Yes it was great that the transmission bearings where not the issue. I have been hearing more complaints recently on manual transmission bearing issues on non mercedes cars.

It may be because the cars are staying on the road till higher total milage than they ever did before. Or the manufactures may be using lesser quality bearings. In my toyotas case I was suprised they sold a complete bearing kit for my transmission then found out it was a common enough problem with this brand to justify it.