I have been looking for a new car to use as a daily, but my most important criteria is that it has a manual transmission. I cant stress how disinterested I am in driving an automatic. Unfortunately manual transmissions are very uncommon in my area (especially in California ), it isn't hard to find a pretty good automatic transmission 4runner for sub 8000$. Manual transmission examples are snapped up quickly and it makes it hard to negotiate a good price unlike the automatic examples. Am I better off buying an automatic 4runner in good condition and converting it to a standard transmission or should I accept buying a 4runner with a standard transmission in worse condition? How much does it cost to convert from an automatic transmission to a manual transmission? I am interested in a 2nd or 3rd gen 4runner

 

I don't know about cost in your area, I'm in MD, and a lot of cost involved will be dependent on how much work you do yourself. Things to think about besides just replacing the transmission, you'll need a different crossmember, pedal assembly, flywheel, clutch kit, master and slave cylinders and hydraulic line, shifter and center console, 4wd ECU if you get a 4x4, possibly driveshaft(s) and be willing to accept some of your features like cruise won't work unless you also get a main ECU for a manual. If you stick with an automatic ECU you'll have to get creative with wiring for the park/neutral safety switch and probably the reverse lights and speedometer.

Since the 90s, an auto to manual swap has become no small undertaking.