Should I buy an automatic?

[tomato]

You know I got a pretty similar deal when I bought my Yaris, a few months ago.

I bought an '07 "Certified" Yaris with a couple years left on the powertrain, just like what you're looking at. The car already had 55K miles and they wanted $10,500 originally, if I remember correctly. I got it down to $9, then they nailed me with last minute add-ons because I didn't know any better (now I know ;), and I ended up paying just a little under 10K OTD for a 2007 Yaris, not too bad, not too good either because if I had waited just a few more months, I might have gotten a new one for just a little bit more (they had sales and 0% financing 2 months later, but not when I was looking).

There was a high demand for cars like that at the time, and gas was still kind of expensive around here. Plus I was really set on a manual transmission (they're supposed to be cheaper, by the way, so an auto, same year, at the time would have cost me a little more) because 1) I've driven MT my whole life, and 2) on a used car, I'd rather take my chances with someone's clutch (you know you're gonna have to replace it at some point anyway, no big deal), but I dont want to replace someone's automatic transmission though ;0)

MT's are HARD to find around here, so when I saw that Yaris, I jumped, practically bought it on the phone (the dealer put an add on Craigslist).

Now that I've driven it for a few months, I realize that if had gotten an auto instead, I would have been just as happy with the car overall, because of all the hills and all the traffic around here In fact, the MT on the Yaris is a little weird, compared to any other MT car I've driven.

So, that's my story.

You asked for advice or input, here is mine: if you don't get this Yaris, it's not the end of the world, don't worry, another one will be around the corner in the near future. If you want MT, then wait for a MT (they're HARD to find, though!!) but if you live in an urban environment, or have to go through heavy traffic often, or contend with hills, then why not get an auto for now?