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Driving an automatic
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Ok I'm looking for a used car at the moment and we've come accross a great deal - 1992 ford fiesta, good condition, MOT and taxed for £340. Only problem is its an automatic. Having learned to drive a manual, slogged my GUTS out to get to grips with a manual gearbox, I kinda feel like this is a bit of a step down and that I wouldn't feel like I was driving in an automatic! But it is a great deal. I know it will probably be easier to drive an automatic too, so I don't know what my problem is. Am I being silly?
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i personally wouldnt get a automatic, but thats just me, i find it boring and a bit shitty.
:crying:
Everyone wants me to get it but I want a manual, even though its silly!!
54,000 aint much tho, which is a bonus.
However, I would recommed you were to get a manual as you have just passed. Its better to get the experience of driving with a gear box now, and then in the future get an automatic when you could easily swap between the two.
I dont know if that makes any sense, but I am cold, and stressed, and cant think of any other way to put it!
I just feel like I've spent so long learning hill starts and clutch control in traffic etc it would be a bit of a let down if I didn't actually get to do any of it!!
check www.autotrader.co.uk and similar sites as well as your local paper's car ads.
Good luck
:yes:
And, not that I have any experience of driving either as an actual passed driver :crying:, surely, even if you do go back to manual and find it a bit of a stuggle, it's not going to be as hard to pick up, because you're not learning to pass a test, you're learning your way. So as long as you remember the basics (which I'm sure most people will), I can't imagine it'd be a problem to get the automatic if you wanted to.
If on the other hand you don't have any intention of buying a manual ever again or renting a car (because most rental cars in europe and the UK are manual) then you will be fine - but I think if you struggled to learn how to use a manual then you'll probably forget it - get out of practice - and become nervos about driving another one unless you get some practice in right after your test.
Automatics usually attract a premium in the larger cars as 'executives' want the auto option... in smaller cars, there is less of a demand and so are usually cheaper.
Kermit is correct, my auto was fantastic. But I'm a bit lazy.
I can imagine a small car (with a small engine) being a bit naff as an auto, though.
Each time you drive a new car you need to learn it again.
I drove an old automatic after passing my test and it hasn't done my driving ability any harm at all.
I've driven 3 cars (all diesel) and I've had no problem swapping between them. Changing cars is easy because the same rules apply, but I do feel like I'd be out of practice if I drove an automatic for a year. But thats a different point althogether. I do think I'd find an automatic boring, and I'd be missing a lot of the things that I like about driving a car! This is what bothered me originally, although I think the fact that I've just passed my test and need a bit of work on the higher gears is more important now
In conclusion I definatly won't be buying an automatic! Mainly because a lot of people have said it would benefit my driving abilities to have a manual. But also because I don't want one haha
I had five lessons a few years a go and stopped coz I 'd have to pay for them myself but th elast one didnt go so well either.
in the meantime I have been diagnosied with dyspraxia, which affects coordination and can make driving difficult. The info about dysprxai says driving can be difficult and recomments automatic cars.
I wold be ok with this coz I see automatics as easier to learn in and superior to manual cars in my opinion.
However as it has been noted, people dont see automatics as better and nearly everyone drives a manual. I dont know if driving schools even have automatci cars to learn in and my mate says they are hard o insure plus I know they are usualy more expensive.
what should I do?
It's what you see as better that counts. If it suits your needs, that that's what is important.
Some driving schools do have autos.
They're more expensive to buy new (about a grand or so usually), but secondhand they're no more than expensive really. Not as many about, though, unless you're after a big car.
Manual gearboxes are more involving, often more desireable(unless it's a Jaguar, BMW, etc - or even top of the range Mondeo), and believe it or not, generally cheaper to insure.
But it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. For a first car, does it really matter? You're likely to only keep it for a year. So long as the car itself is good, I wouldn't worry too much on the transmission. If you're often stuck in traffic, I'd consider an automatic to be a bonus .
Passing your test doesn't instantly make you a good and safe driver who can take on anything. Until you're happy and confident with what you are doing and feel you have had enough practise think really hard about where/when you drive.
:yes:
My mum got an automatic and it was great. But today something has gone wrong on it and it's cheaper to get a new car than repair it, even though it's a pretty nice Ford with a computer, CD player, a/c and stuff. It's only the radiator that's gone this time - but it does have problems quite often, but the car's not worth a lot because for one thing, automatics aren't very saleable, and for another, it's a Ford Scorpio (but I think it's a nice car!)
I would hardly say I'm going out to 'play' in it. I know what I'm comfortable with, and I don't intend going out on my own for a while - even though my driving instructor said I'm one of the best and safest drivers he's taught. I can drive the car perfectly well, its just confidence I lack because I haven't done much dual carriageway driving. I'm starting my pass plus in a week or 2 to get a bit more practice with high speed driving anyway, but if I can't practice what I've been taught in a manual then there doesn't seem much point
I never knew this until I recently began running an auto to get me to and from work. Horrendous really.
A very important thing to consider.
It does vary wildly - some are far worse, some are hardly noticeable. My Dad's T5 is an automatic, and he generally gets 24mpg or thereabouts. Can't see a manual being much more than 2mpg better in average use. Stepmothers Mondeo is an auto too, and she generally sees fairly similar economy.
Generally, budget on losing 5mpg over a manual and it'll be about right. I tend to think that driving 'swiftly' is far more economical in a manual than an automatic, but overall the difference isn't so bad. On long journeys, the difference will likely be miniscule.
But, look at it this way - most cars will cost £400 or so for a decent clutch replacement. A 5mpg drop in economy will take a lot of miles to use £400 extra of fuel... so assuming the gearbox doesn't break, it's pretty even overall.
Oh definitely, the car I have now is quite a sporty Fiesta and I'd cry it it was an auto. An auto is not anywhere near as much fun when driving fast down country roads. Around cities, though, and on long motorway drives, automatics are much better.
I also think autos tend to be a bit more economical for most drivers- certainly the ones I've driven have been set up to short-shift upwards when you gently accelerate, when most manual drivers won't do that.
If the OP is trying to find reasons not to get an auto then its not a good idea to get an auto.