New Member Introduction
 

Hey folks,

Just wanted to introduce myself out here; hope this is the appropriate forum.

Anyways I'm a soon to be new grad from UBC. Currently I drive a 2012 Civic auto. For the longest time I've wanted to learn manual and drive a 90's/early 2000's Japanese sports car and so here I am!

I'm actually looking to learn to drive stick shift first (embarrassed I don't already know at 22...). If anyone is willing to teach or has suggestions, I can offer lunch or amateur photography services in return :)

I'll soon be able to save up for a more fun car and keep my Civic as a daily, so would appreciate any suggestions there too. Not particularly interested in going fast, I just really like driving.

I'm looking for something that is:

• Affordable (under 8K used)
• Not too expensive to insure
• Japanese
• Has a manual transmission
• Reasonably reliable (won't be a money pit)

What I'm considering:

• 6th gen Civic coupe or hatch
• Any Impreza or Outback (I know it's unrealistic)
• NA Miata (I assume NB's aren't in my budget)
• 8th gen Accord coupe (probably outside my budget)

I know VERY LITTLE about cars at the moment so please go easy on me :wiggle:

Cheers!

Welcome!

If it’s a fun car and that budget just get the Miata.. easy to learn manual on and your smiles per mile are going to be way past anything else you’ve listed... plus you can find a pretty decent one for $5k, they’re easy to maintain and you should have $3k left from your budget for mods.

Nothing is cheap to insure unfortunately unless it has collector plates... which a NA Miata does qualify for (costs $300-400 per year you just can’t drive to work or school). There’s a low mileage red one with a hardtop on Craigslist for $7,500... negotiate it down, apply for collectors plates and you’re good to go.

Cheers! Just need to learn to drive stick first before I invest :o

Welcome aboard!

NB's are actually quite a bit more affordable than you think. I'm pretty sure I've seen some in the $6 - 8k range that are in very good condition available for sale. On the other hand, I think the local NA markets are a bit too pricey for what is a 22+ yrs old car.

If you are interested in going the NB Miata route, get yourself subscribed to the Vancouver Miatas and Vancouver Miatas Classified Facebook groups:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VancouverMiatas/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1709797285957950/

It's a friendly bunch, and you will see the occasional car coming up for sale.

Honda hasn't quite mastered their metallurgy or rust proofing in the mid 90's yet. Many of their cars from that era -- esp the Civic -- are prone to rust issues as a result. Because of this, it has become increasingly difficult to find a good local Civic available for sale that is rust-free. It doesn't mean they don't exist, and the EM1 (aka Civic SiR) is an especially much sought after car. But good examples from that generation tend to be really high mileage, pricey, or both.

Buy the car , then learn to drive it.

It takes longer than a session after lunch to be decent at shifting. Also, it will be very difficult to find someone willing to let you run their clutch just so you can learn for lunch money. You would have better luck asking for someone to teach you in your own car.

Learn on your car, you’ll be good to go in a day.

Welcome, I would suggest you get a $3-4K manual, learn on it, then sell it. Then get something that you've dreamed of. Good luck.

03 Civic SiR, $3900
https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rds...861536840.html

06 Acura CSX, $4500
https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rds...871188152.html

or this, 04 Acura RSX Type S, $5500 - this might actually be a keeper
https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rch...871303145.html

euro truck sim and logitech wheel :troll:

welcome to rs

welcome to the forum.

If you're ever in Pemberton, I have a farm truck with a manual that I'll teach my kids manual on and I would be willing to let pretty much anyone drive. The truck is far from pristine so I really don't worry too much about it.

Any of the cars you suggested would be fine, but consider how much utility and winter use it will see. NA Miatas do NOT like salty roads.

welcome

if you're buying a used car, learn on that
bring a friend who knows the third pedal to drive it home

then take it up a hill on a side-street after midnight/early morning to practice

Get a 2006ish Civic Si or a Miata. Once you know why you're doing what you're doing, it's not too hard. You gotta strike a balance between gas & clutch...ease off the clutch and into the gas, rinse, repeat. Think of it like a scale.
Every car drives a bit different though...

My Toyota you had to slip the clutch at like 2000 RPM for a smooth start. My Ford you can let the clutch out without any gas and it goes fine.

Thanks for the advice! I'll look into the NB's too then.

Good point, RIP wallet. I guess I could ask my parents :p

Gotcha

Thanks! I love those Acura's.

XD cheers

Thank you! Tempting offer. This car wouldn't be driven much in the winter, I'll use my Civic for the bulk of my driving. Just wanting a weekend toy.

Cheers!

Yeah I hear it's pretty simple to drive stick once you've learned. Are there any decent candidate Toyota's in my price range?

you need turbo. without turbo you are nothing.

:drool

350z is just in your price range as well...

Aren't those notorious for poor quality? Being post Renault and all?

You might be able to do the same: I bought my first manual in January in Langley, then drove it home to East Van. Note that the only experience with stick shift was from watching YouTube videos.

The hard part is building up the muscle memory for shifting, but that just takes practice. The point being is that you don't need a burner car just to learn how to shift, you'll get the hang of it within a week or 2. =)

I second the above.

Tho I had a friend drive my e46 from poco to home for me. I learned and could get around remotely fine in like 2 or 3 days. Getting hill starts down took like 2 months.



I still have the e46 and it'll be two years of ownership in July - clutch is fine.