Ladies and Moms (ok Dads too) - Manual or Automatic for my baby girl and why!
 

My daughter, who is very responsible and gets good grades in school, has had her license for 6+ months. She's a good driver, confident even in traffic, and is ready for her very first car. New or used is easy...used. stick or automatic is the current debate. Mom, and most people say automatic, but most of them don't know how to operate a manual. Dad, on the other hand (the guy paying for it) wants to get her a manual. My reason is very simple, I want her to know how to drive a manual. I believe that it is an important skill that will serve her all of her life, and an enjoyable one at that. My opposition claims safety concerns and fear she'll get in an accident. My daughter wants an automatic, further complicating matters, but I feel she will thank me later. Ultimately I will make the decision that I feel is best for my kid, but as part of that decision-making process I'm welcoming input. So with that as background, what would you as a parent decide and why. I'd also be interested in hearing from the ladies, do you drive a manual or wish you knew how? Thanks in advance for your input.

Truth is manuals are going the way of rotary dial phones...and land lines. And most importantly, "My daughter wants an automatic..."

I'm a guy... I would also teach her to drive on a manual if you already have one and then let her make an informed decision. I'd also tell my wife that driving manual gives one better control of the car, thus making it safer long term, because you have more control over the operation of the engine through the transmission.

So, while I might not force her to drive manual by buying her a manual car, I'd force her to learn on one of the other vehicles in the house that is a manual. I'd make it a requirement.

The best reason for this is probably that, if she's living with you and needs a car for an emergency situation, and the only one there and functioning is your Nismo, for example, she should have to know how to operate it, just in case.

2v1
should probably go with automatic :ugh2:

I would have her enjoy what she would want, And if thats an auto? then so be it.

If she wants to learn, And is interested in a manual? Get her a beater manual to learn on.

As you see Im looking at what she would want NOT what I would want.

Remember she's the one driving it and she wants it manual? she'll ask for it.

You could always teach her later on :driving:

You see, but should the kid get to decide? Most kids would pick the easier path. How many kids want to learn more than bare minimum? And this is a skill that will make them a better driver long term and give them flexibility if the only car available is a stick.

Again, I'd buy her whatever, but I'd still insist she learn stick, just to learn it, especially if you own a manual vehicle already.

I'm in the "Buy Her An Auto And Teach Her To Use A Manual Too" camp. Knowing how to drive a stick is a valuable skill but, as others have pointed out, it is no longer as important as it used to be. 30 years ago, I'd have said she NEEDED to know how to shift - not so much nowadays.

As far as manual-gives-more-control: maybe if you are an experienced driver but not so much for a beginner. When my daughter started driving, we got her an auto (her preference) and I taught her how to drive a manual using my old Mustang. She's no expert with a manual but she can at least drive one if the need arises.

I think this can go either way, but if your daughter wants an auto and will hold it against you if you get her something she dislikes, is it worth the trouble?

I think if you can, try to teach her manual anyway early on, and if she is ok with getting a manual now, it would be cool. It's far better to learn young when you have parents right nearby who can provide assistance than to do it at 30 years old when you're on your own and your career can't survive breaking a car or being timid with manual later. And it later sucks when a) your friend needs help and has a manual so you can't help them, b) fall in love with a car that is manual (z, sportscar, jeep...), c) prepared for other vehicles like a bike or anything else that is manual, d) can drive those cars if you need to for whatever reason (favors for the boss/clients, test drive something, designated driver.

Will she get into an accident? It's possible, if she rolls into someone, stalls and the person behind hits her, etc. I doubt she would get into an accident based on proper manual driving, not any more so than an auto.


(Disclaimer: I've never driven manual.)

I say auto since its her first car and he daily the manual can be a bit grooling in heavy traffic. Also I'm 22 loved driving manual cars all my life, but never commited to a manual Daily Driver till a few monthes ago. I've gone threw about 9 cars trading them in. Every 6 monthes to a year. So I mean if she's just not feeling it now let her get auto. You still have your Z to teach her on if your really interested in her learning.

If anything she will just be down that she can't dump the clutch once she gets used to the car I know one of my guilty pleasures with the car is swinging the back end out on a turn when no ones around to see or crash into :p lol

My issue isn't manual vs auto, yeah, manual is a GREAT skill if you're stuck in Alaska with 2 friends who broke their legs, and you ONLY have this one manual car, and you need to drive them to the hospital...
Then again, in that scenario, you stall a few times and you mash the gas on every gear change and you're on your way...

Only reason I see behind manual, it's 10 times harder to text and drive


Oh, better life lesson than auto vs manual, make sure your daughter knows, AND is willing to change a tire, I know PLENTY of people... (Don't want to say women...) that couldn't change a tire to save their life... I just heard about a story that my friends aunt put duct tape on get leaky tire... Yes, on the outside of the tire...

I twisted my dad's arm into making sure my little sister's first car was a manual. It makes you pay a lot more attention to driving. She ended up loving it after the first week. Since then, every car she's bought has been a manual.

This is exactly my thinking. I think that driving a manual as her first car will give her a much more valuable experience than driving an AT. If you fear that she will hold it against you that you didn't get her an automatic, give her an option to trade it for an automatic when she heads off to college or something. Hopefully, by then, she will realize how awesome is it :tup:

People that get a free car don't get to hold anything against anybody. ;)

People don't. Women do though

Try telling that to a teenage girl :icon17:

:rofl2:

what about getting her an automatic car that has paddle shifters?

My dad paid half of my first car. It was a 2 year old base Civic with no options for $9k. He informed me that if it wasn't good enough, I was more than free to take my $4500 and get something better.

Of course, he bought all of my sister's cars until she turned 25, but that's the difference between girls and boys.

No purpose

she can learn manual using paddle shifters and switch to auto mode too

she just needs to get the *it's time to change gears* *do something* part down

I agree with DE here. No point. It's the mechanical connection to the car with a clutch that makes driving MT a more valuable experience. You have to pay attention to what your car is doing at that exact moment, and then you have to make the adjustments yourself. Also, rev matching, while not necessary in the majority of cars these days, is a valuable skill nonetheless - it demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the vehicle operation as well as driving ability.

C'mon man, that was THE WEAKEST explanation as to why auto with paddles is like manual.


It's the CHANGING and the clutch that has the learning curve

That's pretty pointless. Tell her to drive in manual mode only? That's probably not going to happen unless he rides along with her 24/7. Most of learning to drive manual is learning how to use the clutch.

Why not just let her try manual on a beater or something. Like a friend's car if there aren't any manuals at home.

Only manual at home is his Nismo and soon his 240

Because driving a manual once or twice and then buying an auto doesn't really help much. She needs to learn manual well. Doing it a couple of times doesn't teach you much.

So she might as well try the Nismo Z then if she's possibly going to get a 6MT Z. Go for a drive for like ateast an hour. If she doesn't like it now or isn't interested now. She will never be.

Let a 16yo drive the Nismo? Oh hell naw.

Mmmmm... The Z is harder than most to drive. I don't LIKE manuals, but I understand the appeal, and maybe if I lived in a different place I'd buy one, so I don't 100% agree with what you're saying.

Also, I doubt he'd let anyone drive either, both are overly nice.

Get her a manual, teach her how to drive it, she'll thank you in the end, having the skill to drive both.

:bowrofl::bowrofl::bowrofl:

Get her the Auto. At this point, she probably sees the car as something that get's her from A to B....and nothing else. If she's not into cars, she won't understand the point of a manual. It's like having a physical map instead of GPS to them.

To each his own, but I'd wait on buying your kid a car until they've had more experience behind the wheel. It's just too damn dangerous out there for kid's her age. Period!

:iagree: 100%

ONLY reason I see behind manual though is the no texting and driving

:tiphat:
manual...my dad taught me and it has been an important skill for me.
Allowed me to help out, drive cars that others could not and also bragging rights to all the men/boys who talked trash, and believe me, they will/do.
My daughter drove a manual 93 toyota pickup in HS (her step dads old vehicle), she also told me several times how much trash talk occurred until the boys realized she could fend for herself in the vehicle arena. :tup:
I say manual, cheap, trade it in on something nicer after she has mastered it.


edit: I always felt too that, especially in winter weather, the manual gives you, as the driver, more control. I drove manual vehicles for a long long time before I had an auto for that reason alone. I was afraid the auto would drive me instead of the other way around...

Do you really think a manual will stop a texter from texting? Maybe in traffic but, as soon as the car is in top gear, that right hand is going to grab the phone.

Not saying that OP's daughter would text while driving, just that a manual is not going to stop someone that does.

Lol it's just a Z.

She's a 16yo. THe Z is a 330+hp rwd sports car. These things do not go together.

Children do.

well i thought it would be easier/safer for her to learn :wtf2:
i've never drove a manual car before but i tried learning on a bike and ended up riding myself into a wall and dropping the bike and stalling a lot because i forget the clutch

She's so young and ther'll be plenty of time to learn manual. That she needs to learn manual shifting right now is a bit irrelevant and misguided in my humble opinion.

The important things she needs to learn now is defensive driving and putting the phone down. It's not about how good a driver she is, it's about learning how to deal with crappy drivers, those who don't follow the rules and driving situations not covered in the driver's manual.

The other epidemic (that wasn't around when I was her age, neither were cell phones nor Internet) is talking and texting on the phone. Texting while driving should be a topic as serious as drinking and driving except texting is more dangerous.

By the way, there are a myriad of cell phone blockers and real-time GPS devices that can be installed in a youngster's car during this probationary.