It's not really a preference if it's only what you can afford. People who only buy second-hand cars will naturally end up with whatever was new 5 years ago, which will gradually include more automatic ICE cars, hybrids and EVs.
If I have £15,000 in the bank, spending £8,000 on the manual vs. £9,500 on the automatic (Renault Clio, 5 years, both on motors.co.uk) is significant. I'd choose the cheaper car.
If I have £50,000 in the bank it's much easier to justify.
(And if I have only £8,000 or less I don't have a choice, but I might tell my friends I "prefer" not to put a lot of money in the car.)