Teach me how to drive an automatic in a few minutes please

[FoghornLeghorn]

We have sold our car, parents are on holiday and Dad has said we can borrow his car provided the insurance company will name us on the policy.
Am waiting for Insurance to get back to me but trouble is ............ I have never driven an automatic.

What the hell do I do ? Its a C Class Mercedes, with a foot pedal for a handbrake Dad has threatened me with death if I damage his car!

DH used to have an auto c-class. The foot handbrake thing used to throw me, especially as you have to pull out a lever on the dashboard to release the handbrake rather than pressing the pedal again.

Auto's are pi$$ easy to drive but you feel like you're cheating a bit, and your left foot won't know what to do with itself.

P = Park Use this when parked
R = Reverse Use this to reverse + accerlarator pedal
D = Drive Use this to drive (don't forget to use brake pedal when you stop or you'll continue to move forwards.

Easy peasy. Tuck your left leg right under so you aren't tempted to use it, you will only need your right leg.

Put foot on brake and put car into 'drive'. If you take your foot off the brake the car will slowly start to move forward, accelerate to move.

When you want to stop or slow down while driving, brake!

To stop, just brake till you stop and with foot still on brake put it into 'park'.

Done.

Mind you, I don't have a foot handbrake - areyou sure that's right?!

The weird thing is that you don't have to use clucth control (obv!), so when we stopped on a hill (at lights or something), I could take my feet off all the pedals and the car would just hold itself and not roll backwards. The Merc auto is a v good gearbox, ime.

Tis fabbo not having to do 'hill start'!

Gobble - see my post re pedal handbrake. It is right. You press a pedal (where the clutch would be) o activate the handbrake, and pull a lever in the dashboard (where the manual choke used to be on old cars) to release it.

GDG's right - forget your left foot exists! I have the foot brake, but to be honest, rarely use it, as I leave the car in 'P' position anyway.

sorry, my typing has gone to pot.

I've driven automatics for the last ten years and would NEVER go back to that primative gear stick stirring.

When setting off, put your foot on the brake, put the car into Drive, slow take foot off brake and off you go. Try and have a little practice on a very quiet lane or something first.

BTW the brakes in my DH's c-class (which was brand new) were very spongy indeed compared to my car. I had to brake much earlier so beware of that....

Oh... and you can go quite quickly using no accelorator at all... like when creeping along in a queue. My DH forgot and touched the accelorator and smacked into the back of a skip!!!

I am learning to drive in an automatic and like sallystrawberry says, it is like dodgems.

pi$$ easy

xx

Oh and the pedals in the C-class are MASSIVE and quite far apart.

Message withdrawn

Try not to get to used to it!! I drove a manual for 10 years and dh suggested getting an automatic. I couldn't believe it was so much easier, ow I don't want to go back!! Dh keeps wanting to because of price of petrol, automatics drink it much faster! My dad did warn him this might be the case and he was right!!

I hate driving auto. It feels so uninvolved, like the car is driving you rather than vice-versa. When DH replaced his car he went back to a manual.

Its the handbrake that is concerning me, Dad gave me a quick lesson over the phone this morning.
Foot on brake, put into drive, pull level by steering wheel to release handbrake - when stopping push brake, put into nuetral/park (whatever its called) and push foot pedal to activate handbrake.
Simple ........ is it really that simple ?

Oh i'm actually quite nervous - Insurance just called, all sorted, going to collect this arvo.

EEEKKKKKKKKK

Yes, it is really that simple.

I'm never going back to manual - I LOVE automatic.

Whoever it was mentioned speed and braking is right. I find I have to brake earlier or end up braking harder to stop - because when in drive you will move forward anyway without even pressing the accelerator.

So remember, at a junction if you just take your foot off accelerator you aren't going to roll back a dodge, you are going to edge out into the road!!

Like Sally said, it's dead easy - basically just point and go. The only thing to watch out for is the "creep" which tends to vary from car to car. This is when you take your foot off the brake and the car moves forward without you touching the accelerator. I drive an auto Megane and the creep is quite pronounced on it - always catches DH out when he's driving it! Going off subject slightly, did you get my e mail and voicemail re Liam or have you managed to sort something out for him?

Foghorn- honestly, I was a bit panicked the first time but it was such a doddle and in 2 minutes I had it. I have never once gone to press the clutch either which is odd.

It's going back to manual that's a pain, i always forget to deal with gears

Well i made it back in the car in one piece, HORAH!!!!

Piece of piss, only trouble is now I don't think I want to give it back