Licence to drive manual going out of fashion?

[dressforsuccess]

So many cars these days are automatic, is there still any point to go for manual?

I didn't bother getting a manual licence when I passed in 2023 because I didn't see the point. I only intend to drive automatic or electric cars in future and have no intention of renting a van or whatever nonsense people come up with when claiming you'll "need" a manual licence one day.

I went 33 years without any licence at all and coped just fine, having an automatic only one certainly isn't more limiting than that.

I doubt by the time my son learns to drive in 15 years that anyone will bother with a manual licence.

Why spend extra time, money and stress on manual lessons when you might never need to use them?

My attitude when buying things isn't "let's get the top of the line, most expensive version just in case I need it, even though the basic one will be fine for now". I get the thing which suits me now and upgrade later if necessary. Why should driving be any different?

It's like learning half the alphabet.

Because it gives you the option of driving both from the beginning - it means you don’t have to then have to factor in the additional cost and time of learning on a manual further down the line.

Learning to drive is an investment- you do it one for life. Why not give yourself the maximum options with your significant financial investment.

Because it's not always 'easy enough to do' and no one needs a manual license anymore? The choice is there to get an auto license, which is generally easier and therefore a quicker process to get a young person their independence!

My kids will be learning in autos most likely

DD isn't interested in learning to drive. I've got to my late 40s without driving. But we have a decent public transport system. I also own an electric shopper bike so I don't need one at all at the moment.

When I move out of the city I will have to learn and somehow finance a car 😱 but I have failed six tests in a manual in the past. Even instructors have said, "get an automatic. Please!" So I think that's the plan. My brother sneers at automatics but it's a case of, do you want me to learn to drive or do you want me to ring you to pick me up from the station?" (He lives rurally) He soon shuts up.

For older learners, you do you. You know your needs best.

But for those with young people, encourage them to get a manual driving licence. You don’t know what opportunities may come along where they will need one. When I passed at 17, I didn’t envisage that in my life I would be hiring camper vans, box vans, driving in multiple countries, having a hobby that would involve towing something. But it’s how it worked out. Don’t limit their investment.

Love a manual

@Exhausteddog
Slam it into reverse on the steepist hill - that’ll tell it who’s boss
(Gravity, metal and physics)

Not necessarily - they will still have to join the queue to sit their theory and practical, which takes months here. Not sure how long the backlog is where you are, but they could be learning in a manual in that time.

What backwards logic- how does it make any sense to definitely spend the extra cost and time now so you don’t have to factor in the remote possibility that you might need to spend it in future?

Do you waste money like that on everything in life?

What a daft attitude. Do you tend to limit your future life opportunities in all areas or just driving @TwirlyPineapple?

From a very light search, it looks as if manual and automatic lessons cost either the same
or there isn’t an obvious case of one instructors car type price scale being more or less

For the AA school a quick search offers me two instructors with the same prices, but with some ‘offer’ prices the automatic option is cheaper if pre-booking x hours and the manual option is cheaper at y hours

Using BSM when entering my postcode they actually bring up the same instructors, with a standard rate that’s the same and then offers with a + / - as per the AA prices

A school that I’ve never heard of and may be independent has cheaper manual prices than automatic prices

It looks like lesson prices are generally the same, but with potential local supply and demand variations

My attitude when buying things isn't "let's get the top of the line, most expensive version just in case I need it, even though the basic one will be fine for now". I get the thing which suits me now and upgrade later if necessary. Why should driving be any different?

Our attitude is "Is this something that is worth future-proofing?" If it is, then, yes, we will buy better than we need right now.

With young people it is worth investing in their skills and their future options.

I have a manual license although I haven't owned a manual car for 25 years, but it's come in handy when hiring a car abroad and having a courtesy car if my car's being fixed.

My attitude is not to limit my children unnecessarily. It was not at all stressful/time consuming or more costly for them to learn on a manual car. I had originally thought DD might struggle but advised her to try manual first. She aced it so I would have been wrong to limit her right from the start.

Why should driving be any different?

Why go through the stress/time/expense of learning to drive and taking a test again?

My first house was a 3 bed terrace. I was 19 and single. It gave me a foundation and options.

The next house was a 4 bed detached with my husband, which we extended to 5/6 beds despite being just us. We only had 1 DD, but having so many rooms meant we could accommodate many family members for big birthdays etc and establish home offices (x2), a gym and a playroom/music room when needed.

The money (and time) saved by jumping several rungs of the ladder fewer times than average has enabled us to be mortgage free before we turn 50 and to accommodate everyone’s changing needs and interests as a family without ever needing to consider moving.

Having a manual driving licence will mean DD will be able to drive any of the cars in our family and of extended family members should she need to (eg for an ikea run (big estate car) or a track day (my rally car)). It would hardly be prudent to wait until facing those needs, then find an instructor, take the lessons, book a test and pass it when the need is likely more urgent than that.

I have a manual licence. Bought an automatic last year and love it I’ll never go back now.

Considering I've seen months difference in learners doing auto/manual lessons, it's by far easier and quicker to learn auto.

You can pay for quicker appointments which could be an option.

Not always - DS and his friends are all at this learner driver stage and there’s a huge backlog for both here.

If you do a manual test and then only drive automatic, will you lose the skill of starting the car, judging when to take off going up a hill etc. I found learning a manual took ages. When I first started driving, I took a 2 week holiday abroad didn't drive for the 2 weeks, and struggled to get back into driving again. For a few years, if I got sick for a week and didn't drive, I found it very hard to get back to driving a manual again.

I've never been able to afford a new car, and never will be able to. Having a licence for manual cars gives me the widest choice of second-hand ones. It won't be until petrol stations start disappearing and we're all compelled to drive electric vehicles that I'll see no advantage in being able to drive manuals.

My DC are planning to start with their tractor licence so I think they'll go for manual.

So…. We are getting a manual, there was still quite a bit of choice, although there do seem to be a lot more automatics out there.
Anyway, manual it is so DC can go for manual licence.