Considering buying a manual Miata ND

>considering buying a manual Miata ND
>never driven stick shift before
>will probably just learn as I drive it off the lot

Is this a terrible idea?

Yes on so many levels, just practice with a friend's car on an airfield or field

I respectfully disagree, I think it's a decent idea if you find an isolated country road.

Just buy an automatic Miata. Don't fall for the stick shift meme.

You're not going to buy this car.

But if you did, you tell the sales person that you don't know how to drive stick and they will sit with you after hours or get Pablo the tech to teach you the basics. 2 hours tops. A sale is a sale m8, remember how valuable you are to them.

Depends on if you have any shame and can actually get it off the lot.

I would not take this approach. It was bad enough last time I bought a car and I didn't know they have these little lockout bracelets to get into reverse these days.
>have you driven stick before?
>....
>fu I've never had a non-stick car
>i just didn't know about your gay lever

It's not the worst idea, when I bought my first car when I was 19, I drove it home without knowing how to drive stick. It was all country roads so I got to take my time and also avoided hill starts (just blew stop signs on hills). I DO NOT recommend doing this if you aren't driving super low traffic country roads, even if there's only a single decently trafficked road do not do it. Best case scenario you stall a few times and piss people off for a short distance, worst case and more likely you cause an accident.

Not him but 'will probably learn as i drive it off the lot' doesn't seem like OP will have time to find a country road, but sure learn how to drive stick while around a lot full of cars

>but sure learn how to drive stick while around a lot full of cars
At least those cars are stationary. It's always fun when you bunny hop into the middle of a road and then stall while there is traffic coming right at you.

>manual
Did that really need to be stated? Really?

This is why you should pass your test in manual if you want to drive a manual. If not, only autotragics for you

I just bought an NA miata last week. I drove it home no problem. I watched a couple of youtube vids and was good too go. Manual aint hard at all. Still got to learn a bunch more but im proud to say I didnt stall at all.

you have to learn the basic of it first then daily it for a week. After that you'll slowly improve as you and your machine become one

You wont be able to drive it off the lot.

But please, do try.

That's a smashing, awesome, brilliant idea. Take it from someone that did exactly what you're about to.

Take a friend that can drive stick with you when you're buying it and have him deliver to your home, and then have at it. You'll learn in no time and will enjoy the power of control for the rest of your life. Don't worry about burning the clutch, you'll learn well before that, and if it does burn, then it needed replacement anyway (seriously).

Just remember:

You control the gas with your foot.
You control the clutch with your LEG.

So.... like how it is in most of Europe?

>>considering buying a manual Miata ND
>>never driven stick shift before
average miata owner

If you can afford a new Miata you can afford a driving lesson. Get in touch with a local school or instructor.

>drive it off the lot

That implies over paying for a car you intend on beating to shit since you don't know what you're doing.

Why don't you buy a beater 5-speed pick up truck in the $400-$800 range, and beat that up before you spend money you don't have.

miatas are easy to learn on, not terrible.
yes, since his question revolved around it.
ND has a hill start assist, holds the brakes when you push the clutch pedal

This. Just watch 2-3 videos on how to drive a manual. People make this huge deal of it, but you'll have it mastered in a week at most.

SINK OR SWIM FAGGOT! SINK OR SWIM!!!

Have a beat up 1.6L MX-5 NA. Want newer:
>1) completely convertible car (not targa)
>2) automatic roof
>3) light, tight car

NC RC is 1 and 2, but not 3.
ND is 1 and 3, but not 2.
ND RF is 2 and 3, but not 1.

What do?

yes

Please don't do this.

Fiat 124 Spider

NC RC with aftermarket suspension is at least tight. it's still lighter than practically any other comparable car that isn't a miata.

there aren't many options in general for folding hardtops. most of them are either expensive, or they suck, or both.

Does it have automatic roof?

just noticed you said auto roof not necessarily auto hard top - there may be some other options like a S2000 then but that too is heavier than an NC RC.

i bought an 84 z28 one time a few hours out of town. thing had this screaming 327 pushing like 400 hp. thing had a 5 speed manual. i've never driven a stick before, my buddy who came with my had to drive it home for me. the next day when i woke up i had no choice but to learn, i had to go to work. a month later i was drivin the shit out of that car

Drove a mustang in the rain and traffic in Houston for an hour my first time. A lot of lurching happened.

Meant auto hard top, sorry. My problem is not folding the top per se, but having a soft top at all as I got it slashed twice. When I put the hard top on, I'm just too lazy to take it off again (having to ask for help to a friend, etc).

>slashed soft top
The fuck is wrong with people

ask yourself this:
are you the person who can buy a bike without ever learned how to ride it and just it by getting home from the shop? do things like driving a quad bike, sailing small motorboat etc come naturally to you. if this is the case, which it rarely is, then by all means. do it.
if, however, you've found yourself get stalled on a bike because you forgot to downshit BEFORE a hill or you got yanked by a quad bike, or failed to stop a boat in time because, lets face it, transitioning from knowing the fundamentals on paper to practicing without incidents (and that's still far from smooth) is difficult. then maybe not drive your BRANDNEW car if there's a chance you'll damage it.
for fucks sake. just go with a friend like mentioned here.
clearly you are not THE go-to-car-guy in your social group. call him. he'll love it and he'll happily teach you somewhere safe.

Then the NC PRHT and ND RF are about your only choices for something reasonably lightweight.

Except of course the godmachine that is pic related

>call dealer to ask for test drive appointment
>say you don't know how to drive stick
>they'll assign someone to you who can drive it to a parking lot and let you learn for a bit

go this in the middle of the day on a weekday, they're bored as fuck and relish a distraction and any worker who knows how to drive stick will be happy to teach. I did this three separate times at three separate dealerships before buying my first stick shift car

When I was 16 I had one lesson on how to do it from dad and was shit but knew the concepts.

I learned by just taking the car out myself and going. Just make sure you understand how it works and you'll be fine. Watch a youtube vid on starting from a stop and avoid hills while you are new.

I think its a good idea. Worst case scenario you embarass yourself and stall in an intersection but its not dangerous or anything.

I've only ever driven a manual in forza, how would I do in real life?

an auto miata is a waste of money

The Miata is genuinely one of the easiest cars to learn manual in. Do it.