Purchasing a used manual transmission car
 

Hey Revscene

I'm new here and I dont know much about automobiles.
I'm interested in learning to drive a manual transmission vehicle. I have the resources and I am considering purchasing a used manual transmission vehicle to learn with (and likely sell it afterwards). A used Honda Civic is what I'm thinking of right now, but since I dont know much, does RS have any recommendations for models (and year) I should consider and things to look for? I'm willing to spend about $7-8000.

9/10 thread, would read again.

http://www.revscene.net/forums/68174...ml#post8187468

Bet you would want to sell it afterward

Kind of in the same boat here, but i'm pretty indecisive so I haven't gotten around to buying a manual car yet. Many people have advised me to take a couple of manual lessons before I go out and get the car, maybe 2-4 hours worth.

Really with 7-8k you can get a lot of things... So more info is required to narrow your choices down so you don't end up with 30 potential cars you have to decide from.

hondas and acuras are pretty easy to learn on, the clutches are fairly light for newbies

yes.. Definitely get a 5 speed 2002 dark blue civic coupe.. Great car to learn manual. Oh hey I'm actually selling one in the buy & sell section! What a coincidence :) well within your budget and easy car to resell
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If you're planning to learn, then sell it afterwards then don't get something so expensive in my opinion.. You'll be spending that money elsewhere as you're going to replace that clutch very soon or have someone else replace it which will depreciate the value of your car instantly. Buy an 87'-91' Civic Hatch; no tach. They're cheap, parts are easy to replace, and the best way to learn is by feeling it out and listening to the engine. If you master how to drive one of those, you'll be able to drive any typical standard car out there, I guarantee it.

I know a handful of people who think they know how to drive standard from driving a 'newer' car and they grind, stall, and ride the clutch all day on other cars.

I learned from an 89' Civic.

Just from my view point.

Huh?

I would recommend getting a beater that isn't worth a whole lot, something maybe in the early 90's

You can get a 92-00 Civic or 94-97 Integra for >$2k/>$3500, respectively.

I say get a $1500 beater, learn to drive stick, then sell it.

I bought a $700 1986 Celica GTS in 2007 to learn how to drive stick. Drove it to/from Calgary for co-op before getting rid of it.

The body was rusting out but the engine and everything else was still running well at 250K kms...

If your sole purpose is to learn to drive stick, get something cheap to do it and sell it after. But if you need a vehicle as well, then you have a lot of choices in the 7-8k range..

99 acura el
1998 Hyundai Accent
2000 Mazda Protege
1998 Honda Civic

If you have reasonable hand-eye coordination then I don't see the point in buying a beater to learn how to drive stick - it's not that hard to learn to drive stick if you have good coordination and if you do it right it's hard to abuse the clutch.

I had a 30 minute lesson in a Corolla and then picked up my new car from the dealer and drove it home. Wasn't particularly smooth the first few days but it doesn't take that much effort to figure it out. Learn to heel-toe afterwards and you'll make up any extra wear at that point.