Would an automatic trans be a show stopper for you?
 

I’m shopping for a CPO to replace my daily driver. I was bound and determined to get a car with a manual trans. As you know, cars with a manual trans are becoming few and far between. I’ve found a beautiful car that’s got everything I want and it’s beautiful, but aargh, no manual trans.

I know this is ultimately my choice, but I’m curious for the thoughts of others.

If an otherwise perfect car had that one flaw, would you overlook it to get the rest? Are there other considerations I should be thinking about?

Automatic transmissions are wonderful......in a minivan.

You’re not describing a flaw in the car any more than a tan interior or a convertible top is a flaw. It sounds like this car, as equipped, wouldn’t make you as happy as a manual car. And for a car whose only job in life is to bring happiness, that’s not a trade off you’re willing to make. I’d let it ride.

I'd be open to an auto. in a daily driver. Bumper to bumper traffic is no fun when you have a manual.

As the weekend or one of the fleet of fun cars, not till I'm no longer physically able to drive with three pedals.

You talking a PDK in a newer CPO 911?

I love my PDK in my 2018. Have a 3rd pedal in the other two fun cars. Wouldn't bother me in the least bit. PDK is an amazing transmission. Best of both worlds in my book.

This totally depends on what car you’re talking about and is very subjective to preference.

That being said: I’ve driven a 996 Tiptronic C4 in normal street traffic, highway cruising and mountain driving in Southern California. I pushed the car to my limit (which happened to be where my Dad was visibly trying to stop the car with his feet on invisible pedals in the passenger seat while he let me test drive it). The car held up fine. It sounded and drove like a 996 C4 should have. The shifts were as quick as I would have been in the manual variant, and you can have it hold gears all day long in whatever gear you have selected. It’s also forgiving in Manual mode because it will down shift for you at a stop if you forget, all the way down to 2nd which prevents a stall. My Dad got this Tip C4 because he has absolutely terrible knees at 64 and a 3rd pedal is just too much for him. Having driven it, I wouldn’t turn down a good deal on a 997 Tiptronic for a daily, but not a weekend fun car.

If it’s your daily and if it’s not something that’s going to be that special and is something you can just get in and drive, then don’t sweat it. Just get what makes you happy and drive. And for a moment of clarity I have a 2014 328d that’s chipped with all the bells and whistles. 8 speed auto, HUD, blah blah blah.... The car is smooth as silk but is no hopped up EFI 911SC. It’s sometimes nice to just turn your brain off on the way home after being bombarded with volumously large amounts of stupid at work.

-Steve

Yes

Depends on the car but you should get what you want. Slogging to work in heavy traffic a DD with a MT in SoCal is no joy for anyone. Running through the gears between turn 6-8 at WSIR is sublime. Choose the right tool for the job at hand and avoid getting too emotionally attached to any one technology.

Race track or canyon carver- shifting gears is fun.
Daily commute in traffic- I'll have the PDK please.

Tiptronic - no, PDK - YES!

PDK with launch control. You will never miss the manual.

If I ever replace my Cayenne daily driver it would be a 997 with PDK.

My neighbor loves my Cayman S 6 speed and found the “perfect” CPO Boxster spec’d just the way he wanted... except PDK. He loves the car overall but regrets the PDK. It works well but he misses the connection with the car he felt with a manual. Furthermore his wife hates the PDK and refuses to drive the car. Their previous cars were all 2 seat sports cars with manuals.

I understand PDK is superior tech, but for some people it can ruin or dilute the Porsche experience.

I have both, a RSR look backdate with a turbo 3.2/ 915 gearbox and a 09 997.2 with a PDK. I've driven manual gearboxes my entire life and I can honestly say that the PDK is light years ahead. The manual has zero advantage. A PDK with sports chrono package and launch control is simply the next level. A PDK in an early backdate would be insane.

I really like a bit of a challenge and a reward for a nice shift (or punishment for an improper shift), double clutch on occasion, heel & toe, dance with the brake/clutch/shifter.

A PDK is a great automatic device (yes, I have driven a few), but I could never give up the enjoyment of rowing my own gears - even great automatics are pretty boring (to me) after the novelty has worn off.

My DD is an E92 M3 with DCT, which is "their" version of the PDK. Wonderful transmission--incredibly fast, intuitive, and you can tune how it engages to suit your preferences. I have a 3-pedal car (1985 911), which is great, but a manual would not cut it for me in a daily driver these days.

Yes. My DD has a manual transmission, and I live in Hell-A. Barring a medical condition which would keep me from driving with both feet, I will always prefer a manual. The difference between a computer-controlled 0.1 sec shift and a me-controlled 1 sec shift isn't worth it, to me.

No. I've had just as much fun in a Tiptronic as my other manual 911's


Do some research, learn how to use it and you will be pleasantly surprised.

This. A tip is a slushbox with a torque converter. A pdk is an automatically shifting manual gearbox. You can take control of a pdk any time you want.

I've been daily driving a DSG VW now for about a year. I'm loving it. And if I miss my clutch pedal, I just hop in the old air cooled car.

What would Patrick Long, Jeff Zwart, or Wolf Henzler choose? Either paddle shift/PDK, synchronous, or manual trans depending on the application.

Get what you want.

I’d pass but I’m really stuck on manuals. Even with my DD. No manual? I’m not interested. I’ll be happy to buy 5, 10, 15 year old DD cars that are nice, well maintained and have a stick shift.