Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To learn to drive automatic only?

127 replies

IKnowAPlace · 06/02/2022 21:29

Background:

  • in my 30s
  • learning to drive for second time - had lessons and was close to test standard at 18 then left for uni and let it slide
  • have now had 10-15 lessons in a manual and am at "intermediate" standard but have only tried one manoeuvre (think this is partly down to having a poor, bad tempered instructor)
  • wanting to drive for freedom - now have a dog, partner lives 20 miles away, job is 40 miles away (motorway driving)
  • will probably buy an automatic car once I've passed

I've had to stop lessons due to changing jobs so am now back to getting on waiting lists. I'm in two minds about whether or not it makes more sense for me to just learn in an automatic from now on but really struggling to make a decision.

Help!

Yes - just suck it up in a manual
No - life's too short, go auto

OP posts:
boardbored · 07/02/2022 12:29

Automatic all the way !!!

Failed five tests - total nightmare. Should have just learnt in an auto. Love it.

Can always hire them as Americans all use autos.

Manuals are for people who want an over complicated life.

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 07/02/2022 12:31

Would it surprise anyone to know that majority of those 44 Tonne lorries you see ploughing up and down the motorways are automatic? Because they are.

PlainOldMe80 · 07/02/2022 12:41

I had quite a few lessons in a manual and I didn't enjoy it all, I moved onto auto and I passed a few weeks ago! Definitely go for auto!

etulosba · 07/02/2022 12:56

Would it surprise anyone to know that majority of those 44 Tonne lorries you see ploughing up and down the motorways are automatic?

Not at all. Most busses are too.

And tanks.

FloBot7 · 07/02/2022 13:12

I got a manual licence because it was the standard thing back in the day but always hated driving. Moved to New Zealand and happened to buy an automatic because most cars were automatic over there. I've never looked back. I still don't like driving but it makes life much easier. With the push for electric cars automatics will become more commonplace anyway.

FloBot7 · 07/02/2022 13:14

@mogsrus

Have an accident, hopefully not, but the only car available to get you out of trouble is manual, awkward for you. Please learn a manual then both bases covered
I have a manual licence and couldn't drive a manual to save my life these days.
MorningStarling · 07/02/2022 13:19

Electric cars don't have manual gears anyway so before long everyone will be driving an automatic.

Most people don't really need the benefits manual gearboxes bring anyway, only high performance drivers/racing drivers/getaway drivers/joyriders really make use of them.

Howdoisawwithnosaw · 07/02/2022 13:38

My first lesson in an auto was a fucking revelation after so many miserable hours trying to learn manual.

I imagine you’ve made up your mind now after all the other positive posts but in case you haven’t - yes it can be true that autos are more expensive in some respects. But I probably saved at least £500 on driving lessons by switching to auto and that has more than covered the additional hire costs etc.

Strokethefurrywall · 07/02/2022 13:45

I learned in a manual and had no issues driving one, but I now live in a country where all cars are auto.
When I come back to visit the UK, I always request one because it’s what I’m used to.

Whatever gives you confidence I say. I wouldn’t want to drive a manual now because as much as I love driving, I can’t be arsed with all that gear shifting!

elp30 · 07/02/2022 13:49

I'm American but I learned to drive at age 28 in England in a manual transmission car.

I've been back in the US for 17 years and despite there being mostly automatic cars, I still prefer a manual. Sure, automatics are are much easier to drive but like many others have pointed out, manual cars feel like you're more in control of your vehicle.

I have owned a manual transmission Mini Cooper for the past 10 years here in Texas. Trust me, it took a while to find one here. My children learned to drive automatics when they started driving and passed their tests in automatic cars but after a while, took on the challenge of learning to drive the Mini. It took them only a few days and they confidently drive it around.

One of my sons is trading in his automatic car for a manual transmission Subaru simply because he enjoys driving manuals. My daughter is planning to visit her grandparents in England and also drive around Europe. The automatics are very expensive to rent but now that she can drive a manual, her costs are practically halved.

Personally OP, if I were you, I'd take the test in an automatic and feel confident driving it around. After a while, take lessons in a manual and you'll find it easier and get a test in a manual. If it's only for the challenge and cheaper car hire.

LampLighter414 · 07/02/2022 13:56

No need for manual once we move to electric

And autos were becoming very popular anyway

Typically about £1k extra to buy a new car with auto vs manual, I'm not so sure about second hand prices.

Anecdotally I got my first ever auto in 2019 and I would NEVER go back to a manual ever, the extra cost is acceptable to me for a far more easy/comfortable driving experience.

DorotheaDiamond · 07/02/2022 14:06

I’ve been wondering about this for when dd starts driving. I can see a really good argument for starting auto and learning how to actually use the roads before you have the added trauma of the clutch!!! Given where she’s going to be driving there’s some routes where you really don’t want to be stalling otherwise you’ll be stuck at the roundabout for hours!!!

mogsrus · 07/02/2022 14:25

Soft pillow. Learn in a Manuel vehicle you are ok to drive both. Learn in an auto only & that’s it, you cannot drive anything else

Northernlass99 · 07/02/2022 14:43

The UK government has said all cars will be electric by 2030. And electric cars are all automatic. So its really won't be an issue soon.

etulosba · 07/02/2022 14:56

So its really won't be an issue soon.

Unless you want to buy a secondhand car.

EishetChayil · 07/02/2022 15:20

Automatic!!! I've never looked back.

SoftPillow · 07/02/2022 17:17

@mogsrus

Soft pillow. Learn in a Manuel vehicle you are ok to drive both. Learn in an auto only & that’s it, you cannot drive anything else

I do understand, an auto license means you can only drive an auto car.

Learn and fail in a manual means no driving. Learn and pass in an auto means mostly hassle free driving. Better to drive an auto than nothing, and driving an auto is generally agreed to be easier than an manual.

Good luck with whatever you decide OP

ButtockUp · 07/02/2022 17:52

Both of my children struggled with manual driving and , sadly both have given up.
There seems to , still, be this notion that if you pass on a manual then it'll be easier in the long run and you can then drive any car.

I find this notion very outdated , particularly as we are all supposed to be veering to automatic anyway.

I've always thought it bizarre that , in UK, roads are squiggly and hilly so why add gear changes, clutch control and needing to feel like an octopus into the mix?
There's nothing worse than having to do a hill start and moving left/right at the same time.

Just go for automatic. So much less to think about.

Wish I'd learned in an automatic... spent over two years learning to drive a bloody manual... haven't driven a manual for well over 20 years.

mathanxiety · 07/02/2022 20:08

Do the automatic. You'll never regret it.

There are a lot of myths about automatic cars that are pure nonsense.

I learned in a manual and drove one for several years. The automatic is far easier to drive, especially in built up areas with stop signs, traffic lights, etc all over the roads.

mathanxiety · 07/02/2022 20:11

LemonSwan's post is an example of a myth about automatic vehicles - that they don't offer as much control as manuals do.

There are countries in the world where almost nobody drives a manual, where winter brings ice and snow for months on end, and yet people go out in their cars and come home again safely every day.

RosesAndHellebores · 07/02/2022 20:14

What's more important. The freedom of being ablentondrive albeit in an automatic or the prolonged restriction of being unable to drive a manual.

We have 3 autos in this household; one manual. I never ever drive the manual.

AuntyBumBum · 07/02/2022 20:15

LemonSwan's post is an example of a myth about automatic vehicles - that they don't offer as much control as manuals do.

I'd dispute this - manual cars clearly offer more control. You're in direct control of what gear the car is in, and the clutch for a kick off! You might prefer automatics for a whole range of reasons, and you might not understand gears and clutches, but that's not a very good argument.

babyjellyfish · 07/02/2022 20:16

I drive a manual by choice but in 10 years' time they probably won't even be making them anymore. You don't need to know how to drive a manual.

mathanxiety · 07/02/2022 20:16

@YesitsBess - are you sure you were driving an automatic? The whole point about an automatic is that you use the accelerator and the brake for driving, with the 'gearshift' only there to put the car in drive, reverse, neutral, and park, with maybe a few drive gears depending on terrain.

The gears shift by themselves as you accelerate.

RedScarfJamjar · 07/02/2022 20:22

I've been driving them for 20 years so yes and I also have only an automatic license so can't be insured on anything else! They'll almost always have at least 1st and second also. My current car is 5 gear but classed as an automatic even though I have tiptronic.