To want DH to learn to drive Manuel?

[Lipsticktraces]

Neither DH or myself drive. We’ve decided this ridiculous state of affairs cannot continue any longer and we are both currently looking to book lessons. I had my last lessons about nine years ago and DH last had lessons last year.

DH is a nervous driver and says that he really struggles with gears. He wants to book automatic lessons instead and I’m not happy about the fact for the following reasons...

It’s my understanding that automatics cost more to buy/drive/insure/repair. We don’t have much money for any of these things.

I’ve been told it’s hard to learn to drive an automatic after learning in Manuel (I intend to learn to drive Manuel)

If DH ever gets offered a job with a company car etc he’s going to be buggered.

Automatic lessons cost more and we are on a budget.

Aibu to want us to both learn to drive Manuel? DH point blank refuses at this point!

t’s my understanding that automatics cost more to buy/drive/insure/repair.

No, to all of these. I've driven nothing but automatics for over 30 years even though I have a licence for manual cars.

I’ve been told it’s hard to learn to drive an automatic after learning in Manuel (I intend to learn to drive Manuel)

If anything it's easier to drive an automatic and certainly it's much less tiring to drive on long journeys.

If DH ever gets offered a job with a company car etc he’s going to be buggered.

Why? I've had 2 jobs which gave me a car and neither had any issues with providing an automatic. Also my DS having failed his test on a manual (he feels just the same as your DH, about gears) so switched to an automatic and passed at the next attempt.

YABU.

CVT has been around at least as long as Fawlty Towers.
I switch between Manuel and auto all the time. My biggest problem is occasionally forgetting I'm in Manuel and stalling at the end of our road
It's true that electric cars don't have gears and changing gear will become an obsolete skill like double declutching.

Just go for automatics. There's no reason whatsoever why an automatic should cost more to insure - if anything they make people drive more safely. Likewise they don't really cost any more for servicing and repairs. As time goes on, there will be ever fewer manual cars around because it really is fairly pointless to opt for them when life is so much easier with an automatic.

Bear in mind also that you are likely to save a fortune on driving lessons and repeat tests.

I drove manual cars for around 20 years till my father passed his automatic on to me. I didn't have an problem with driving manuals, but I wouldn't voluntarily go back to one now, just because the automatic makes life so much easier.

YABVU.

I learned in a stick shift and drove one for years. Switched to automatic and have never looked back.

There is no difference safety-wise or in terms of handling.

I have had my current vehicle - a SUV/ 4x4 - since 2003. I drive in built up conditions with stop signs and traffic lights everywhere and also on motorways. Winters are snowy where I am and the automatic handles really well.

I have the same transmission all these years. It's a very reliable make and model. I suspect a manual with a good deal of gear grinding might go through more wear and tear.

Your H needs to be confident above all, when he drives. There is no advantage to forcing him to do manual first.

(Still laughing at 'Que?')

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but automatic gearboxes may become the norm as hybrids and eventually all-electric vehicles become commoner.

Thanks for Manuel.

As you are not a driver you really aren't in a position to dictate what type of car your DH should learn in.

In fact, even if you could drive it's still not up to you.

Automatics are so much easier. Leave him alone to choose.

I clicked on this thread praying someone had said Que, I knew MN wouldn’t let me down

I’m sorry @elQuintoConyo, you can’t allude to ‘the Great Ford Orion Brown-Trouser Incident of 1992’ and then not elaborate We need to know!

Another automatic fan here. USA autos are the norm and I don't get what's so great about manuals anyway; I get in my car put it in drive and, beyond switching my foot from gas to brake, I don't have to think about it. For someone who learned in the UK years ago with enough to concentrate on besides shifting up and down and clutch control that makes a massive difference, wish I'd switched to automatic while I was still there. I always rent an automatic when I visit. As long as he gets on the road who gives a fuck what kind of transmission the vehicle has? Treat him the way you expect to be treated OP and let him decide what works for him while you decide what works for you.

I can't believe this is even a concern. Surely the most important thing is that one of you actually can drive, not whether it's manual or auto?!

I like driving a manual because I like actually driving. Driving an automatic (which I have done for the last four years, as I've lived in countries where no-one has a manual) is a bit like driving a dodgem to me - point and press.

But...that's because driving an automatic is so easy - I don't understand the concern that it will be harder after learning to drive a manual.

Ideally every driver should be able to do both, but if the most important thing is to get DH a licence, then he should just get an automatic licence and be down with it.

(Congratulations on your DC!)

No issues with getting an auto license, the only time it may be an issue is with hire vans/mini busses etc but what are the chances of driving one of those?

More and more big lorries are coming as auto as standard so I don't see reliability being an issue.

Electric cars won't have gears.

Your arguments for manual license don't really hold up. For driving around a city or commuting into one I would certainly opt for an auto box - so much more convenient.

I’ve been told it’s hard to learn to drive an automatic after learning in Manuel (I intend to learn to drive Manuel)

Here is the story of how I learned to drive an automatic.
We had acquired exFIL's automatic car and were driving it back from its driveway 9 hours from our home. ExH was coming down with a cold and about 3/4 of the way home we stopped for gas and I offered to drive the rest of the way as he was sneezing a lot. After filling up, I sat in the driver's seat of an automatic car for the first time in my life, and he took the passenger seat. I turned the key in the ignition and drove about 1000 yards from the gas station to the on ramp of the highway, then on the highway for about 3 hours, then off at the exit ramp, onto the streets and eventually down our alley and into the garage.

An idea of what can go wrong when someone is in the wrong car.

I've just switched to an automatic after nearly 30 yrs of only driving manual card because my left knee is crap and the clutch aggregates it. It was a bit freaky for the first couples of drives but I love it and it means I'm focused more on the road rather than my painful knee!

If your DH only feels confident learning to drive an automatic then I'd let him do that. The drive isn't vastly different to a manual but there's just a bit less to worry about.

Dh and I both passed our tests in manual cars - him over 40 years ago, me around 25 years ago. Circumstances dictated that when we changed car at one point, we ended up with an automatic. I think it took however long the journey was from collection to home (about 5 minutes) for Dh to get used to it and for me, my journey to work, also around five minutes. We had that car for many years until just a couple of years ago when we were in the very fortunate position of being able to have two cars. Our ' best ' car is automatic -dh flatly refused to go back to manual and the second car is manual. I still like manual cars so I drive it to work, but that's all. Anything longer, then either he or I drive the automatic. When I retire and we no longer need two cars, it will be the manual that goes.
Let your Dh drive whatever he feels confident and comfort driving. It's much more important to be a safe, confident driver than to be one who is constantly worrying about his next manoeuvre - for him, his passengers AND other drivers.

DH learnt manual but we now have an automatic and will never go back. We haven't found it any more expensive either. Let him have the lessons he is most comfortable with.

Haven’t RTFT but quickly to answer your original post:

Automatics will generally cost more to purchase because the gearbox is more complex, it has a computer to control it and the mechanism itself.

Autos are the same to insure as far as I’m aware.

Autos are more expensive to maintain (marginally) because the gearbox is more complex. To be honest gearboxes shouldn’t really need all that much maintenance anyway.

Autos are less efficient because of the design of the gearbox- they use a torque converter (which results in around a 10% loss of power) in order to not bunny hop during gear change. However— many cars use CVT (continual variable transmission) which effectively makes the car single gear which eliminates the power loss issue (our Toyota Yaris has one and I love it)

If you’re not looking to do long distance journeys and don’t need more than 150 miles before you get home the cheapest option to maintain and run is an electric car- they only have around 20 moving parts as opposed to the several hundred in a combustion engine.

That said: get a manual licence. I can’t count the number of times that being able to drive any car has meant I’m able to help out in situations because there is no car I can’t drive. Having driven a manual for over 10 years I can generally get the feel of a clutch (unless it’s PROPERLY fucked) in less than a minute. I never have issues with car hires or anything else.

This thread. 

We have one of each and I drive both, but the automatic is so much easier - not least because we live in a hilly city with windy roads.

Driving a manual here is a pain in the arse - so much so, that automatics are the norm.

We only have a manual because that's what we bought in the UK (where they're strangely still the norm), and we brought it over with us.

When we replace it, it will be with an automatic. Hire cars here are automatic, and manuals are basically being phased out as no-one buys them any more.

And with the amount of traffic people have to crawl along in, in the UK. I can't really fathom why you'd prefer a manual.

Just seen this thread. Manuel

Let him drive an automatic. I ave to drive automatic due to disability, when you are using your hands for steering, breaking and accelerating you don't want gears as well.

My current car is a hybrid so much cheaper to run. The lessons might be more expensive but he will need fewer of them.

Oh and a lot of motability cars are auto for the same reason as me, they are sold at auction and are well cared for so quite a good buy as a second hand car.

I passed my test in a manual. I now drive a hybrid and never want to see a gear stick or clutch again. There won't be any manual gear boxes in cars in a few years time.

Poor Spanish Manuel

Also my stepmum can only drive auto (she's American) and it hasn't limited her in any way really