Hello,

I have a '99 SE 5 speed with about 138k miles. The car is in great shape but because I moved to the NYC area, the sitting in traffic is starting to kill my knee. I would like to keep the car and wondered what the cost would be associated to switch it to an automatic from the 5 speed. I know more people are interested in swapping the other way. I'm hoping to keep the car because it's been great to me and I've owned it since it had 6 miles on it but the 5 speed has to go. So, I ask has anyone done this and about how much did it cost and what is necessary to get (parts wise) to do the swap? If it's too much I may look to sell/trade in the car for something automatic.

Thanks in advance.

Tom

 

to be honest it probably wouldnt cost YOU a dime, im sure theres lots of people who would be willing to swap their automatic for your 5 speed.

 

^^^ Seriously, I would, if you lived closer to me...They quoted me about $450 to do an auto to 5 speed, but thats just for labor, so you gotta figure, 2 cars and doing the even switch, would be anywhere from $900-1000 minimum all together....

 

lots of wireing involved. its not very benificial to go auto to 5spd in my opion. youll be left with holes to fill and its not as easy.

 

fixed

Just sell the car and buy an AT.

 

You can easily find someone on this forum to buy that 5Spd

 

I'll buy it, cash! How much you want, check your pm.

 

You will get more for the manual and then could buy an auto + cheeseburgers.

 

why? You'll make someone else much happier trading them your 5pd for their auto. They'll be more happy with their new 5spd than you with your 5pd-->auto swap. am I right?

 

yeah to be honest with you, as much as you like the car i think your best bet would be to sell it and buy an auto. or if your persistant on keeping it, im sure there are more then enough people willing to trade you there auto for your 5spd.

 

i want a 5 speed..too bad you live up north where theres plent of rust to go around... =/ houston's weather is better but still not as friendly as california's awesome climate... =)

 

I will never understand that. My girlfriend lives in Queens so I've been through NYC quite a lot, but no matter what I see or have to drive through I still can't imagine giving up my 5-speed. I have literally sat in Manhattan, on an uphill part of the street, in traffic so bad that I was averaging 20 minutes between traffic lights, for an hour and a half straight, with my 5th gen clutch (which is firmer than the 4th gen), and my leg barely starting to shake from the fatigue and the pain, and never ever wished I had an automatic.


But maybe I'm weird like that.

 

I must be weird like that too, would never give up a 5spd regardless of traffic or location.

 

that makes 3 weird guys...stick shift is just better

 

hey, you're in collegeville! I don't live there, but my gf goes to school there, hence I'm up there pretty often. I was just excited to see someone on this forum from that area.

Since you've had that car since it was a baby, I don't think you should sell it AT ALL. You know how that car has been taken care of, and part, if not the majority of owning a car is knowing that that car is in good condition and has been kept in good working order. That's a piece of mind that is priceless. Especially since selling your car would require you to buy another maxima that could very well have been someone else's headache and moneypit. So please, don't listen to these guys by selling the car. I just had to put that out there. Get the swap if you want, if you can live with the price of the conversion and any miscellaneous odds and ends that may result from the swap ("holes to fill, etc").

I personally think that if you bought a 5spd, you should just stick with it. It indicates to me that you are a car enthusiast that loves to drive and really get as much out of a car as you can. SInce you've had a 5spd for so long, I feel there will be times that you may regret your decision to go auto once you are auto....you'll probably be on some stretch of twisty road, or wanting to really put the car through its paces and you WILL want that 5spd back. I feel you may not be realizing how much you truly do love the manual. I know I will only drive a 5spd, but there are times in heavy traffic where I wish I had an auto tranny....but then when I truly think about it, I'm like WTF am I thinking, I love my 5spd. It makes me feel so connected to the car, and makes it so fun to drive. If you can still find that with an auto tranny, go right ahead. I'm just saying, really think about it before you follow through, because I'd hate for you to regret it since you already have such a nice car, one that would no doubt be the envy of many on this org.

 

damn, that was too long...sorry!

 

... I think what you should do is borrow a friends automatic and see how it feels ... and go from there ... but you shouldn't sell ur car or try to do a swap because there's just too much headache and $$$ involved ... just my .02 ...

 

I felt sellers remorse after i sold my 92 VE 5spd, when i got my 98 i had it for 6 months before i swaped it. Keep the 5spd. otherwise youll be spending thousands of dollars just to have an automatic.

 

i wish we were closer, i would have swapped with you....

 

you could just buy an auto beater.......

 

thanks for all your insight. Many of you gave me things to think about. I live right outside NYC now and don't go into the city much more than once or twice a week (if that). It's only then that I have issues with having a clutch otherwise, I love driving the car. And as someone mentioned "you'll probably be on some stretch of twisty road, or wanting to really put the car through its paces and you WILL want that 5spd back", that hit home. I'll miss that. So, for the time being, while I have two legs to walk on I'll keep the car. But when the time comes to wish her well I'll send out a post for you all.

Thanks again guys for slapping me straight again. Not sure what I was thinking!

 

Any time.

And in case you ever need another reminder, there's plenty more where that came from.

 

no problem. if your ever in houston and you want to do a swap ill be waiting

 

I love stick and do want a 5 speed in my max but some guys are pretty gung-ho about them though huh? I remember a time when having a stick in anything but a performance car was deemed as cheap. I actually remember a friend of mine when we were in high school bought a Legend,like an 89 or something and it was stick,we laughed at him everytime we saw him driving that car,but more recently it has been kinda flip-flopped to more luxory based sedans to have a stick,maybe my boy was just ahead of his time

 

hey, glad I could finally help someone on the org! Good luck and above all, have fun

 

Overzealous? There is no way you could be talking about me.





Feeling connected to the car is usually marginalized as something that is confined to enthusiasts. Personally, I can't stomach the idea of hurling one and a half tons of metal down a highway at 60+ with anything but as much connectedness as possible. Most people don't see anything wrong with isolating the driver from how the car works... I see it as a sin. There's just too much at stake (i.e. harm and death) to be able to excuse anything that encourages ignorance of what the car is doing and takes control of the car out of the driver's hands, except in an extreme emergency.

And that's only the beginning. You can do things with a manual that you can neither do, nor compensate for not being able to do, in an automatic -- things like skipping gears, going from accelerating to coasting and back to accelerating with ZERO drivetrain shock, or compensating for wear and tear or extreme temperature conditions by changing how you shift. You don't need your brakes to stay stopped on level ground, you don't need anything more than your handbrake to stay stopped anywhere else, you can put your car in neutral at a stop light without worrying about drivetrain shock when you put it back into gear...

And no, autos with manual gear selection aren't any better. IMO, driving one of those is just posing. If the car is going to shift for you, let it shift for you. Those systems only delude you into thinking you have more control than you do.

 

Always good info dOOdfood.....