Scared to drive new car

[Darksquirrel90]

I've been driving manual cars for 33 years. No points or accidents ever.

Today we pick up a brand new automatic car. I test drove it with DH. He was fine as he's driven automatics before. But I have never and couldn't remember there is no clutch and slammed the break thinking it was the clutch. Im terrified im going to have an accident in it. This morning I woke up after a v vivid dream of being in prison, but no sight of why I was in there in the dream, now im panicking I'll have an accident and go to prison.

I don't want to drive the car im so scared. I need the car to get to work.

The dream has REALLY shaken me

Could your husband drive you somewhere like a big supermarket car park when they are closed and you drive around there for an hour. Reverse into spaces. Stop, start, just drive about and get used to it for a bit.

I don’t think anyone has suggested taking your left shoe off to help get used to driving an automatic. I found this helped me more to avoid muscle memory taking over when I started.

Most automatics have a little shelf for your foot, so you can tuck it out of harms way.
I second practice driving it somewhere quiet, like you were a learner.
They are actually so much easier to drive, especially in heavy traffic and you'll grow to love it.

This is good advice…I also did it with both my kids when they were first learning just so they got used to the feel of the car, I then did it with my elderly dad when he had to get hand controls

Personally I’d get up at 4.30am tomorrow and drive for a couple of hours while the roads are dead so you can get used to it.

Are you saying your old auto doesn’t havent gears? It definitely does!

I'm not sure if any current production car models have it, but there have been cars with " continuously variable transmission" or "variomatic". Scooters, golf buggies, garden tractors and ride-on mowers usually have cvt.

I was exactly the same when I first hit an automatic. It literately took about 10 mins of driving it around a car park to get used to it. Mine have always had a little footrest to keep your left foot out of the way.

My old auto has drive but you can't move the gear stick once it's in drive except to reverse or park - the new auto, when it's in drive, you can shift the gear stick to the right and down to accelerate and then move it back up and left again. Idk, is this semi automatic?

Did not be silly, I got an automatic around 15 years before DH converted from his manual cars over to automatics. It’s very easy to go between the two.

I came on to suggest this.

I was the same in January. Only ever driven a manual. I bloody love my automatic. I’d never go back to gears. What was I THINKING?!!

i was fine with my foot going from a manual to an automatic but I did take it out of drive and put it in neutral slowing down for a roundabout!!!
The car just stopped - thankfully nothing was behind me but it really scared me.
After that I put a yoghurt pot over the knob for a week or two whilst driving to remind me not to do it again.

I think you are a bit confused on terminology and how automatic gearboxes work.
All automatic cars have multiple gears just like a manual car (often they have more) the only difference is when it is D (Drive) the car changes those gears for you. Some modern automatic cars will have a number displayed on screen to show you which gear you are in. But even if it doesn’t tell you, your older automatic will still work through a range of gears behind the scenes all while in Drive.
Modern automatics increasingly have semi automatic options to allow a driver to manually move up or down through the gears. These are often either “flappy paddles” ether side of the wheel or a + or - to the side of the gear stick to move it over. Either option allows to change up or down a gear with a quick touch. Sounds like this is what you have in your new car.

Just leave it in drive and accelerate. No need to be messing around with manual mode. If you’re moaning that it’s sluggish you’re just not using enough throttle, floor it and it’ll kick down.

Thank you.

Why did you get an automatic car? Personally I prefer manual ones. I like the feeling of being in control and the "skill" (if that's the right word) involved in driving. I tried an automatic once and bloody hated it. But I guess you'll just have to go out in quiet periods and practice.

Dreams are (supposedly) a way of our subconscious making sense of our fears… so that’s that one explained!
I’ve driven mainly manual cars for 37 years but I’ve had a few of my mum’s cast offs… she’s only ever driven automatic. I’ve got her car now because she doesn’t drive anymore. I’d got to the point anyway where I was struggling to push the clutch in (back issues) so I happily passed my manual car to my daughter-in-law…
I think it takes 1000 miles or so to truly know a car… where everything is and its quirks! Then it’s second nature.
I’ve got a little foot rest for my left foot and keep it firmly on that. I have reached for the gearstick so many times. I still sometimes look at the gearstick for reverse… that’s something you never do in a manual!
I love the automatic now and I’ll never go back.
if you’ve been driving for 33 years you absolutely can do this. You’ll prefer it soon. It’s fantastic in traffic.
Mine is quite old now but it’s got 7 gears. I used to look at the gears on the screen thingy at first but I don’t now. I trust it!
Go round a car park for a bit then on a B road.
Make sure your position is right in the car. I sit much further back than I would usually in a manual.
All cars will be automatic eventually…

Honestly you’ll love it, I’d never go back to a manual

I’m always scared to drive every new car. Everything feels off and the breaks are different and the clutch is different and the windscreen wipers are more/less sensitive and I don’t know how big I am yet. You’ve just got to bite the bullet - my latest new car I took out for a practice drive, forced myself to do some manoeuvres around the industrial estate where learner drivers go and once I felt better, reverse parked into a couple of spaces at Lidl. Best to do it before you need to.

I made the switch to automatic instead of manual because I was struggling to pass the test in a manual. Had my left foot twitching for a few days but after that I got used to it. Nearly twenty years later I've driven automatics all the time and never had a problem hiring cars or anything. Just learn to be gentle on the brake and the accelarator.

I got an automatic 2 years ago for the first time and love it. Much easier to drive than a manual as others have said a quiet car park is what you need. I did it when we first got the car and took both of my children to a car park when they were learning to drive

I done exactly the same thing when I bought an automatic car . First time driving slammed on the break aswell. You will get used to it really really quickly . I can honestly say I drive better in an automatic than I ever did it a manual .xx