basically im curious if a car with manual transmission can have the transmission go bad which happens to automatic cars with costs like sometimes $3500 because my teacher just had it happen and it happened to my dad and cousin twice. and i hope to get a car with a stick shift.
Both types of transmissions CAN fail, although you are more likely to have to replace the clutch than the transmission. It will depend on the type of driving you're doing, but if it makes you feel better, I have a 1990 stick shift that's never needed a new transmission and it has over 250k miles on it. Mix of highway, city and country road miles, not a lot of mountain driving or hauling done though.
The manual transmission clutch will wear out, but if you use synthetic gear oil in the transmission, it will likely out-live the typical automatic transmission assuming you learn to shift it smoothly and treat it right. It should be easier to repair and cheaper to replace with a remanufactured transmission than an automatic transmission is. I guess if you like shifting manually, the only downsides are having to replace the clutch when it wears out and many older people don't want to buy a car with a manual transmission in it if you have to sell it.
I once lost third gear in an old Toyota; the shop said that the gear itself had broken several teeth. Replacement was pricey. Then again, I never heard of anyone else with the same model ('75 Celica GT, 5-speed) with the same problem, so maybe it was just my bad luck or (more likely) clumsy attempts at speed-shifting. Most automatic failures, I suspect, are due to improper (or nonexistent) maintenance.
