Want to learn manual and want to get a manual car in the near future.
What is the cheapest way to learn it? No one from friends and family drives or knows how to drive manual… I have full licence.
Would it be better to pay for lessons? Wait until I get my own manual and learn on it (means I can't test drive and may cause damage)? Rent a manual from some where?
Thanks
I know right, I should kick them out of my life.. looking on youtube is still different to physical practice though
Do they do rentals here where they deliver the car to your door? Costs a bit more but could be an option.
or you can…… read a Manual. I'll see myself out.
It's the shocking truth. Majority of people are driving auto now. What frustrates me more is people say "It's also got manual mode". If it doesn't have 3 pedals, then it's not a manual! period.
What frustrates me more is people say "It's also got manual mode".
I start laughing straight away when they tell me that. Usually they get the message immediately.
but my car haz semi-auto mode and i play the gears
Then it's a semi-auto or tiptronic transmission, not a manual. Like I said, if it doesn't have 3 pedals, it's not a manual.
I have also heard it called sports mode, by a Camry driver.
The majority of cars made and sold now are auto. Less parents with manual cars = less kids learning on manual cars.
I'll guess you live in an area with great public transport and never leave it - some of us rely on cars to get around.
Eh?
@AlanHB: No I live in an area without brilliant public transport. But I can ride or walk to a station or a bus-stop without complaining, as most of us can. As public transport is much cleaner than cabs, for me it is preferable whenever I can avoid using a car.
Otherwise there are lots of options these days. So LOL to the negs. E.g. Short and long-term hire, car-share, ride-share, friends, family, fools, neighbors, etc.
And the list goes on: Bikes, mopeds, electric bikes, electric wheel-chairs, motor bike, hitch hike, scoot, walk… using some depend on whereabouts you live but opting to learn a manual when a car is a critical resource is the only way to sensibly get a license, until everyone drives an electric vehicle, anyhow.
@zerovelocity: For me it will take 30-40 minutes to catch a bus to work, and the bus only leaves every 30 minutes or so during rush hour. The same trip takes 15 minutes in the car, and leaves whenever I can.
I also often work late, and the bus trip back home becomes hourly after 6pm. It's not uncommon for me to be at work at 7pm or 8pm.
With the above situation, would you recommend catching a bus or organising a long term rental over my ownership of a car?
I'm also an active musician, taking my guitars and amps around the city to play gigs. Would you recommend I take these on my bike?
@AlanHB: Mate you could hitch a lift on a large drone each time one comes past (to check/make sure no-one is preparing to overwhelm Canberra).
Seriously, if you have a car, what is there to complain about? What do you need a bus for? Or a hire car?
You have no problem to speak of whatsoever, unless somehow your car is manual and presents some difficulty? If so just sell it and get an electric car. Or a normal car with a slushbox if that solves the problem.
@zerovelocity: I drive manual - it presents no difficulty for me, and I'm not complaining.
I'm trying to understand why you think the alternate options should be preferable.
No one from friends and family drives or knows how to drive manual
Well then you'll need an instructor.
Hi this is Arnold, your instructor. Down, up, down, up, down, up
Come on, more energy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJdMjRHRLfg
More like UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT (B)rake (A)ccelerate.
SHIELD up!!
MOAR ENERGY
Yes do this OP. I did two 1 hour lessons and that was enough to pass the exam first try (already on auto P's).
Haven'y you played manual mode on your playstation?
Phase one: drive your auto like a manual to learn how/when the engine needs to change gear.
Phase Two: depress clutch
Phase Three: Manual driver!
yes technically i know the steps, but i'm sure real practice is what i need. also games are not that realitic, you can just dump the cluch and go, there won't be hill starts etc
Normal Driving : Dump Clutch and Go.
Hill Start: Rev + Dump Clutch and Go. Handbrake Optional.
Have a look at gumtree or car rental services (like carnextdoor).
Ha Ha! How long have you been driving?
he sounds like a very experienced game arcade driver :)
i drive like that.
don't even need to release the accelerator,
just poke the clutch and shift then dump, all in 0.5sec
@phunkydude:
You can save going to all that effort of pressing the clutch during upshifts if you're good.
Yes you definitely need experience, can't just watch a few youtube videos lol. There's a feel / muscle memory thing to it, you'll pick it up quick though.
If you're careful about it and don't crunch gears, the worst damage you're doing to do is about of premature clutch wear. It'll be fine. Personally I think the best option will be a handful of lessons with an instructor and buying your own cheapie manual car to learn in.
Not really the same. Most gaming wheels use paddle shifters. Even those with pedals skip the clutch, and a big part of driving stick is feeling where it catches. Plus, most games don't include stalling as a feature.
Maybe it'd be better to watch The Fast and The Furious a few times then.
Good idea. Don’t they have like 16!spd gearboxes?
There are plenty of simulation racing games that use the clutch.
Lol autos drive different to manuals, such as no going down gears to slow you just brake in auto.
I learned to drive a manual. It takes quite a long time to get used to it, plus the challenge of moving the car, watching everything else - it can get pretty stressful. You cannot drive a manual on an automatic licence - also I don't think you can just figure it out in a day with a rental vehicle. This is what I suggest.
Learn to drive an automatic with a family member - this will get you accustomed to controlling speed, road rules, handling the car, etc. Get as much time as you can until you feel really comfortable.
Then buy lessons with a driving instructor for manual - they'll provide the car and the expertise for you to actually learn to use a clutch properly. As long as you've already mastered the other stuff, you shouldn't need too many lessons.
Perhaps then buy a cheap manual car, have a family member in the car with you to practice on your own with the manual as much as you can before you go for the test.
Hope that helps - manual can be fun, but it can also be a massive pain in traffic. An automatic is brainless driving, but it does help you if you enjoy a coffee in the car on your drive to work. In a manual you're using both hands, in an auto you just need your right most of the time (except when steering safely of course). Make sure you get a manual with cruise control for long drives.
Thanks for that, I've been driving for over 5 years now. I'm just trying to justify whether it is worth it to pay for lessons since I already know how to 'drive'. I need more time with the stick even if it's by myself
Aha! I missed that you had the full licence. In that case I reckon you should still do some driving lessons and see how much you actually enjoy a manual. If you bought a manual car, you couldn't test drive it, same for a rental car from a lot. Or see if any of your friends would let you have a go in their car - driving a manual badly can cause some horrible sounds though!
Don't overthink it mate, its not as hard as people make it to be; the most important concept I reckon that clicked for me is learning to find the friction point. Then it's all gravy from there, practicing for smooth downshifts and hillstarts/stop and goes which is essentially getting to friction point at different situations.
And this is coming from someone who went from learning Auto to Manual and then Motorcycle.
+1. Solid advice.
The hardest thing in driving manual is taking off from rest. Once you've got that down everything else (smooth gear changes) will come with just practice.
I concur I was in same position as you about 10 years ago. Five years experience in auto then bought a small manual car. Driving it off the dealers lot was the hardest bit but once on the move same as the auto. And it keeps getting easier from there as other have said. Good skill to have don't reckon I would ever go back to owning an auto by choice though its getting harder. Probably my next car will be electric and so will all be moot.
no not worth it you'll learn very slowly from tutor
better spend the $ to get yourself an old beaten out mx5 and do spirited driving up the mountain run yourself
you'll learn how to drive yourself and picked up much faster.
very safe to do it on mountain run, no traffic lights, no intersection, no stopping
you'll be tsuchiya touge delivering tofu in no time
drive manual car to mountain run to learn drive manual…interesting…
He knows no1 with manual licence, who will he take with him? It's like going back to L plates isn't it?
very safe to do it on mountain run.
I lol'ed.
I just had an image in my head of going up the mountain on my motorcycle, then around the corner I see a stalled mx5…hmmm very safe!!!
I need more time with the stick even if it's by myself
I never lol but here i LOLLED
Stressful? Really? It really takes around 5 hours of driving to be sufficiently proficient in it.
You cannot drive a manual on an automatic licence
Varies by state.
In victoria this only applies until you're off your Ps. Once you're on a full license there's no restriction.
Same in NSW and possibly QLD too.
Does not apply if you're on Ps in SA
Good advice. Learning is the hardest part but once you get the hang of it, it's like riding a bike. Your hands and feet will just be on auto pilot mode and will move the stick and clutch without having to think about it.
You won't be able to rent a manual when you don't have that class of licence. Professional lessons are the most prudent way to go.
For new punters out there…please learn manual, its damn beautiful to drive a manual.
Thanks for the tip and I agree with learning manual when learning how to drive. I'm sure that my licence is not restricted because it's full license, might need to check vicroads website.
I believe this is incorrect, sounds like your on your fulls which means no restrictions on what you can rent.
*whoops replied to wrong person.
If you have an unrestricted licence, you can drive manual.
Whether or not you know how to is a different story.
OP MAY drive a manual (or you 'are allowed to'). At this point OP CAN not.
Not in Queensland.
@bobbified: No, he CAN not, he wants to learn and is currently allowed to TRY. When he tries and succeeds, that's when he CAN drive a manual.
No, he CAN not
He cannot drive it properly, but he can drive it.
The whole car is not just a manual gearbox. The gearbox is only one component. The car also has a steering wheel and four wheels.
@bobbified: Sigh. You didn't have a grammar nazi in primary school did you?
Kid: "Teacher, can I go to the toilet?"
Teacher: "Yes of course you can, but you may not"
Kid: "Teacher, MAY I go to the toilet?"
Teacher: "Yes. Off you go, but come straight back."
@Euphemistic:
haha - I was wondering when this was going to stop.
We actually did have a few of them grammar nazis at school! Annoyed the crap out of me every time I heard a teacher use those lines on someone that needed to take a leak… lol
I knew what you were getting at earlier - I just like to shit-stir!~ haha
Wouldnt you much rather be eating while driving instead of handling a knob?
I like fiddling with knobs.. I think it's a subconscious attraction
Forgot it was 2017, Im all for the knob then. I'd love to own a manual but sit in to much traffic. I was in the same pickle as you and had to buy a plentiful amount of lessons to learn manual. Cant really say ive seen my moneys worth yet.
Good luck ;)
I take public transport daily, driving is currently only done on weekends or I have to go some where after work. Recreational knob fiddling doesn't sound too bad as a weekend hobby :)
@Oz8argain: Do you make awkward eye contact with your fellow travellers?
Make sure your car is worth getting a manual for, Better not be no VL
as a loyal OzBargainer I will probably get something thats cheap & fun like 86/brz 2nd hand and hoping to learn and work on it by myself
@Oz8argain: Also consider Fiesta ST, cheaper and quicker than 86/brz, although it is fwd so not good for drifting ;)
When you rent a car it can be significantly cheaper to rent a manual. I think the price difference in the UK was about $100 for a few days.
Get an old manual car for like $500 or less with a few months' rego.
Get one or two lessons.
Then practice in it as much as you can - drive to the local shops, go for cruises around your suburb, probably avoid busy roads or highways in case it dies (there's not much to manual driving on highways anyway).
When it dies, sell it for scrap metal for like $200.
…
Profit.
Actually Loss … But yea, you'll learn manual.
Profit as opposed to paying $50 per lesson and needing at least 10 lessons. $300 cost as opposed to $500 or more cost. Plus you got to transport yourself places
I doubt they'd need 10 lessons.
10 lessons should be enough for learning to drive a non-synchro (double clutch) truck (assuming they already have a driver's licence and experience).
@aft: I guess maybe they could have 1 lesson and then decide from there. Maybe they 'get it' pretty quickly or maybe they don't
Er, that loss certainly, but how much could driving uninsured cost?
You're describing almost exactly what I did. It was more out of necessity though. Car came up that my mother could afford to buy for me ($500). Had a friend give me some pointers. Practiced a while. It's not that hard. Or at least it wasn't for me.
Just buy a manual car and drive it. You will get the hang of it sooner or later. Bunny hopping is all part of the experience
Actually it's nowhere near as difficult as these guys are making out to learn, particularly any car since the 80s will have a pretty smooth clutch.
*Unless you own a WRX. I started out on a post 2000s WRX and it took effort to learn to drive smoothly… clutch is not smooth at all
If any of your mates have a bike you could learn manual on that. A good understanding of the concept of manual will help you catch on with a manual car and vice vesa
Sorry, I cant agree with that one. For one the clutch is in your hand and you change with your feet, the other the clutch is at your foot and you change with your hands.
I ride motorcycles and drive cars/trucks and there is no way that riding a bike translate very well to driving a car. It's like saying, you can ride a pushbike with gears, you can ride a motorcycle…
Same thing with trucks. People think that a Road Ranger 18 speed is the same as driving a car box and they are nothing alike. Only similarity is clutch is foot and a gear lever pokes out of the floor and that's where the similarity ends.
Wait, if I follow his logic, I have a bicycle with gears = I can ride motorcycles = I can drive a manual. Problem solved!!
Car has a throttle and a steering wheel, container ship has throttle and a steering wheel… I can drive a car, therefore, I can drive a container ship… :D
I, in turn, can't agree with you either. I drove a bike before driving a car. Handling its clutch helped me a lot in a car. To the point that I had no problems at all, no bunny hopping etc.
That’s fine, feel free to disagree, but suggesting to someone who wants to learn how to drive a manual transmission in a car to go out and learn on a motorcycle is counter intuitive. The transmissions are completely different not to mention how you use them.
So, according to your logic, I can learn how to drive road ranger transmissions in trucks by learning on a motorcycle?
First of all, I wasn't the one to suggest that. Secondly, I just said, that motorcycle experience can make learning to operate clutch easier for some people. And third, I never suggested that it's the same.
Also, can you not bring truck in every comment?
Bike will teach you how to feel where a clutch catches, but that's about it. The muscle memory is completely remapped, as every limb does something different.
If any of your mates have a bike that they want ruined
As someone who had a manual dirt bike for 8 years before driving a manual car.. I am going to have to hoist the BS flag on this suggestion.
If anything, it's the other way around.
If someone wants to learn motorcycle, then I very strongly recommend they learn manual in a car to understand the concept of gears and balancing the clutch with the accelerator/throttle, as the concepts will directly be relevant to motorcycling.
I kinda agree. I rode motorcycles before driving manual cars. Concepts are the same even if the body mechanics are different. Motorcycle instructor told me of students skills "bicycle rider" plus "manual car driver" make good (fast learner) Motorcycle riders.
I hired a manual car and got my mate to drive it to an empty carpark at night.
The only problem I had was, twice, the car rental place offered a "free upgrade" to an automatic vehicle and I had to say no. The person at the front desk would've thought that it was strange that someone would not want the free upgrade and insist on a manual car!
But since you don't know anyone to help you, then you might need to hire an instructor.
"No one from friends and family drives or knows how to drive manual"
how does that happen?
anyway, pretty sure you could look on youtube, isn't that how people learn anything these days?
perhaps rent a car for the day….. just hope you get out of car park before rental company notices an issue.