I think I have seen people with similar problems on here, but I am wondering if a solution was found or if maybe my car just needs to break-in still (it only has 700 miles). When I am in first gear and the RPM's are above 1,800 as soon as I push the clutch in there is a loud thunk, that doesn't really happen when I press the clutch to shift out of the other gears. The only solution is to shift at a lower RPM's (which is way slower than even the manual recommends) or press the clutch slower (which basically is just giving more time to let the RPM's fall). I have driven many manuals before and never noticed such a thing.