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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to get an automatic car

130 replies

birobenny · 03/04/2015 18:17

I am learning to drive at a relatively late stage in life and am a terribly nervous driver (seriously so bad a feel sick before I get behind the wheel) I am learning in a manual and will do the test for a manual but I really want to get an automatic when I pass. I need to be confident by the time D's starts school in September and every panic (well a lot of them ) that I have while driven happen when faffing with the clutch/gears. Dh has been driving for 20 years and is a very confident driver. He will not get an automatic car because he says he doesn't like them. Who IBU?

OP posts:
Topseyt · 03/04/2015 19:10

Ah, then more of a need to agree on it.Wink

MrsTerryPratchett · 03/04/2015 19:10

I've only driven my parents' auto cars with any regularity and they have been utterly shit. However, my DM lets my DF have a say in buying them and he's not a 'real' driver. I'm sure he would buy lemons that were manual as well. I find the auto cars they have bought laggy, lacking power, unpredictable and generally shite.

TheReluctantCountess · 03/04/2015 19:12

Yanbu. I always had a manual car until I saw I like for sale, which happened to be automatic. Then I got together with DP about ten years ago and he needed to learn to drive quickly before ds was born and learnt to drive automatic only. We have had auto since. So much easier to drive.

StaircaseAtTheUniversity · 03/04/2015 19:13

Hated driving too- had several blocks of manual lessons and was getting nowhere. Used to cry before lessons and feel sick. Then I had auto lessons. Passed in 7 weeks.

Topseyt · 03/04/2015 19:16

Have you asked him why he is so against the idea.

My dad never liked the idea of automatics, but after my mum had driven my sister's one she leaned hard on him to get one. They did, 12 years ago now, and have never looked back. They are 80/81 years old now, and it has been much easier for them to continue driving safely now that they have one.

Tutt · 03/04/2015 19:17

I love a manual gear box BUT as the car I really, really wanted was a automatic I compromised and got it, the car has a DSG gearbox (flappy paddles on side of steering wheel),it is just the best fun, fabulous to drive, no lag, goes like shit and I love it.

EveBoswell · 03/04/2015 19:17

I always had a manual so was a bit nervous when offered an automatic but it was a chance I could not miss. I took a course on driving a new-fangled type of car and it was a doddle. I'd never go back to a manual gear car now.

I was in an accident the other day and my car was hospitalised. I was so used to changing gear with my left hand and a gear system in the floor beside me that I was daunted by the courtesy car that had gear changing coming out of the steering wheel on the right. Now I'm used to it, it's easier than my own car. I'd love to keep it.

If you want an automatic car, OP, get one. By the way, I have to ask why your DH doesn't like automatics. Has he ever driven one?

A says I don't like greens.
B asks Have you ever had any?
A replies No.
B asks How do you know that you don't like greens then?

JigsawsAreAllLittlePieces · 03/04/2015 19:20

I'm considering learning in an automatic as I have had a lot of lessons in a manual and I just cannot deal with the gears. I got physically sick before each lesson with fright. I'm hoping that with the gears done without me thinking about it that I will be able to learn to drive. I need to so I can grow my business and not have to rely on my husband to drive me around.

MadameJosephine · 03/04/2015 19:23

When I got divorced I needed to pass my test quickly so took it in an auto and so have an auto only licence and it has never been an issue. I now drive an electric car which are all automatic and I love it a

Shenanagins · 03/04/2015 19:26

We always resisted even considering an auto as they had a reputation for being shit and not very fuel efficient.

However, we were persuaded to get one and love it and can't understand why we were so against it. We have a manual as well and flit between both cars quite easily.

Get him to test drive one and then see what he thinks after that.

MrsTerryPratchett · 03/04/2015 19:29

I'd love to know if there is some sort of correlation. The UK has incredibly safe roads with low accident rates per mile, per vehicle and per person. And most people drive manuals. In countries like Canada, where almost everyone drives automatics, there are way more accidents/deaths.

All this talk of older, unwell, nervous, new drivers liking autos makes me think that there is a link. Possibly waiting for mass attack of biscuits these people should just not be on the roads... Certainly here in Canada there are people driving who absolutely shouldn't be.

richthegreatcornholio · 03/04/2015 19:30

automatics just make for such a more pleasurable driving experience

That depends really on your definition of pleasurable. For many petrolheads there is nothing much more pleasurable than a perfectly excuted heel and toe in a high performance car or nailing a double declutch in classic sports car. Sure, autos are great but they have their place as do manuals. Personally I'll take a powerful rear wheel drive car with a manual box and a mechanical LSD please but no thanks to traction or stability control.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 03/04/2015 19:31

Automatics are good on journeys but annoying in stop/start traffic, you're either brake brake brake or constantly going into neutral.

Pain in ice, the engine doesn't slow like a manual when you take your foot off the accelerator

Great on hill starts Grin and glide onto roundabouts.

I;d buy an automatic for DH if he ever decided to drive (passed his test in '93, drove once ) but not for myself.

SignoraStronza · 03/04/2015 19:34

It will soon become second nature op. I'm with your dh I'm afraid - would never even countenance am automatic. I suppose this means I'm a control freak! I like being able to drop down a gear and overtake or get out of trouble in a hurry. My dh had an automatic audi thing for a while as a temporary measure and hated it, despite its flashiness (he normally drives an skoda). It was totally crap for towing as well. I refused to even get behind the wheel!
I do like to use the cruise control sometimes though, during the long 50mph average speed parts of the M1!
If you only drive automatics you'll be seriously limiting your options.

Original poster
birobenny · 03/04/2015 19:34

He thinks that automatics are less responsive and mere expensive to maintain which I imagine is true. However I am such a nervous driver its making me a bad /dangerous driver if you see what I mean. I am tempted to change my test to automatic onlyI am so pissed off about this.

OP posts:
TheWintersmith · 03/04/2015 19:36

Y ALL BU

Get an electric car

no gears. Cheap or FREE fuel, no tax, minimal servicing Awesome driving experience. And the range is not usually an issue. Oh and did I mention free fuel?

Original poster
birobenny · 03/04/2015 19:37

mrs TP - I would GLADLY stay off the road but I am bring put under quite a bit of pressure to pass from dh as he doesn't like being the only driver in the family - which is fair enough I guess.

OP posts:
iniquity · 03/04/2015 19:40

Mrs t Pratchett's I doubt sutis are the reason for high fatalities in the US. They drive much longer distanced over there at faster speeds.
And although nervous drivers nearly always get blamed for accidents. The reality is over confident young men who speed have the highest road mortality rate.

TheVeryHungryPreggo · 03/04/2015 19:40

I live in central London where driving is constantly stop-start with heavy traffic, red lights every hundred yards and idiots cutting you up aggressively all the time. I have a manual (which I insisted on) after learning to drive in one, but I'm thinking automatic for my next car - because my left knee can't take it! I find especially on slow motorway blockages, after 30 minutes crawling along my left knee aches from constant clutch use.

iniquity · 03/04/2015 19:41

Should say auto

richthegreatcornholio · 03/04/2015 19:41

Get an electric car

Unless it's a Tesla no thanks. Shit and slow, with a crap range.

richthegreatcornholio · 03/04/2015 19:43

The reality is over confident young men who speed have the highest road mortality rate.

It's people who fail to look properly that have the highest mortality rate.

Tutt · 03/04/2015 19:45

Rubbish on the less responsive, mine does 0-60 in under 6 seconds in normal mode, there is no lag at all when I put my foot down and it has sports mode for when you want to launch!
If I want to drop a gear I use the paddles on the steering wheel, so all the benefits of a manual. I do understand that not all automatics are like mine but it is a good compromise between the 2 if you can get him to test drive one.
As for the start stopping I find it easier, my last car was a nightmare to drive and the clutch was so heavy that my leg felt like it was falling off when I did the morning commute. Now it's a dream.

ClumsyNinja · 03/04/2015 19:48

There's a massive range of automatics available nowadays so you can just as easily find one that's cheap to drive/maintain as a manual car. Your DH is scraping the barrel trying to find an excuse to be difficult.

My mum struggled learning to drive a manual and swapped to another instructor who had an automatic and passed. Its your life OP, just do whatever works for you.

My DH passed on a manual but never felt very confident during the years he had a manual car. He's totally at ease now in his auto and that benefits all the family.

TheFairyCaravan · 03/04/2015 19:49

We've got 3 manual and one automatic car in our house. The automatic is mine, I love it. I have it because I have nerve damage in my left leg so it lacks strength and tires easily, hence using a clutch can be a problem.

When we change DH's car he will be getting an automatic too (his choice), we always use mine on weekends, holidays etc because he loves it. And it's not less responsive.

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