To book automatic driving lessons for DD

When my daughter is of age to learn to drive, ( only 2 years to go) she will be having lessons with automatic cars only, due to electric vehicles being the way of the future.

All very well having a conscience, but do they have the money to back it up? Second-hand hybrid and electric cars aren't that common (and might have buggered batteries), so they'll need to be able to afford to buy and insure a much newer car.

I thought all cars would soon be automatics when I passed my driving test in 1997.

turns out they are not.

dont assume

Automatic makes sense for those who are older learners and have had difficulty getting to grips with driving, or sometimes those with neurodiversity traits which might make managing gears more tricky.

Getting a manual licence just gives more options. Of course, you can still choose to buy and drive automatic. But what about if you need to drive work cars or hire cars, or share a car with a partner in future…..many of these will still be manual.

Unless there’s a good reason to learn in an automatic, go for manual to keep options open.

I'm just doing automatic only now at 40, due to anxiety. I'd get her to do manual if she can. I found manual too much to take in. It's not for everyone but it's much harder to get a cheap automatic car. So on that basis I'd prefer manual.

When we bought our car, it was about 4k on top for automatic. Yes you can get cheap old automatic cars but they will still be more expensive than the same version in manual, and as others have said insurance is more as well.
A friend was driven into recently and needed a courtesy car. There were no automatics available at all; she'd have been completely stuck if she only had an automatic licence.
It's just so much more expensive I don't understand why anyone would limit themselves and not learn in a manual

Honestly I don't believe that all cars in 10 years time will be electric. They are absolutely pants for the environment overall- yes your air is cleaner but the electricity comes from somewhere and they really aren't the future. Not sure if hydrogen powered models that are being developed are automatic or not but no I wouldn't book my child automatic lessons unless they couldn't cope with a manual - why would you deliberately handicap their driving license??

My oldest is only 12 but 100% both my kids will be learning in an automatic.

It's easier, safer and all cars will be auto eventually.

Insurance for an auto license is traditionally more expensive as well.
whilst I understand your logic (that all will be autos) I don’t think we are there yet. Not unless your budget is infinite for cars and insurance for the next few years to support that. Decent second hand autos are very very hard to come by and their price reflects that

Why limit your DD from the outset?

Yes, cars will mostly be automatic eventually but that isn't now. Unless there is a reason then why not go for manual?

DD learnt last year and I thought she'd have to learn automatic because of ADHD and a processing issue but I recommended she try manual first. She smashed it (not literally 🤣) in a manual.

They exist, but very hard to find.

Especially with the second hand/“cheap” car market booming.

i have an ancient fiat. Nearly 10 years ago it cost me 5k second hand. Last MOT it needed a fair bit of work due to wear and tear. I looked at replacing it, but cars the same age, with bigger mileage were going for 5k still.

my dc’s mates are all driving now and as we live quite rurally parents are trying to source cheap cars. It’s not easy.

an automatic is even harder to find. You may get an old top of the range one, but they are expensive to insure. Finding a group 1 automatic affordable for a teenager is rare.

You don't need learner insurance if you book with instructor. And you can add a learner to your own insurance for pennies, if not free if you want them to practice in your car.
There are specialist young people insurers with much more favourable rates and it doesn't make a huge difference whether you have automatic or manual license. Even better rates with a black box.
I also have a cheap old automatic car. They do exist.

I wanted my dc to take the manual test. I see it as not much more tricky to master and a potentially useful skill to have.

i also made sure their first cars were manual, to embed the muscle memory even if afterwards they move to automatic

It's noone else's but yours. If you know she'll never want to drive a manual car, then it's not a problem. If she ever does want to get a manual car, she can just have some top up lessons / test, can't she?

DD is 20 and has an automatic licence - she regrets it! Wishes that she had just taken the extra time + effort to learn manual instead of doing automatic for an easy pass. She’s now actually contemplating doing some manual lessons and retaking her driving test to upgrade her license.

Automatic cars with small enough engines for new drivers are hard to come by and much more expensive than their manual counterparts. She currently shares my car but would now like to buy her own - being restricted to solely automatic is making the search very difficult. It’s incredibly expensive to insure young drivers anyway these days, but an automatic only licence also happens to increase these premiums.

It has also restricted her at work as most of their vehicles are manual.

Not mad at all. When DH was looking at cars the salesman said that they're not making many manuals anymore.

I only have an automatic license, it hasn't caused me any problems. I must admit that some people are quite snobby about it but that's not my problem.

DD1 is learning manual atm and the only reason why is because she wanted to be a paramedic and you need a manual license. She's now changed her mind about being one and wishes that she'd gone automatic but she likes her instructor and she's come this far now so she might as well carry on with manual.

Not a typo! I meant mangle, that was my point.

Thing is, we aren’t there yet.

most cars in the UK are still manual. Especially the cheap small ones you’d get for a first car.

mil only drives an automatic. She is very limited as to what she can buy and tends to have to go top of the range models to get automatic.

so at this point in time I’d still encourage learning manual, unless she’s rich enough to go straight to an expensive car (and pay the insurance!)

My DD passed 2 years ago. Automatic only as we only have hybrids, so wouldn't be the chance for her to practice in a manual. These are 10 year old plus self charging hybrids so not fancy.

I would. The US/Canada got rid of manual decades ago. It’s about time we caught up.

Have you seen the price of insurance for learners? It cost £4k for my in his first year even with an old Peugeot 107. Youngsters are very likely to he the ones driving cheap old manuals for awhile yet.

Learn both

It does limit for car rentals, van hire, borrowing other people's cars etc in the future and makes no difference to the cost now.

I can't see the upside, it's not hard to do gears.

Up to your dd? I love driving manual (especially good for mountain driving) but my car is automatic. My mother only has automatic driving licence and she's mid 80's no issue for her

I learned in a manual as everyone seemed to think it very important.
I then only bought automatics and will always do so.

Not sure why it needs to be harder, just go for automatic is my opinion