Dd to learn in an automatic from the start?

[makemineadecaf]

Dd will be 17 next year and is already nagging me about lessons for her birthday. My husband and I both drive autos (but both drive manuals for donkeys before). Now I’m in an automatic, I’ll literally never go back. And isn’t it the sign of the times for manuals to become redundant?

Why would she limit her options straight away? Learn in a manual and keep all options open now and in the future from the get-go.

DS passed his test this time last year. He’s currently having a year working in Europe before going to university. This definitely wasn’t anything that he had planned when he started his driving lessons but a great opportunity arose. Part of his job involves driving vans - they are all manual. He wouldn’t have got this job without having a manual driving license.

I would definitely encourage her to learn in a manual car.

A driver of an automatic car will be charged more for their insurance than a manual license holder driving that same automatic car. That is fact from the insurance companies. 43.8% more according to Admiral. Talked about in this video below.

Automatic cars make up 29% of cars driven on the UK roads but a lot of those will be newer and more expensive and most young new drivers are driving older cars.

@Sherararara actually it does make sense and is covered in another video by the driving instructor I linked above. Manual car drivers do more forward planning apparently, I mean he should know he teaches people to drive in both manual and automatic cars. Also automatic license holders claims are 19% higher than manual holders so they have more accidents.

Both my children learned in manual cars. To start saying that this is somehow difficult is ridiculous, the most difficult thing about driving is not changing gears but navigating all the roads and other road users and realising half of them are maniacs.

I often hire cars in Spain/Italy/Greece - probably 10/15 times a year - and while autos are available the vast majority of small and mid sized hire cars are still manual in my experience, so when you book at the last minute you’ll have a much smaller choice and probably end up booking a larger car than you ‘need’ at a higher price if you insist on an auto. Last month in Corsica, booked a couple of week ahead, I could have a manual Seat Ibiza or equivalent for around €30 a day, but if I’d insisted on auto it’d have been a Peugeot 3008 or equivalent at €65 a day. I can drive both, though prefer an auto, but I took the cheaper of the two! Of course, it also works the other way and you can book a small auto well in advance but be upgraded to a larger car FOC as no small autos were actually available :)

The switch to EVs across hire fleets will soon negate that so I don’t suppose it’s anything to worry about in the medium term and even less so if you don’t travel that frequently and always book in advance, so I might well only learn on an auto if I was learning to drive today.

And in the rest of the world they are automatic.

I think ‘excuses’ is absolutely the wrong word.

‘Trot out’ is usually used paired with ‘excuses’ to mean people justifying what they’re doing. I’ve never seen it used in any other context. People don’t need excuses to drive manual cars. It’s a choice.

The obvious point to make here is that if you have passed in a manual, you can drive either type of car. If you have passed in an automatic, you can only drive automatic. I don’t know why anyone would choose to restrict themselves in this way (unless they are dyspraxic or struggling to pass the test in a manual).

Hire cars are probably a bit of a red herring - is it very likely that someone who is now 17 will be hiring a car abroad in the nearish future? Manuals will be becoming less and less common especially in hire fleets.

My fathers advice was learn on a manual, if you really dongt get on with it then go to automatic.

Worth pointing out that most vans etc are still manual so if your daughter ever wanted to drive them or needed a job an auto only restricts her options

If she's really brave learn on a 'crash' box!

Electric cars are rewriting the landscape on this very fast. The main reason my youngest is learning manual is because we know a good instructor who happens to have a manual car. If you can find a good auto instructor go for it.

All the young drivers I know drive autos.

I love my manual car though.

Having driven an automatic for about 12 years, I got a manual courtesy car. It was quite a challenge to drive a manual car after that long. I doubt I was as safe driving it. I wouldn't choose to have one again. On that basis, I don't think there's much point in learning on a manual if you don't intend to drive one.

I'd go manual, so she has the option to drive either.

Obviously most new cars are now automatic, but you never know in the future if she decides to drive a manual/older car, tractor etc.

I always think it's best not to limit your options, if you have the choice.

That's what mine said too. In 1977!

Exactly what dd did. Learned in an auto, passed the test first time, drove for 2 years, then needed a manual license for a driving job, so took a few lessons and passed easily as she had the experience of driving about.

Personally I hate driving autos. I like my manual!

Exactly.

Wow really split opinion!! I’m leaning towards auto for her. She won’t be driving my car that’s for sure but we’ll look to get her a polo/golf sort of thing which is automatic.

I would get insurance prices first to help make up your mind. They are eye wateringly expensive. I don’t get why you’d limit her options.

This made me smile too

My DD passed her driving test in an auto about 6 months ago. No issues in finding a suitable first car & insurance is what was expected for her age and the cars she's driving.

The advantages would be cheaper car to buy if manual, cheaper hire cars if manual.

I think there is a strange snobbery about learning on an automatic that doesn't make sense to me. Yes, they won't be able to drive a manual but why would they want to? It is safer for a new driver to drive an automatic and all cars will be in the future anyway.

Not much difference nowadays.

Whenever I have hired a car abroad I get an automatic anyway. Stupid to drive a manual if the gears are on the right side.

True not as much as a few yrs agos. Still better for U21's first time drivers tho, apparently

https://wheelsai.co.uk/guides/automatic-vs-manual-cost-of-ownership-uk/