Learning to drive,In an auto!

Nevakonaza

Nevakonaza

Nevakonaza

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7 Jan 2009
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Hey guys,

I know your most likely going to say,AUTO!..go with manual etc as its better...your not a proper driver with an Auto license etc. :p

Had about 10 lessons back in late 2010,then had to stop due to personal reasons,Then just started having lessons again recently and had 8 so far but i just cannot get to grips with the clutch,finding biting points etc and concentrating on the road properly..i go blank and end up making silly mistakes and im not very patient.

So i considered Auto lessons,Yes i know il never be able to drive a Manual on a Auto license but this does not bother me at all,All i want is a car to get me from A to B.

Just wondering anyone else been in the same situation and did you end up just going for Auto lessons instead?
 
What you are experiencing is normal for a learner driver. Its just whether you man up and actually learn to drive or just admit defeat.
 
Sounds normal to me as well thats why your a learner.
I think if you give up and go Auto, you'd regret it in the future.
 
Unlike Art, clutch control is something you can train and learn upon! It takes a while to get the hang of, some more than others, perseverance is the key!
 
It's a mistake not to persevere for a full manual licence. Your brain will learn to use the gearbox and clutch without conscious thought, just takes some time is all. All a matter of practice.
 
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Stick with it, once it finally "clicks" in your head, you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

Being limited to driving just an automatic in this country will seriously restrict you - you'll struggle to get a hire car (very few automatics available), hiring a van to move some furniture - forget about it - they'll all be manual.

You'll also be very limited for 2nd hand cars, and will need to pay a premium for a new car - manuals are the primary vehicle in the UK, the available automatic vehicles are very limited.


If you were 75 and taking your first driving lessons so that you can get around because your husband of 50 years has recently died and you want to keep your independance, then I can see sense in thinking about an automatic only licence.
 
If you are really struggling that badly then I would switch. It is better to drive an auto than not at all. If though it is simply something that isn't yet intuitive then I would stick with it. As with most things, some people can do it easily while others need to practice to be good at it. If you can stick with it though I would, if gives you the option then when you get your own car.
 
While I only like auto cars and would never pick a manual car in a million years, I would also never want to have an auto only license.

For a start every single rental vehicle you are likely to get within the UK (including vans etc) will be manual. Loads of company fleet vehicles are manual, courtesy cars from garages will be manual, etc etc. You will likely find it a massive pain not being able to drive a manual.
 
Driving an auto is fine, but it is generally more hassle if you don't have a full licence. I consider learning to drive as a basic life skill, and learning to drive a manual is the minimum standard, because that's what most cars here are.

Learning a manual is pretty easy. You just need to think about the order you do things (depress clutch, take gearstick, go out of old gear, into new gear, let clutch back up). As you get faster, it's not several things, but one movement and soon it becomes so fast you don't think about it and it becomes second nature.

Like everything else, it takes some perseverance and time to get good at it.
 
How many times are you stalling each lesson? 1-2, 4-5, 10+

If you can move the car away normally, but occasionally stall it when say moving away on an incline or when the traffic gets busy so there are more things to think about, that's perfectly normal when learning.
 
I can see absolutely no point whatsoever in having an auto-only license. Medical reasons excepted, of course.

Stick with it, you'll get the hang of it. Everyone learns things like this at different speeds - it took me quite a few lessons to get the hang of co-ordinating everything that you need to when you're driving, but once I passed my test I wondered what all the fuss was about.
 
The mistake that most learners make (Myself included many moons ago) is that of treating the Clutch like an On-Off switch! Treat it more like a "Volume Control" and you will be fine!
 
If you ever think you will struggle for money in life then get a manual licence, the bottom of the barrel autos are shoking.
 
Unless you have a disability there is no reason why you can't drive a manual, if you can't 'get the hang of it' and are able bodied I'd argue that perhaps driving full stop is best avoided, it's not exactly difficult to drive a manual car after a bit of practice.

Plus if your car budget is modest then most cheap small cars with autoboxes are horrible and unreliable, so you'd likely want to buy a manual car anyway.

If you intend to jump straight into an executive saloon and never buy a different type of car again then not being able to drive a manual might not be an issue, but I get the impression you'll be after a £2k Fiesta as a first car not a £30k Jaguar.
 
Pain having an auto only license when it comes to renting in the future and also, you may end up enjoying driving and fancying a manual at some point.
 
Thanks for your replies everyone! ;)

DampDog said:
How many times are you stalling each lesson? 1-2, 4-5, 10+
Click to expand...

Not a lot actually,In the recent 8 lessons (which were all double lessons
(2 hours) ive only stalled it twice,Both at times where it was very busy or pulling into a round about...my main problem is been able to get the gear changes in smoothly without making the car jumpy,My instructor said i tend to rush it all a bit quick. :p

I stopped at red lights on a very steep hill incline in my previous lesson and pulled away fine,found the biting point,little bit of acceleration and handbrake off and off i went it didn't stall,The instructor said i done well but changed to second gear a bit too early leaving it under powered but still im just glad i didn't stall it on the hill.
 
Sounds like you're doing OK, just stick with it, everyone learns at their own pace.

Some instructors are better than others..;):)

 
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