And the tranny is often the first thing to go out...not so it the manual one.
If you use down shifting, saves on the brakes.
I just had the brakes done on my PT Cruzer (yea I know), 126K for the first time last month.
I will be really sad, if my next car has an auto.
(I have to admit that sometimes driving at rush hour in the LA basin, I wish I had an auto.)