Thanks for all your comments and helpful suggestions. I just got on and found all the tips. To answer your question about the manual windows, it’s because she had a ‘98 Corolla with lots of electrical problems…air bag warning light off and on, and a drivers’ window that wouldn’t roll down anymore. Our other 2 cars have had similar window issues, so it’s a sensitive point for us, and always seems too expensive to repair for such a minor thing.
Her preference for manual transmission is four-fold: fewer people will be able to drive, lower purchase and maintenance costs (I know you don’t all agree on the latter) and BETTER GAS MILEAGE! I’ll have her read all your comments, though, and she may reconsider.
I understand your reasoning for what you want. I have the perfect car for you, but I’m not selling it. If you had asked for advice on what type of car to buy, all the above posts would have been helpful, but you are asking if anyone here has one for sale. This is not a buy and sell forum so we cannot help you. But then, you might have gotten lucky, it was worth a shot.
Regarding Manual Transmissions And " . . . BETTER GAS MILEAGE! " . . .
Carefully check the fuel economy ratings of cars you’re considering. Many years ago the manual transmissions delivered considerably better mileage than did automatics, but for many recent makes and models the difference might not amount to much.
I helped one of my children with a car as he went through college, undergrad and grad school. Now I’ve got a teenage daughter driving her own set of wheels and she’ll be heading for college soon enough.
As a been there, done that parent, I will say that to me the most important feature in choosing a car isn’t about windows or transmission choices or very much about mileage. I looked at the safety of different vehicle, first. I won’t let any family members drive little econobox cars. The money saved in gas would seem very silly after somebody gets hurt because they were trying to pinch pennies. Don’t be mislead by crash tests that give little light cars high marks. They are just generally not as safe as larger, heavier, recent model-year cars in the event of a collision. Get as many air bags as you can. A parent is responsible for making wise decisions that will keep their kids safe. Shop safety first.
Here’s a link to a good site for parents helping their children with a car.
http://www.informedforlife.org/
It’s worth your time to spend a little time reading there.
CSA
Here’s a web site where you can evaluate whether a particular car gets better gas mileage with an auto or manual transmission:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
Click on a year, then manufacturer, then model. The automatic is often better, but not always. The 2006 Honda Civic 1.8L gets 26/34 with a manual 5-speed and 25/36 with the 5-speed automatic. Auto transmissions are not only more efficient now, but also available with lots of forward gears. It used to be that you could have a 2-speed auto or a 3-speed or 4-speed manual. The extra gears allowed you to cruise at high speed an low RPMs.
Automatics are better at playing the EPA game. Manual can be shifted to top gear while putting around city whereas automatics follow an algorithm that keeps them in lower gears. I could skip gears when I don’t need heavy acceleration. And “lockup” torque converters meant nothing on the streets.
My manual generally out thrift the 2 other automatic cars in our family, despite the fact that my car had the lowest EPA mileage rating. And all 3 cars were 2003 and later. Of course, I’m not an expert in automobile propulsion. But Honda’s chief engineer of hybrid system says that one can get significantly better mileage with a manual hybrid than the market driven automatic hybrids.
On the subject of power windows, mine worked fine for the 150,000 miles that I had the car. The power door lock failed instead. As a college grad, I’d say that the OP’s daughter should have the mental capacity to read a repair manual and follow instructions. It won’t hurt to learn some minor repairs.