'cause that's just who i am this week

[erika]

"Don't be afraid, it's all about practice."

How I did it: I originally learned to drive on my mother's automatic.  Eventually it was time for me to buy a car of my own.  My father and I found a great car, with one problem:  it was manual, and I'd never learned how to drive a stick.

That meant it was time to learn!  (OK, ok, first I whined about it, but then I realized finding a car for less than 4k with so few miles was really rare, so I could live with it being stick.)

The first lesson I had was with a friend who used to be a helicopter flight instructor.  He was very calm and didn't get worked up about the few times that I stalled.  We started in a parking lot late at night, when there weren't any cars around, and then we went out on the roads.

Then I went out with my dad and we worked on pop-starting the car, stopping and starting, and not riding the clutch.  Sort of an advanced lesson, if you will.

After that, I made it a point to take the car out every day for a week on my own to continue practicing.

Lessons & tips:

1. Having a patient instructor for the first few lessons is key. 


2. After you learn the basics, go out there on your own and practice by yourself.


3. I recommend learning how to drive on an automatic first, and then learning how to shift.

I only needed to drive with someone else telling me what to do twice before I could drive alone, YMMV.

Practicing by myself helped me because I felt much less embarrassed when I screwed up.

It took me 2 weeks.

It made me accomplished

See more progress on: learn how to drive stick-shift

Comments

[shanaqui]

Heh, in the UK you learn with a stick-shift by default. If you do your test in an automatic, you're not legally able to drive a manual.

[erika]

I actually knew this! (I dated an Englishman, lo these many years ago.)

[crazypumpkin]

Nice work!

I bought my 2001 manual Civic new in 2001. The sales guy would not let me test drive it because I did not know how to drive stick. I learned how to drive it home that night. And drove to work the next day. I figured there was no better way than trial by fire in DC traffic. Needless to say I became proficient fast.

[nonelvis]

Good for you! I hope you're enjoying the stick-shift now.

[mighty_claw]

manuals are usually cheaper to buy then autos anyway. my dad and boyfriend think they're more fun to drive, for some reason.

i would still like to learn manual. it seems fun.

[erika]

Wow! That's something very similar to what C~ did. He bought a manual car and learned to drive it basically by driving it off the lot.

I drove my car today to a doctor's appt, then to McDonald's, then home! I felt very accomplished. (Did not go through the drivethru, though, that would've been too much work.)

[erika]

Mmm... I don't know whether enjoy is exactly the right word. Appreciate, certainly!

It's a little easy to speed, though. >_> Not helped by the fact that the speedometer goes up to 140!

[erika]

you should! they are more fun to drive, definitely. There's much more of a feeling of being CONNECTED to the car, as opposed to just "yawn, I'm driving."