Manual vs Automatic

[marlinh]

Do standards sell for more than automatics if they were in identical condition, and if so by how much. Just curious.

[dlb]

this is an interesting question. i haven't noticed any difference in price at all, but i feel like people who are really serious about the 4wd capability of this car would prefer the manual trans and the greater control it provides, and would likely pay more for it. i'm super biased though, obv.

[LittleRed4wd]

Seems that around here (mountains) the manual trans cars will sell a lot faster, even if theres an auto car that's a better deal. The automatic is really slow if you're driving anywhere but on flat roads. As far as selling the transmission itself, manuals in good shape will go really fast. I've been trying to sell my perfect shape auto trans for the past year with no luck.

[marlinh]

Would it be worth converting an automatic to a standard? What kind of difference are we talking about?

[speedgraphic]

I've heard it's damn tough finding a manual transmission for the T4WD, since that's what tends to fail catastrophically first.

[Petros]

That is a complex question, mostly the reason you want to convert. If you have a good body (no rust) and you have a donor car to get all the parts you need, than it might be worth doing if the auto trans will need to be replaced anyway. It is a big job, and the all parts you need will not be cheap unless you get a whole parts car cheap. Everything can be swapped over, but it is a lot of parts; pedal cluster, center console, trans, driveshaft, cross member, flywheel and clutch, clutch cable, etc. so it is much more than just the trans.

It is usually much better just to keep your eyes open for one that already has the manual trans, buy it and fix it up, and just sell the auto trans car. That is if you can find a good one in your area. If you can find a good parts car (one not worth fixing, too much rust or badly wrecked), than that is better than trying to buy all the parts from a wrecking yard.

The increase in value, if any, is not worth the cost and effort. do it only if you want one for yourself and you have access to the parts, and can do it all yourself. Not worth it at all to pay someone else to do it.


Good luck.

[marlinh]

Thanks Petros. What does a manual trans sell for by itself?

[tercel4wdrules]

It can sell as low as $80 if you're lucky and find one on a car when they have half-off sales at the wrecking yards here in the Los Angeles area, to as high as $500. I have bought several for a bit over $300.

[Petros]

from a wrecking yard you will end up paying a lot for individual parts, (trans from $200 to $400, but all the other parts would be another $100-200). Best to find a donor parts car with a blown engine or wrecked, presuming a good trans. You can pay from $200-400 for a parts car with a good trans, and than put all the parts you are not using into the parts car and get $200-300 for it from a wrecker when you are done using it for parts. It is really a lot easier to just find a good SR5 model, unless your plan is to do a ground up restoration anyway.

To answer your earlier question btw, since many of the manual trans cars are SR5, and none of the auto trans, I would say the SR5 is way more desirable, better seats and instrument cluster, trim, etc. So if you can convert your auto into a complete SR5, you would have made it more valuable. Though there is a market for auto trans Tercels, by the time they get this old they are a classic, and most i would think would want the nicer version in SR5 trim (which is manual trans only).

[celtglen]

I've been trying to sell my perfect shape auto trans for the past year with no luck.

This tranny is the A55? How much?
How much do you want for it
How many miles on it?

Curious