Before I go test drive a 6-speed RX8 I need to learn how to drive a stick. I have a friend who has a car with a manual tranny but he's gonna be out of town for a while. Do you guys know of any other ways for me to get a manual car to learn on? Any rental companies rent out MT cars?

 

You could always steal a car.

 

I dont really think there are rental companies who has a MT car.

What you should do is, find a driving school that has a MT car. and pay some money for ahh maybe 2-3 lessons. You shouldnt expect yourself to learn MT with just an hour. cuz it just wont happen

better be prepared cuz you dont want to stall every 2 blocks when you try to test drive. if you're not good enough I think the sales just going to kick you off and drive the car back to the lot.

 

Im in the same situation but i have a beater manual jetta to learn on lol. But yeah try going to a school,see if any1 in ur family has one (aunts/parents/sybllings), or just wait for ur friend to get back?

 

There are plenty of manuals for rental at "cheaper" (ahem, two-bit) rental companies. Also I believe Hertz has miatasfor rental which are manual. Might cost you quite a bit though.

 

^ Exactly what he said, Hertz is good for having a car or two that has a manual. When i rented a Impala a few months back for my trip , they had a 2004 or 05 Mitsu Eclipse convertable that was manual. Just check around in your local area.

 

Go test drive a manual other kind of car first

 

I only test drove the automatic and had the sales guy take out the manual to show me the difference, because I couldn't drive stick before I bought my car. I then bought the car in stick and the sales guy spent about 3 hours with me showing me how to drive. He offered to drive me home and I could get another lesson the next day and then take the car home.

I ended up just taking the car home that night after my 3 hour lesson. it still took me at least a month to feel comfortable. I've had my 8 for about 9 months now and I only recently have felt like I truly am shifting the way I want to in the 8.

 

yes if you are truly interested in the buying the car the sales guy will take the time to give you lessons on driving stick

 

You'd really take lessons from a car salesperson? Would you take cooking classes from the person selling you your sandwich?

Get a copy of th Yellow Pages. Look up "Driving Schools" or some variant thereof. Call around and find some place that will teach you what you need to know properly.

Otherwise, you'll find yourself stuck in reverse trying to get up a slope and realize that James from the car dealership didn't tell you how to negotiate this little problem.

 

I took a lesson through Sears Driving School (car sucked badly!!!) as a refresher since I hadn't driven a stick in years. Cost $100 for 1-1/2 hours but the guy extended it to two hours since I didn't have anywhere in particular to be. I got my car at the end of March and at first had a bit of trouble with stalling it since the clutch is a little more touchy in first gear than I have encountered with other cars. I have it down good now on takeoff so I can get moving smoothly. I discovered I need to let the clutch out a little more slowly in this car than I do in other cars. You'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.

 

BlueSky: If you can't find someone with a MT you can practice on then wait on the test drive until you can. Or, as crisis suggests test drive a AT if you must test drive now (but I wouldn't rush into buying a car, you can wait).

Also be honest with the salesman about your MT driving ability. No good salemen is going to withhold a sale from you for any reason. It is extremely unlikely but if they do or say anything about it that makes you uncomfortable then just go elsewhere.

Good luck and take your time.

 

When I went out for my test drive I wasn't the greatest at a stick as I hadn't driven one since I was in high school regularly--I drove the 8 fine but I was being real careful with it, after we came back the salesmen switched and 'showed me what the 8 can do'. I was in love--unfortunately though I ended up with the auto anyway because of the deal I got on a preowned one that was like 4 months old. At the end of the day I'm happy with my decision to go auto as I have a few other priorities right now--but after dental school the next car will be a manual...or DSG. Hopefully, Mazda will have a better rotary offering (not that the 8 isn't good) in 4 years or so.

 

a car salesperson who goes on test drives all day in alot of manuals who also has to take cars out to get the feel for them and when i was first learning stick the salesman taught me to let go of the clutch a little bit when on a hill and u wont roll back the trick is to let go of the clutch until u see the RPMs go down just slightly and u wont roll back then give it a little gas that was a life saver.

i would learn how to cook something that the person cooks many times a day everyday from that person because they have it down to a science.

 

You might consider having a friend who drives one well drive you to a large empty parking lot and practice there on your RX8. The RX8 is easier to drive then most manuals and very forgiving as it seems to handle slow speeds in higher gears well. You would probably need a couple of times doing this to get the hang of it.

 

Rent a ford truck, the older the better, as it has a similar stick, might even try a duce and a half -or, save your pennies, fly to Los Vegas and go to the track where they rent all sorts of sports cars and you can even practice drifting (stay away from the gaming tables they will just eat the money you want to use to rent your practice cars). Some of the Casinos offer special low cost packages including hotel and flights. Also visit an 8 club in your area and find some willing victem who can help you out...

 

It's always funny reading threads like this, because in the US its about 90% AT cars and 10% MT, whereas in Europe it's exactly the opposite.

I understand that you need a special licence to drive MT in the US, while here we always learn to drive stick first, so learning and driving an AT is child's play

 

a special license to drive MT? i think someones been pulling your chain lol its about 60/40 with AT/MT in the US because of all the sports cars granted the people buying AT mustang GT's but there are a fair amount of people buying them MT too.

to me any american car with a V8 that is meant to go fast should be MT it should be a requirement to buy that vehicle. i loved the ford lightning i hated the AT 4 speed in it the pontiac GTO or corvette they put AT in them to appeal to everyone not just the people who like to drive ><

 

I did it like this. I went to take a test drive in a MT and the Sales guy showed me how to get the car into first and into second. the rest follows easily.

I spent about an hour getting the start going. I went back and bought the car. I bit the bullet and said I am going to get the MT. I ended up buying it and took it home. Without really learning to drive it. I stalled it a couple of times on the way home. I was only honked at by one person.

But all in all I forced myself to learn quickly by buying the car and driving it home.

 

^(limepro) He likely believes this because in Europe it is generally accepted that Americans can't do two things at once without drooling on themselves.

 

most european cars dont have cup holders so does that mean they cant drink a soda and drive at the same time?

 

thats the best way i learned in my friends 84 bmw he gets way better gas mileage than my expedition i had at the time i was driving 350 miles 1 way so i said let me take your car only having driven a MT once before then. in LA peak traffic times u either learn how to make the car go or u get shot LOL

 

My best lesson was going to Chino Hills Roughtly 80 Miles from my house. And I got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. I loved it. I got so much practice and much needed practice too. After that stint with the traffic I improved my shifting and take-off's. It was better than a parking lot. This way I was forced to get it right.

 

No, they probably use their powers of telekinesis to bring the drink to their lips while shifting effortlessly.

Ok, sorry for the thread diversion.

I learned on farm tractors and bulldozers. Mistakes with the clutch were easily ignored on vehicles like that but it helped when I moved to cars.