It's been over a decade since I've driven a stick shift, so I wanted to get a little practice.
I called every driving school in the area and none of them offer manual transmission lessons.
Even the largest company, with 15 cars in their fleet, is all automatic.
wat do
Learning manual is something you should be thought by a parent or you should teach yourself . Buy a cheap shitbox watch some YouTube videos and have fun.
>wat do
Accept the fact that abacuses, 8-tracks, bunny-ear tv antennas and manual transmissions are outdated technology that no longer has a place in modern society.
I learned to drive stick when I first learning how to drive. It was on an old 2-seater Suzuki SUV (Samurai?).
That was 10 years ago and I haven't driven manual since.
I need a refresher but I don't want to spend $2k on a shitbox just for a refresher.
It'll come back to you in a few minutes so don't even worry about it. Also, I think the users on this board literally have the worst reading comprehension on the entire site
>all this cope
Dude what are you on. You are going to flush money away on lessons but you wouldn't buy a car? Get a $500 shitbox and go fucken burn around!
right?
it's like a nu-male's "10 things I hate list"
>nu-males
Add this to the list, faggot.
Rental car.
that too, Sally
test drive a manual
>sonic
>cruze
>elantra
>fit
>versa
>impreza
>fiesta
>mazda3
>corolla
>Also, I think the users on this board literally have the worst reading comprehension on the entire site
Absolutely this, it's pretty amazing how much everyone just repeats each other tbqh
I learned to drive a stick when I was 16 working on a farm, and after 10~ years I was able to go back to smoothly driving manual after just a few minutes. It's like riding a bicycle, you just don't forget how to once you sit down and moving.
Just go test drive a wrx.
Dealer's not gonna let him test shit unless he lies and says he already knows how to into manuel.
You don't need practice of you drove regularly 10+ years ago, you may stall a few times or burn the clutch a little but you'll do fine OP
this is false. Also he said he drove stick 10 years ago
The Focus S comes with a manual too. Not sure if 5-speed or 6-speed, though the 5-speed is pretty good, incredibly stout transmission Ford has used for decades, they're even used in MR British lightweight cars.
No it is actually very true. A decent dealer isn't gonna let you go beat on a car you don't know how to drive. They're certainly not going to let you test drive a brand new STI just so you can learn how to drive standard.
Alternatively I would browse Carigslist for manual cars for sale, then see of one of those owners will let you do this.
Is it really that bad in America? People who can drive a manual car must be treated like magician over there.
I went to a Toyota dealership a couple months ago and they didn't even ask if I knew how to manual, they threw me into a GT86 and said "go have fun, we don't pay for tickets"
Driving schools exist to get high school students to pass their road tests, not teach you anything useful. Of course they're going to take the easy way out and go auto. They don't want to bother teaching some 15 year old girl what a third pedal is for.
Just make friends with someone who drives stick and see if they'll let you practice. I live in whitebread suburbia US and manuals are everywhere.
>Is it really that bad in America?
Yeah, especially with most states requiring a doctor's note to apply for a manual permit. They don't trust most people to do anything as complicated as drive stick.
>over a decade since I've driven stick
>now I need lessons
What the fuck. It's like riding a bike, you never forget.
>be me buying first car years ago
>want to learn stick, buy a manual Mazda3
>dad is proud, says he will teach me how to drive stick
>he hasn't driven stick since 1973 when his Celica got smashed up
>gets in Mazda3 at dealership
>I sit in passenger seat
>starts up car
>drive away perfectly, he starts shifting through gears like it's nothing
>starts rev-matching as we get near stoplights
>looks over at me when car stops
>says nothing, just happy
>proceeds to teach me how to drive stick over next few days
That was in 2012. Don't be a fucking cuck OP, get a car and go. Even if you're rusty, it'll all come back to you in no time. My current DD is an automatic SUV, but I had to use my mechanic's loaner Civic a few months ago, and it was a 5speed. Got in and drove it fine, even if the engine was a gutless piece of shit.
Actually, I had a salesman help me learn to drive stick in a brand new Dart. If they think they can make a potential sale out of it they will totally help you.
Lol that's not true
I tried to test drive a Veloster back in 2015 and they only had one on the lot and it was a manual. I told them I wanted a manual but they asked if I've ever driven manual before and I said no. They basically told me to fuck off after that.
Very thankful for their assholery or else I may have ended up in a Veloster.
>GT86
>have fun
>tickets
lmfao, things that never happened
They'd probably have let you stick your dick in the exhaust if they thought you would buy it.
Darts were hard to unload.
OP here.
I checked Craigslist for a manual shitbox.
It's just boomers selling their garage-kept Corvette or classic Porsche (I live in a popular retirement area with one of the largest classic car shows in the world).
Everything else is auto.
download the app TURO
it lets you rent regular people's cars just like yours and mine, search out a car and filter the results to return you manual transmission cars. then rent some fool's manual transmission car and learn manual on it
oh shit, btw, make them deliver the car, so you dont have to be seen by them driving it, you can also filter out those who wont deliver the car
The cost savings in repairs alone is worth a manual transmission. A clutch plate is a couple hundred and total replacement is several hundred dollars with labor and might only be needed once. Auto transmission you are looking at several hundred for most repairs and at least a couple grand for replacement, not including labor.
With auto trans you are sacrificing simplicity, reliability, and a tiny amount of brain capacity (know how to shift) for complexity and expensive repairs.
No contest
Auto transmissions have a lower rate of failure due to the fact that everyone knows how to operate them.
Post on the gigs section of craigslist.
Say what you said in the OP and that you'll pay someone $30 for 90 minutes of showing you how to drive stick.
You will get legit replies.
That's fucking hilarious, I feel bad for the poor sap who's gonna need a new clutch. Just return it to him with a knowing, shit-eating grin on your face.