option would be for me to find someone that has almost the same mileage as me and just wishes they had a bought an automatic, that way we could just trade as well as switch our mods over haha

 

well, their are two ways to go about this...

go bac kt o stock, try to sell it to someone that doesnt know much about tc's for about 17000, or trade it in on an 07/06, and if you can afford it, finance the rest...


yesi wish i had a stick too....but mines a longer story

 

Id like a stick but after running my nitrous last night I really dont care anymore

 

haha im an unemployed college student, when i bought my car i paid in full, rather not have car payments

 

i stopped reading after " i wont be able to eat, use the phone or mess with the stereo."

you're parents are idiots and i really hope they both crash into a tree (hopefully not another car) when they are eating or using their cell phone on the road and not paying attention to driving..... i hate morons like that....wowwww

 

oh well thanks for your input then. you didnt read the purpose of the article and you told me that my parents were morons and should get in car accidents.

yeah thank you for that.

 

I got my 5spd brand new for like $16700. Most newer cell phones have a neat little feature called speaker for hands free use. It's also not that hard to eat and drive w/5spd.

 

who the hell tells their child that it is okay to eat or use the cell phone while driving?

ill tell you who, morons!

 

Lay off about the parents. Sometimes it seems to me web-forum goers are just looking for reasons to _____ people out.

When I purchased my manual, i got a lot of flak as well. It's likely that they associate a manual with aggressive driving, may or may not know how to drive one themselves, or just don't understand the "facination" with a five speed.

Unfortunatley, in your situation, you're stuck. Dealers will not lose money taking in a used, modified car. The only way they'll help you out is if it benefits them in some way, which means, time to dish out cash.

Since you're not in a position to truly deck the car out for racing, then I suggest you focus on the asthetic and enjoy what you have. Seriously.

I'm a big proponent of investing wisely. Switching to a 5-spd is not a good investment. There are better things you can do with the money right now.

 

maybe if i sold it myself rather than to a used dealer? an earlier post said sell it for 17000, and another said i could buy a new one for 16700. haha i dont think anyone would be stupid enough to buy it for 17 with 22k miles. and yes even though currently i don't have much of an income, i still spend all of the money that i DO make on my car. im going through a phase that hasn't ended yet :D.

 

a new one is 16,900. to get a number like 17000 that might be a trade allowance. 16900 is a 5 speed.

 

Since your car is already paid for that makes it easier. But first I think you'll need a job. Finance or get a loan, swap out your mods, then sell it.

Or your could sell it but have a ready by date. That way you sell the car, then swap out the mods, and give them the car.

Either way you'll have to buy the stock tC first.

As far as price you'll get IDK, that's hard. Check the Kelley Blue Book.

 

You've already got a slick, elegantly modified car that will run for as long as you need it to while being very low in maintenance costs.

I'd say just suck it up and wait until you're out of college and making money before you think about trading in for another car. With the extra money, you'll have a few more options when considering your ride of choice.

 

I'm not sure if you'll be able to swap out the guages cuz doesnt your milage stay on it?

 

Alright well as far as getting a trade in price, for my 06 (manual) with 17k on the clock at the time, I was quoted 13,2 and 13,6 respectively. I work at a dealership and they were willing to give me 14,900 on a trade in for a MazdaSpeed 3... but I would still be upside fown alot.

If your car is already paid as I beleive I read, then you dont have to worry about being "upside down" You just have to worry about taking out a new loan. So figure you can score about 14 ... MAYBE 15k on your tC. You have to be realistic here. Then figure in sales tax (assuming 7%) title and liscence is 18281 (if I have my numbers right) so you would need to come up with about $3300 (assuming 15k for your auto tC). In that idea I would take out a 3 year loan, with no or low credit you could still expect 36 payments at roughly $110 a month or so.

Banks might look at this situation funny however, so it would actually be in your best intrest to finance around 5k and pocket the remaining 1700 in that amount.

Basically assume the worst:
You get 14000 for your car.
New car is 18300 with T/T/L
4300 difference. At 8% (which is for a 650 credit score) for 36 months your payment would be roughly 145 a month.

 

thank you for that, that's pretty much what i was looking for. however based on those numbers i think id be better off doing what was said earlier and just continuing to use my current car. it makes so little sense for me to spend more money to switch to a stick when it would of been cheaper for me to just go that route to begin with. maybe eventually ill just find someone that wants to trade haha

thanks again!

 

If you really want to get a good sale on your car, with 22,000 miles, auto, bone model tc, it blue books for 15,500. I never trade in my cars, becuase dealers will NEVER give you the true value. You have an auto, which is easier to sell (due to the fact that not everyone likes to shift or knows how for that matter). I would list it for 16,000, see what bites u get on it, and go from there. Test the waters out selling it PRIVATE PARTY and let that determine where you go.

 

i traded my 06 auto for a manual, it cost a little more and i got a good trade in for my car, make sure you put it back to sock, you will get NO money for it modified, good luck, it can be done

 

Two solid thoughts here. Good points and way to use your brain its rare on SL now days.

 

i was going to trade auto to stick, but after i found out the amount of money i will loose i said to my self i rather keep it.