Manual Transmission.

[Brighter.Tomorrow]

I can drive AutoStick, which is very different from Manual. But I want to learn to drive full Manual.
Would it be better to have my friend teach me in their own car, or buy my own cheap one and be taught in that?
Also, can I be given some Pros and Cons or Auto and Manual?

[Sonic Boom]

Buying a car that you won't be able to drive to begin with sounds a little expensive. I think just get a friend to teach you in his car. Once you are comfortable with a manual car, then maybe think of buying your own.

I find the main pro with a manual is that you are in complete control of the gears, and so you'll be quick to ensure the car is in the correct gear when going up and down hills. This saves you fuel and reduces internal damage. In an automatic, gears will take more time to adjust to the correct one, leading to higher fuel consumption and greater damage.

However, manuals can be annoying in traffic jams where you have to stop- move forward-stop etc. Automatics are more sensible in this situation. Automatics tend to also have a better fuel economy when the topography is flat.

So it really depends on the topography and how fast the traffic is moving. Here in Durban, it's very hilly and traffic moves at a reasonable pace. So a manual car is more sensible to have.

[Brighter.Tomorrow]

Buying a car that you won't be able to drive to begin with sounds a little expensive. I think just get a friend to teach you in his car. Once you are comfortable with a manual car, then maybe think of buying your own.

Main reason I was thinking of getting my own first, is people tend to get very annoyed when your grind the gears in their car, which you'll be doing when first learning to drive a manual. Having my own would guarantee them not getting mad and saying No More.

[Sonic Boom]

Oh ok, I see the problem.

If I were in your situation, I'd simply pay a certain amount for the friend's car repair service. If you help pay for the service, he probably won't mind. Perhaps discuss this with your parents/guardians as well.

[Listed MIA]

Main reason I was thinking of getting my own first, is people tend to get very annoyed when your grind the gears in their car, which you'll be doing when first learning to drive a manual. Having my own would guarantee them not getting mad and saying No More.

Honestly, you probably won't grind the gears more than a couple of times. Since you can already drive its probably going to be pretty easy. Stalling it is more of a problem than grinding the gears. My dad's friend taught me to drive last summer (off road since i'm not old enough to drive yet) i think i only ground the gears once. The gears will only grind if the clutch isn't fully down. I don't think its something you really need to worry about.

[Commander Thor]

Since Teejay handled explaining pros/cons of the manual/automatic transmission pretty well, I'll just reply on the grinding of the gears:
http://thegrandchawhee.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/what-really-grinds-my-gears.png



On a more serious note.... :P
Why not just ask your friend about it? I can almost guarantee that he/she remembers their first time learning a manual, and a bit of gear grinding is to be expected when you're first starting out. (And they'll know this if/when they agree to let you learn using their car)
I personally wouldn't buy a car just to learn manual, if I had other means of learning it.
Now, if it was a car I wanted, and it happened to be a manual, then that's a different story. :P

[garrettu]

I would go with the friend. Pros- you pick the rpm u wanna shift, you can drive better around a track. Cons- hill starts can be difficult, you have to get used to a clutch.

[HunterSteele]

Oh ok, I see the problem.

If I were in your situation, I'd simply pay a certain amount for the friend's car repair service. If you help pay for the service, he probably won't mind. Perhaps discuss this with your parents/guardians as well.
Oh he'll mind. No amount of money dulls the emotional pain of hearing the grinding of the gears of your own vehicle.:(

[John02Sandler]

a Manual is the way to go, forget that auto stick stuff

[jay_]

my brothers car is manual. he taught me how to drive it, I find it annoying because you have to switch gears all the time..