I originally had an automatic Crossfire that I had traded in a while ago and now just bought another one, only this time = manual (I truly missed the Crossfire). The manual to me has a very soft/luxurious feel unlike the notchy feel that I had encountered with a previous 350z. The only ones that had problems were from models made before Dec. 03 with a 'pop out of first gear' problem. This problem has since been solved and the new models have a new transmission. I, like yourself, felt that the gearing in the auto did not always match my driving tastes as well. I would not really worry about resale value = both auto and manual are relatively the same or close as of now and you will always have to understand that a car is one of the worst investments = buy it for your pleasure and enjoyment and never look back!