I know it all depends on the owner, but as far as maintenance goes would you rather buy an older 150k+ auto beater or manual.

Assuming both tranny's are good and the manual is either original or just recently changed.

I currently am looking for manuals but I'm not sure what is a better buy

 

I'd think manual. They are overall simpler; you control wear on the clutch, but the torque converter is out of your hands.

Also consider the type of driving you're going to do. If you think you'll do a lot of stop-and-go, then definitely an auto; if you're more interstate or back roads, then manual.

 

it's going to be 60/40 highway. I'm leaning towards the manual... some places can't sell them as easy as an auto and charge less for it or might be more negotiable

 

Yeah, that would be the main consideration for me. If beater = daily driver and your daily drive consists of hellish stop and go traffic (especially if it was mixed in with hills), I'd opt for an auto.

 

It would really depend on the car as well, if I were buying a camry/accord, auto all the way. If I were buying something sportier, then I would probably take the stick. Stick should be cheaper to maintain, however with used parts replacing an auto tranny can be just as much if not a lil more than replacing a clutch; we replaced the auto tranny on my bros civic for about 800 bucks (which admittedly was a stellar deal).
But if this were strictly a DD, I'd get something practical, economical, and somethign I could care less about, so auto would probably be teh way I'd go.

 

If I'm dropping a couple grand on a hooptie, it'll probably be whichever is cheaper :-D.

 

If everything else was the same I'd go MT, but it never is. All you can really do is get the best deal on a car that seems solid and hope you picked the right one.

 

autoFTL

 

if accord/camry - then stick. so much cheaper!

 

Cheap daily beater - I would look for an manual Escort.