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August 1990

Dear Tom and Ray:
About a year ago, I bought a 1985 Toyota Corolla. The first owners babied it, and it's a nice car. The problem is that it has a manual transmission. I have gotten the hang of it, but my wife has decided she will never learn to drive it. Rather than giving up and trading it in, I am considering having the good manual transmission taken out, and replacing it with an automatic. Would that be a) expensive, b) very expensive, or c) a really stupid idea?
Jack

RAY: Jack, the answer is d) all of the above.

TOM: If your wife needs an automatic transmission, either trade for an automatic Corolla, or keep the one you have and buy your wife her own car. I think the Mercedes 560 SEL comes with an automatic transmission as standard equipment. Get her one of those.
Beat up old car

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© 2006 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.


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