3200 manual or automatic, what do you prefer?

X

Xpaugu

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Another 3200 has turned up on an auction sight in Sweden. So now it’s two of them for sale. Both green metallic, about the same mileage. About the same price. The manual is a 1999 and the automatic is a 2000. Both needs some tlc since they haven’t been driven for the last years.
What is the main difference to drive them? How fast does the automatic change gears? I’m usually an automatic driving guy but on a sports car maybe you want a stick shift! I don’t know.
 
highlander

highlander

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The majority on here are purists and will tell you go for the manual, but I had a 2000 auto (Mexico green metallic too :)) and loved it. Only 4 gears in auto but the kick down works well.......and no clutch every couple of years to worry about.
Both cars will be pre obd so you need to know how to read the errors or your know your mechanic can, that is where it all fell down for me living in an area with no pre obd support unfortunately.
Good luck with hunt
 
X

Xpaugu

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highlander said:
The majority on here are purists and will tell you go for the manual, but I had a 2000 auto (Mexico green metallic too :)) and loved it. Only 4 gears in auto but the kick down works well.......and no clutch every couple of years to worry about.
Both cars will be pre obd so you need to know how to read the errors or your know your mechanic can, that is where it all fell down for me living in an area with no pre obd support unfortunately.
Good luck with hunt
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Thanks! The funny thing are that they are about 40 km from each other... yes I have a mechanic that can help me. This car will be a major income for him
 
Phil H

Phil H

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One thing that may influence you is that autos were less prone to endfloat issues than manuals. My manual was a great drive on the open road, but it could be a bit of a pain in slow traffic.

PH
 
Oneball

Oneball

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11,118
Mine was a manual but if I had another I’d seriously consider an auto. I think the ergonomics of the clutch pedal, seat, steering wheel are a bit off. The auto also masks the knife edge throttle at low speed
 
StuartW

StuartW

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I drove both but owned a manual. I was warned about endfloat but still went for the manual and sure enough, the endfloat ended my ownership of the car.
For me though, no regrets and I still preferred the drive of the manual over the auto - both are somewhat agricultural but great fun, WHEN THEY'RE WORKING!
Be prepared to be patient and it needs to be a second car for sure, good luck
 
X

Xpaugu

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Great answers to you all, doesn’t make it easier though. Lets see what happens. The auction ends the 7 of May... the last, last owner is a car dealer nearby. I will check with them.
 
Ewan

Ewan

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Because of the scarcity of parts for engine rebuilds, if I were to buy a 3200 now it’d be an auto, even though both my previous ones were manuals. The risk of end float issues would put me off a manual, given that a full engine rebuild is at least the value of the car, and only a possibility at all if you can have parts made or source good second hand ones.
 
madmanmart

madmanmart

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Ewan said:
Because of the scarcity of parts for engine rebuilds, if I were to buy a 3200 now it’d be an auto, even though both my previous ones were manuals. The risk of end float issues would put me off a manual, given that a full engine rebuild is at least the value of the car, and only a possibility at all if you can have parts made or source good second hand ones.
Click to expand...

Most of the cars with Endfloat issues have already been dealt with now, these cars are getting old.
Plus it’s a simple check to do.

Parts are becoming available again, there’s a lot of demand for these cars in Europe.
Head gaskets are now available after becoming obsolete.
 
allandwf

allandwf

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Where are you going to use the car? In the city an auto is easier, on open roads the manual is better in my opinion. I may be biased as my AC was a manual. :)
 
CT3200GT

CT3200GT

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I have a GTA and I have been using it as daily driver for the last 2 years. It is very convenient in traffic and great fun in the open road. I have driven a manual as well. The manual is more visceral but in my opinion the auto suits the engine very well and the performance is still outstanding..
Drive both and see what suits you better.
 
X

Xpaugu

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allandwf said:
Where are you going to use the car? In the city an auto is easier, on open roads the manual is better in my opinion. I may be biased as my AC was a manual. :)
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Mostly on open roads but sometimes in the city. I think I boils down to which car is in the best condition.
 
redsonnylee

redsonnylee

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1,549
I had an auto for 10 years, living in London it was easy to live with. If I had another I’d still go for an auto. I did drive a manual but didn’t like it. So drive both and then you can decide.
 
G

gemini

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145
I'm afraid there is no answer to this question.
I'm fortunate enough to own both, a '00 3200 manual and 02 GTA (ok, it's an assetto corsa, but it doesn't make a difference, or does it?).
After more than 10.000km with both cars, I still can't say witch one I prefer. My inner self would be prone to say, very affirmatively, "of course the manual is better, how could it be otherwise!" but I must confess that all my friends who tried both cars (for a long distance, not just a few kilometers) prefer the GTA (and they usually drive a manual car).
Both cars are in excellent condition (or at least, I like to think so).

My advice : find a nice 3200 you can afford, in good condition, with a color combo you like, well maintained, and don't care about the transmission, it's not the most important, you'll enjoy the drive anyway.
 
X

Xpaugu

New Member
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18
gemini said:
I'm afraid there is no answer to this question.
I'm fortunate enough to own both, a '00 3200 manual and 02 GTA (ok, it's an assetto corsa, but it doesn't make a difference, or does it?).
After more than 10.000km with both cars, I still can't say witch one I prefer. My inner self would be prone to say, very affirmatively, "of course the manual is better, how could it be otherwise!" but I must confess that all my friends who tried both cars (for a long distance, not just a few kilometers) prefer the GTA (and they usually drive a manual car).
Both cars are in excellent condition (or at least, I like to think so).

My advice : find a nice 3200 you can afford, in good condition, with a color combo you like, well maintained, and don't care about the transmission, it's not the most important, you'll enjoy the drive anyway.
Click to expand...
I will definitely follow your advice and bye the best 3200 I can find, automatic or manual. Or I by bought of them.
 
Kincath

Kincath

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359
Good advice above. Buy the best one. I’m on my 2nd 3200 both autos and I can’t fault the auto gearbox. Good luck on the hunt. If you buy a good car it will be very rewarding. Buy a bad one and it can ruin the ownership experience very quickly. And maybe a divorce.... :)
 
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