I'm am currently shopping for a 5 speed maxima. But I'm looking to spend around 6k on it. Meaning the car will likely have over 100k miles and might have some problems and will be a 95-96 year. My car would go to my parents since their car just died and they barely use a car, yet they still need one, they rather take it off my hands knowing i took care of it and that it is problem free. I would then save some $ and buy a used 95-96 5 speed, like i want. But i need to find it within 2 weeks because they need a car, and i need a car. I am not finding anything i really like in my price range right now and i do not want to be forced to buy something that i'm skeptical about. My car is nice and has 70k miles, it's in perfect condition, has a sunroof but it's an automatic. But it is also a 98 which look better than 95/96s in my mind.
Basically the only downside is the slightly higher cost and my worries of it getting stolen or hit, leading to more $ going to a better insurance coverage plan. Plus it's an auto.

Maybe I should just be happy with it and maybe do a conversion some time or when my tranny dies... although I do not have the *****, nor the funds to take this project on by myself. If it cost around 1,500$ for the whole process, I'd go for it..

what do you guys think?

 

I would say do the conversion. Although a lot of guys have 5 speeds, they're actually pretty rare, and if your car is in decent shape, why risk it all for another car that might not be, just to be a little quicker. If you really want to be 5 speed, I would go for the conversion, it shouldn't cost you more than 2000 if the chips fall right. Good luck.

 

Did you search EVERYWHERE for a 5 speed? Go to every car search website on the net www.cars.com, www.autobytel.com, www.edmunds.com, www.kbb.com, www.yahoo.com, www.excite.com, plus many more, don't just look locally. You'll find something somewhere. If you find one far away go to www.priceline.com and name your price for plane tickets. You can get a 1 way ticket across the country for like $65.00 sometimes, then just drive the car back (gives you time to enjoy and learn your new 5 speed ). Much more worth it getting something you like and will last longer, with a lot more area to search you'll probably find a few (I found 4), after you negotiate on the phone, search the net for a auto repair shop in the area and have them look at the car, I had 2 shops look at my car for $25 each before I even saw mine. Also get a carfax report. If you can't find anything better I'd just keep the auto.