Nearly 1 in 5 drivers or about 42 million people in the US can drive a stick. You have confused your peer group with everyone. Used manual cars are cheaper precisely because they are less in demand and cheaper to maintain to boot. Purportedly quality of automatic varies a lot which older cheaper cars being pretty shit. Remember when people are picking a car not everyone is picking from new mid tier new vehicles or last years models.
Nearly 1 in 5 drivers or about 42 million people in the US can drive a stick. You have confused your peer group with everyone. Used manual cars are cheaper precisely because they are less in demand and cheaper to maintain to boot. Purportedly quality of automatic varies a lot which older cheaper cars being pretty shit. Remember when people are picking a car not everyone is picking from new mid tier new vehicles or last years models.