I've always had difficulty shifting from 1st to 2nd. It's imprecise and clunky making quick and smooth shifts a challenge. It recently popped out of first a couple times (first time in 2.5 years) so they replaced the synchronizer. After they botched that, I got a new transmission. Now it's worse than ever. When shifting from 1st to 2nd when the car is cold (<40 deg), I practically come to a stop. It is TERRIBLY stiff. When it's warmed up, it's about as bad as the original transmission.

I'm a huge fan of rowing my own, but if I had it to do again, I'd go with the auto.