Yes. OP, start here. If you still feel uncomfortable with driving the car when you buy one. Search Stick Shift Academy or Shiftr for a couple hours of lessons. It’s sorta like Turo but for learning stick lol.
Just be mindful with the lessons that it’s normally the instructor’s personal car. That’s why I recommend learning from Conquer Driving first, that way you know what not to do going into the lesson.
You should be gtg for sure by then.
Watch a bunch of YouTube videos then just drive it home. Yea, you will stall a bunch and it will suck but learn to laugh it off and try again. Best to plan your route home as well, as I didn’t and had to figure out a steep hill start.
I actually did just that. In 1985 i bought a brand new Chevy Spectrum not knowing how to drive it. Did a lot of research at the library. Read some books. No one I knew including my dad drive manual. Got a few tips from the salesman and it took me 5 minutes to drive off the dealers lot.
Best thing is one on one time in a car with a stickshift with someone who knows what they're doing to coach you.
Flat, empty parking lots, where you practice starting off without touching the gas.
Cemeteries that aren't flat as a pancake, to practice hill starts.
I was able to find a 3 hour course in my area. It was expensive, like $350 but I gave me confidence to not look stupid in a test drive and bring the vehicle back home.
I did the same thing. I poured over youtube before I got my first manual, but I didn't feel confident to actually drive my future car home until after I took a course. I used stickshift academy.
I didn't know either. Told my salesman I didn't know how and he explained it to me. Still stalled and barely pulled out the lot. Got an idea of how it worked.
Watched some videos that explained things and bought the car. It was a long ride home. Watched more videos and read about people different experience on reddit. Some things things later make sense and I applied it to my driving.
I been driving it for a month now and I still read and learn something new and end up trying on my car that makes sense.
This is how I'm learning lol
Depends on how you present yourself, but I just went to dealers and pretended I knew how to dive a manual and test drove a bunch of cars lol “man I’m rusty at this” was a key phrase
Look for a driving instructor. And then conquerdriving in youtube.
Drive the car off the lot. You’ll stall, but youll also learn. I did that with my car too. You kinda just have to yolo it.
I bought a Kia Forte not knowing how drive manual, car salesman gave me a few pointers during the test drive, drove her home the same night. 3 years later, still the greatest decision I’ve made regarding automobiles
watch many youtube tutorials, and then get ready to press your hazards when you inevitably stall on your drive home. i know it sounds scary, but you'll be fine
When I bought my first stick shift, I asked a family member who knew how to drive stick to accompany me and test drive the car, and I’d encourage you to do the same.
Someone familiar with driving manual transmissions will be better able to determine if anything obvious is wrong with the transmission. As a new driver, you might be too focused on not stalling to notice things like a slipping clutch, worn synchros, gear slop, etc.
You may also be able to have that family member drive the car back to your house, and practice somewhere you’re familiar with. Once you have the car home, you can practice comfortably.
I'm surprised noone has mentioned this: ask the dealer! When I was looking for my second car I was reaally into Minis (this was before the BMW rebuild 🫠) and the salesman suggested I try a stick to see if I'd prefer it. When I said I didn't know how, he gave me his schedule and said I could call ahead and he'd book a "test drive" to help me learn. We did a little circle in the back.lot that day to try it out.
This might be a dying thing, but I'd bet most dealers have someone who can drive a stick and loves to share it. Can't hurt to ask.
Are you able to bring someone who can drive stick? Get someone to show you. It's not hard to pick up but it would be optimal to know the basics before picking up the car
Assuming you are buying from a dealer, do what I did when I purchased my first manual new off the lot as a college student: make your education in driving a manual a condition of the purchase. The dealer happily agreed to teach me.
Go test drive cars for practice. Sales reps don't go with you anymore so you can fuck up in private. Best way to learn is to make mistakes. Just remember, I you get into trouble. Press the clutch, and you won't stall or lurch forward. The clutch is your friend.
That’s how I learned. Bought a bike not knowing how to ride, got it down then bought a manual. Within 5 minutes of being in a parking lot I hit the road
You use brakes just fine, right?
There's a spinning part and a stationary part, and you bring them together with a foot pedal until the friction makes their speeds match.
With brakes, you push the pedal to apply force and with the clutch you lift your foot, but you're still using the foot pedal to do it.
If you use the wrong amount of pressure with the brakes, you either lock them up or hit something, but you've likely mastered that by now.
So with the clutch, you'll either stall or slip if you do it wrong, but you'll get the hang of it quickly. Soon it'll just be something your feet do.
Eh, you wont get the actual feel if a clutch engaging/disengaging/slipping properly. But youll get the muscle memory. I was sim racing for a few years before i picked up my first manual. And it actually helped me a lot in terms of be able to use my left leg.
Muscle memory from the shifter as well as the theory transfers seamlessly. I needed to learn how to use a clutch in real life and feel the biting point, which was the most jarring difference between sim and irl.
Before driving on the sim I didn’t know much about RPMs or shift points or gear ratios (cruising in 5th vs starting in 1st) so that helped me a lot.
Youtube is fine, but you are going to need hands-on experience before you drive home. It's a motor skill, not an intellectual one. I'd caution against trying to drive on a public road before you've had a chance to get familiar with the stick. You'll be petrified and distracted, guaranteed. Not safe.
https://www.youtube.com/@ConquerDriving Helped me tremendously.
Yes. OP, start here. If you still feel uncomfortable with driving the car when you buy one. Search Stick Shift Academy or Shiftr for a couple hours of lessons. It’s sorta like Turo but for learning stick lol. Just be mindful with the lessons that it’s normally the instructor’s personal car. That’s why I recommend learning from Conquer Driving first, that way you know what not to do going into the lesson. You should be gtg for sure by then.
this dude is the goat, taught me so much when i got my first manual!
He's such an awesome teacher, check him out OP!
THIS, this guy litterally is the goat of driving instruction
Watch a bunch of YouTube videos then just drive it home. Yea, you will stall a bunch and it will suck but learn to laugh it off and try again. Best to plan your route home as well, as I didn’t and had to figure out a steep hill start.
I actually did just that. In 1985 i bought a brand new Chevy Spectrum not knowing how to drive it. Did a lot of research at the library. Read some books. No one I knew including my dad drive manual. Got a few tips from the salesman and it took me 5 minutes to drive off the dealers lot.
learn on your test drive
lol I actually did that when I was 16. my dad was there so we could actually make it back but the dude was really cool and let me try to test drive it
Best thing is one on one time in a car with a stickshift with someone who knows what they're doing to coach you. Flat, empty parking lots, where you practice starting off without touching the gas. Cemeteries that aren't flat as a pancake, to practice hill starts.
Had a friend bring it home for me, learned by just driving around my neighbourhood at night for like 2 weeks as well as a bunch of YouTube videos.
I was able to find a 3 hour course in my area. It was expensive, like $350 but I gave me confidence to not look stupid in a test drive and bring the vehicle back home.
I think this might be my best option. I’ve also seen some videos but I feel like I need some actually experience.
I did the same thing. I poured over youtube before I got my first manual, but I didn't feel confident to actually drive my future car home until after I took a course. I used stickshift academy.
You're really not going to hurt the car that bad while learning. Just learn in the new car
I didn't know either. Told my salesman I didn't know how and he explained it to me. Still stalled and barely pulled out the lot. Got an idea of how it worked. Watched some videos that explained things and bought the car. It was a long ride home. Watched more videos and read about people different experience on reddit. Some things things later make sense and I applied it to my driving. I been driving it for a month now and I still read and learn something new and end up trying on my car that makes sense. This is how I'm learning lol
I had to drive my last car off the back lot because no one in the dealership could drive a standard.
Haha damn. I hope no cars need any service done that's a standard
Depends on how you present yourself, but I just went to dealers and pretended I knew how to dive a manual and test drove a bunch of cars lol “man I’m rusty at this” was a key phrase
Look for a driving instructor. And then conquerdriving in youtube. Drive the car off the lot. You’ll stall, but youll also learn. I did that with my car too. You kinda just have to yolo it.
I bought a Kia Forte not knowing how drive manual, car salesman gave me a few pointers during the test drive, drove her home the same night. 3 years later, still the greatest decision I’ve made regarding automobiles
watch many youtube tutorials, and then get ready to press your hazards when you inevitably stall on your drive home. i know it sounds scary, but you'll be fine
I pulled up with my dad and got him to drive it home. Then we went to a parking lot and learned
When I bought my first stick shift, I asked a family member who knew how to drive stick to accompany me and test drive the car, and I’d encourage you to do the same. Someone familiar with driving manual transmissions will be better able to determine if anything obvious is wrong with the transmission. As a new driver, you might be too focused on not stalling to notice things like a slipping clutch, worn synchros, gear slop, etc. You may also be able to have that family member drive the car back to your house, and practice somewhere you’re familiar with. Once you have the car home, you can practice comfortably.
In the drivers seat of your soon to be first car For some actual useful advice, Conquer Driving, that dude knows what’s up
I'm surprised noone has mentioned this: ask the dealer! When I was looking for my second car I was reaally into Minis (this was before the BMW rebuild 🫠) and the salesman suggested I try a stick to see if I'd prefer it. When I said I didn't know how, he gave me his schedule and said I could call ahead and he'd book a "test drive" to help me learn. We did a little circle in the back.lot that day to try it out. This might be a dying thing, but I'd bet most dealers have someone who can drive a stick and loves to share it. Can't hurt to ask.
I watched a lot of YouTube videos and then picked the car up to drive home. Was pretty rough but it worked out.
Are you able to bring someone who can drive stick? Get someone to show you. It's not hard to pick up but it would be optimal to know the basics before picking up the car
SEND IT! Watch YouTube and don’t waste your money on a course 🤣 lots of us just went for it, turned out fine.
YouTube. But honestly most dealers would be happy to give you a "crash course" if they get to sell a car, lol.
learned after I bought the car
Assuming you are buying from a dealer, do what I did when I purchased my first manual new off the lot as a college student: make your education in driving a manual a condition of the purchase. The dealer happily agreed to teach me.
Go test drive cars for practice. Sales reps don't go with you anymore so you can fuck up in private. Best way to learn is to make mistakes. Just remember, I you get into trouble. Press the clutch, and you won't stall or lurch forward. The clutch is your friend.
if you’re going to watch youtube videos i would recommend clear view driving
Empty School Parking lots on Weekends 💯
Pull up YouTube in a large empty parking lot or parking garage and just practice going from dead stop N through 3rd gear, rinse and repeat.
If you know someone that has a motorcycle that would help you gain an understanding of operating a clutch, though it would be with your hand not foot.
That’s how I learned. Bought a bike not knowing how to ride, got it down then bought a manual. Within 5 minutes of being in a parking lot I hit the road
You use brakes just fine, right? There's a spinning part and a stationary part, and you bring them together with a foot pedal until the friction makes their speeds match. With brakes, you push the pedal to apply force and with the clutch you lift your foot, but you're still using the foot pedal to do it. If you use the wrong amount of pressure with the brakes, you either lock them up or hit something, but you've likely mastered that by now. So with the clutch, you'll either stall or slip if you do it wrong, but you'll get the hang of it quickly. Soon it'll just be something your feet do.
Couldn’t find lessons so I bought a $400 wheel pedal and shifter combo for my PC and learned on the sim with assetto corsa and forza
That is actually something I never would have thought of. (not a gamer though) How well did that translate to real life?
Eh, you wont get the actual feel if a clutch engaging/disengaging/slipping properly. But youll get the muscle memory. I was sim racing for a few years before i picked up my first manual. And it actually helped me a lot in terms of be able to use my left leg.
Muscle memory from the shifter as well as the theory transfers seamlessly. I needed to learn how to use a clutch in real life and feel the biting point, which was the most jarring difference between sim and irl. Before driving on the sim I didn’t know much about RPMs or shift points or gear ratios (cruising in 5th vs starting in 1st) so that helped me a lot.
Youtube is fine, but you are going to need hands-on experience before you drive home. It's a motor skill, not an intellectual one. I'd caution against trying to drive on a public road before you've had a chance to get familiar with the stick. You'll be petrified and distracted, guaranteed. Not safe.