For as long as Iva been driving all cars I have driven were automatic. Now I was searching on trader.ca and I have found a 240D, one owner, all service records, and low km, manual transmission for only $3,000. Knowing this I want to ask how long would you consider the learning curve going from automatic to manual would be. I think of myself as a very fast learner and I think this would be good to know also. So basically how long would it take to learn to drive a manual car and if anyone here learned on an automatic then went on to manuals how long did it take you?

I think it would be far too hard; you should let me buy it for my son!

Seriously, though, my wife drove an automatic first and then had to learn how to drive our 1985 Hyundai Pony 4 speed. She had been driving autos for 3 years. She took about two weeks to be pretty good at it, but learned not to stall in the first day. She never did learn to shift perfectly, (ie: like I do ). She can drive my 300e 5 speed now and never stalls.
Conversely, when my son was learning, I got a 5 speed Dakota. He didn't drive our auto van for months. He is good on the clutch now and likes the control. I also learned on a standard and have never had any trouble shifting.
You will need to get a feel for the clutch. When you let it out, realize when the engine is under load from the weight of the car. My son was taught that this is the 'friction point'. The clutch isn't free wheeling but is starting to engage. You have to compensate for the load by pushing the throttle a bit more and letting it slip a bit. You don't have a lot of power, (unlike my 300e), so you may need to rev more to take off, especially on hills. Avoid stopping on really steep hills like Queen Anne Drive in Seattle. I was stopped there and thought my clutch would never survive. It did.

Good luck!

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VR
1967 250SL

Yeah this car would be my daily driver so before I even attempted to drive it with other people I would spend a good couple days just getting a feel for the clutch and learning the different driving techniques.

Howdy,

I have some experience with the conversion. Recently I took a business trip to Gaum where the rental car agency had only a manual transmission Nissan Sentra. So I took it. Here's my experience:

You need about a week of driving around to get the clutch/shift/throttle action down.

You should always remember to take your time, especially at stop lights. Don't feel rushed, you will only stall the engine or squeak the tires that way.

If the engine stalls, always remember to press the clutch, put it in 1st, and restart the car. Don't panic or rush.

Shifting the car comes pretty quick. The trickiest part is mastering situations where the car is pointing uphill and you have to take off from a dead stop. The hotel where I stayed (Mariott Tuman Bay) has a sidewalk in front of it and an exit ramp. You have to stop at the sidewalk and then ease it onto the street. Very tricky for an auto person.

Remember if you stop, you need to have both the clutch and brake depressed. You need to get out of the brake and then out of the clutch. You should require little or no accelerator to get the car moving.

Parking is real different than an auto. Easing it into a tight parking spo2t requires feathering the clutch. Much harder than an auto. Remember when parking or going slow: depress the clutch until it slips. Want more power, let off the clutch a little. Engine sounds like it will stall, give it a little more gas and leave the clutch where it is. You don't need to use the accelerator to get into a parking spot (unlike an auto).

When you come to a stop, always leave enough room in front of you to feather into the clutch and always check behind you to make sure th2at you have room to slide backwards. People get waaayyyy too close so be careful.

No distractions: Drive around for a while without the radio, etc... When you start, you will have to make consious efforts to actuate the clutch. Also, you really can't just slam on the brakes, you must push the clutch. If you are distracted, you forget this and stall the engine.

The FIRST TIME you drive the manual car, put it in neutral, start the car, depress the clutch all the way, put it in first and ease it out SLOWLY until the engine bogs. Either the car moves or the engine stalls. If it stalls, you know that you need some accelerator to get it going. Try it again this time with just a TOUCH of accelerator. Too much and you squeal the tires.

Don't worry about stalling the engine. It's probably better than too many revs. I suspect that even experienced manual drivers have to "feel out" the clutch and engine before they can just hop in and drive an unfamiliar car.

As a 99% auto driver myself, I did find out that auto's aren't really as bad and manual's aren't really as good as I've been led to believe. The Nissan had NO clutch feel whatsoever so I couldn't find the release point easily. Nor was the shifting very positive: very rubbery and hard to tell if it went into gear or not. Plus, the Nissan engine has NO torque and a really light flywheel. It stalls easily, but also revs to easily which leads to too aggressive of a start. And Guam is ALL stoplight to stoplight driving, so I had to learn fast.

The only other manual vehicle I've driven is an old 3-on-the-tree Ford F150. So I don't have a large frame of reference.

That being said, my next daily driver will be a manual.

Sholin

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What else, '73 MB 280 SEL (Lt Blue)
Daily driver: '84 190D 2.2 5 spd.

Go for the manual, its the real way to drive a car. In Europe there is almost no such thing as auto, they like to have full control over the car.

That's correct, here in Europe the standard trans is manual and the luxury is an auto. This is slowly changin in favour of the auto though.

I myself drive tractor/trailer so I get all the shifting I wan't in my job and therefore only buyrs with autos in them, very comfortable.
The strange thing is that they are more expensive to buy new and give's less resale value compared to an manual equipped car.

A driving tip!
Starting from a deadstop on a incline.
Use your handbrake so you won't have to push the footbrake and thus can use your right foot on the gas.
Then release the clutch and give gas to the point where you feel the car want's to go and slowly release the handbrake and your on your way

This way you can start your car in steep incline with a loaded trailer behind it without putting stress on the drivetrain or making funny noises/smells.

It's a riot checking out people pulling up their boats from the boatramp if they aren't familiar with this technique.

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/Per

MB E300TDT -98

My uncle took me out to a residental area here in Deltona that is full of hills stopped on the biggest hill we found and got out and told me to drive. I think I spent about 45 mints learing how to get started on a hill and after that I spent 5 more hours stoping and starting. The worst part was the alternator was slowly going so Half way into learning we ran off of all battery. (learned how to push start a car that night) I love it when I get in other cars I go for the clutch all the time just out off habit.
I would go for it.
My 2 cents

First manual car I drove was a 1977 MGB. Real easy to learn on that car.

After that, a 1977 BMW 530I, after that a 1980 MGB, and after that a 1968 vette with manual racing clutch.

Once you learn, its like riding a bike. over time your clutch movement and shifting will get better and smoother.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

Converting to Automatics from Standards
There can be trouble going the other way, too. I mainly drove standards in my youth. I once was driving my inlaw's car while looking at houses with them. I put in the 'clutch' at about 30mph and totally locked the wheels. Luckily, no damage to brakes or tires.

England:
I went to England and rented a car. Automatics were expensive to rent and only came as Ford Crown Victorias. Petrol was 75p per litre or $4.56 a gallon. I took a right hand drive Renault, 38mpg. Everything was fine except that I kept hitting the right, (driver's), door when I went to shift. Then I would correctly shift with my left hand. I would also try to get the seat belt with my left hand and it wouldn't be there.

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VR
1967 250SL

Was the Crown Victoria right hand drive too?
There were some right hand drive Subarus sold here for postal vehicles a few years back.
I test drove a diplomats' right hand drive Ford Fiesta many years ago, a late 80s model. I had few problems with the shift or pedals but after a few minutes I realized that I was trying to drive in my lane but the passenger half of the car was in the oncoming lane!
I think if I visit England, I'll try the train or bus first.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW