Most (cost/time) efficient way to learn manual?

[iCantStopScranning]

My daughter is almost 17, and is eager to start driving.
I have an automatic which she will drive after passing, but she wants to learn manual to keep options open. I’m okay with this as she wouldn’t be able to get learners insurance on my car anyway.
She worries that by only having paid lessons (once a week? I don’t know how regular people have them - please could i have any advice!), it will be extremely expensive/longer/she will be at a disadvantage by not having the most practice she can. I would rather she not buy/split a cheap runaround, as insurance costs seem to be extortionate (though i can’t really tell as adrian flux won’t give quotes unless through telephone). She tells me some people (on tiktok) have passed their tests without ever having paid lessons, and just watching youtube instructors, going through DVSA criteria, and driving everywhere with parents - surely this is not ok as unregulated?
Any and all advice would be appreciated!

My son is reaching the age of driving. Given 90% of cars now produced are now automatic I am wondering if there is much point. Albeit appreciate the used market is still a bit different.

If she’ll drive your car after passing why not just learn in and pass the automatic? I’d expect fewer hours of lessons would be needed…

if adamant she wants a manual and you can teach her then get a cheaper run around (like a clio, matiz etc). At about £800 that’s the equivalent of 20h lessons and obv can keep it after, wherein you can teach her and then have an instructor to do the last 15-20h of learning the test, routes etc

Driving lessons here are 2 hours long and mine had more than one a week but it depends if they can slot you in, mine had any cancellation. Ds1 passed with both lessons from his driving instructor and practising in my car with both myself and Dh. He probably drove around 500 miles in my car due to the time he spent waiting for his test to roll round.

Ds2 is learning with the same driving instructor. He has had no private practise because I changed my car to a brand new one and the gap insurance doesn't cover learner drivers. Dh's car is much bigger so he has forgone driving that. His driving instructor is confident he will pass his test coming up shortly.

There are lots of mock driving tests on YouTube which can show lots of driving situations that your child may not cover locally (ambulance gate was one for my two) and dash cam compilation videos that again show them how many license holders fuck up daily. This will help them with things like staggering their position on a roundabout so they lessen their chances of being hit by someone changing lanes without mirror checks.

Weirdly, if you have an automatic car and compare insuring a driver with an automatic only license and a manual license holder you pay more for the automatic license holder despite it being the same car. They are considered being more at risk.

My friend only had automatic cars but her DD is learning in a manual. Don't limit what car they can hire or buy in the future, if they can pass a manual test it is best to do that.

Before she steps foot in a car show her videos on what the clutch does, how to never stall it. Conquer Driving on YouTube is brilliant for this. Also his one on can I fit through that gap? You want them utilising the lesson by driving, learn as much as you can outside of the lesson.

When does your insurance run out? I’d be tempted to do some test quotes and see how much more they would be.

We have an automatic (hefty Skoda Octavia) and DD passed her test last year in the driving instructor’s little manual (Kia?). We have a hunch she will be driving old cars somewhere in the world at some point, so we wanted her to qualify with a manual gearbox.

We added to her to our insurance and took her to quiet places to practice after she’d done about 4 lessons (Industrial estates on a Sunday etc- she is a summer born so we asked other parents for good spots. As she gained experience DH shared the driving on long A-road journeys and then took her out to practice routes around the test centre (you can find many online).

She tells me some people (on tiktok) have passed their tests without ever having paid lessons, and just watching youtube instructors, going through DVSA criteria, and driving everywhere with parents - surely this is not ok as unregulated?

Very few I would have thought.
I mean, I do know someone who taught all his dc to drive BUT he used to be a driving instructor several years ago. I'd guess he was the exception rather than the rule.
Yes, if people get lots of practice they are statistically likely to be better at learning anything than people who don't.
But parents commonly make very poor passengers or instructors when it is their dc driving their car - it doesn't always help.

One suggestion is, rather than having one lesson a week, why not get her to save up the money, then book lessons closer together ? So rather than 18 lessons once a week across April - Aug, wait, and have 18 lessons in July and Aug, therefore having less time to forget between lessons, as an example.

It’s always worth learning to drive in a manual, even if you only ever intend to own automatic cars you never know when you’re going to need to drive someone else’s manual car, or need to hire a van or and it’s good to have the option open to you.

Both my dc had an hour a week until they were close to their test date which then went up to an hour an a half or two hours