Buying a manual Mercedes - Fishermans Bend

I was on vacation in Florida on Christmas vacation. I was walking down the beach and I see one of my colleagues approaching me. He is a psychologist. "You had breakfast yet," I ask?

"No."

"Let's find a place."

"Good," he says. "My car is right over there."

I get in his car, a brand-new Mercedes, and right away I notice that it's a manual gearbox.

I say, "You bought a new Mercedes with a manual gearbox? I didn't know that they made a Mercedes like that."

"They don't," he says. "I ordered it special."

"I'll bet that cost a fortune," I reply.

"Oh, ya. You got that right."

"Why would you buy a new Mercedes with a manual gearbox," I ask?

He says, "My wife can't drive a manual."

Buying a manual Mercedes - Engineer Andy

Nice.

Saw a nice C class Merc coupe (the previous version) up for sale on Motorpoint the other week - a manual version as well, and considerably cheaper than the other autos of the same age/mileage. Unloved in the UK as luxury cars almost always have to be autos of some description, especially Mercs.