How dumb would it be to buy a GT (manual?)
04-08-2013, 12:48 PM
#22
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Oceanside, NY
Posts: 91
I found an amazing deal on my stick that I couldn't pass up and I had absolutely zero experience driving manual the day I got it. The first week was a nightmare, even the slightest incline seemed impossible to to get up. I kept thinking this is the worst decision I ever made, how am I going to deal with paying off this car for 4 years I cant even drive...
By the end of week 2 I was thinking ok I can do this but traffic sucks and I still think I should of just got an auto.
By the end of the month I was thinking, man this is frigin amazing and I'm never buying a auto again!
Takes a little bit of time and I certainly had my fair deal of doubt, but man was it ever the right decision to go with the manual.
By the end of week 2 I was thinking ok I can do this but traffic sucks and I still think I should of just got an auto.
By the end of the month I was thinking, man this is frigin amazing and I'm never buying a auto again!
Takes a little bit of time and I certainly had my fair deal of doubt, but man was it ever the right decision to go with the manual.
04-08-2013, 01:35 PM
#23
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: DE
Posts: 546
Forget all the BS and naysayers out there. Everyone on this thread has given you some sound advice. Personally, I would never own anything but a manual Mustang GT, but that is just me. I have always loved driving and being in control of the vehicle. It keeps me sharp and alert when driving. I also never did like talking on my phone when in the car, and I don't drive through heavy traffic. So a manual is perfect for me.
If you want a manual GT then go buy one! Go all in! You will get very good at it in a short amount of time, and you will have the most fun driving that you have ever had. If you just aren't that into driving or don't want to be bothered, then go with an auto. You'll still love the car every time you punch the accelerator.
If you want a manual GT then go buy one! Go all in! You will get very good at it in a short amount of time, and you will have the most fun driving that you have ever had. If you just aren't that into driving or don't want to be bothered, then go with an auto. You'll still love the car every time you punch the accelerator.
04-08-2013, 01:39 PM
#24
Gentleman's Relish
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: AZ
Posts: 13,090
If you've never had experience with a stick, PLEASE don't make your first time in traffic...
Take a couple days to drive away from everyone. Last thing you want to do is either A) Stall at a heavily trafficed intersection trying to turn left as cars bear down on you doing 50+ mph or B) Pop the clutch and rearend the car in front of you....
Get the basics down. Hills, use your e-brake to help you keep from rolling back until you get confident enough to not use it for taking off.
Take a couple days to drive away from everyone. Last thing you want to do is either A) Stall at a heavily trafficed intersection trying to turn left as cars bear down on you doing 50+ mph or B) Pop the clutch and rearend the car in front of you....
Get the basics down. Hills, use your e-brake to help you keep from rolling back until you get confident enough to not use it for taking off.
04-08-2013, 02:32 PM
#26
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Rocket City, AL
Posts: 331
Get the manual and don't look back. I was in a similar situation a little over a year ago when I bought mine. Had driven maybe 3 total hours of manual in my life before signing my name and several thousands of dollars to a car that I stalled getting out of the dealership. Like someone mentioned earlier, do a headcheck right now. If you WANT to learn how to drive it, get the manual. If you are already doubting yourself, you aren't ready. Driving a stick requires a complete focus on not only your surroundings but of whats going on with your car. You have to listen when it's telling you to shift up/down and react accordingly.
I bought mine on a Saturday, practiced all day Sunday and drove 2 hours back from my parent's house to my apt for the work week later that night. Was I nervous? Certainly, but soon that will turn to nothing but smiles everytime you row through the gears. A year later, it is all muscle memory for me now. Even taught my girlfriend how to drive it this weekend.
I bought mine on a Saturday, practiced all day Sunday and drove 2 hours back from my parent's house to my apt for the work week later that night. Was I nervous? Certainly, but soon that will turn to nothing but smiles everytime you row through the gears. A year later, it is all muscle memory for me now. Even taught my girlfriend how to drive it this weekend.
04-08-2013, 03:23 PM
#27
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: California
Posts: 140
Don't let the title fool you. i want a GT but i only know how to drive automatic. but everyone is telling me you cant get a muscle car that is an automatic because that is like wearing a rain suit to shower. So my question is could i break the car if i get a stick? will i embarass myself with terrible driving? how hard is it to learn? or should i just get an automatic? i like the idea behind stick except for heavy traffic it seems annoying and on hills
i get the concepts behind shifting and what the gears and clutch do so its not like i have absolutely no knowledge of what i'm doing. drove a stick once.
what do you think?
i get the concepts behind shifting and what the gears and clutch do so its not like i have absolutely no knowledge of what i'm doing. drove a stick once.
what do you think?
The car is paid off and there isn't a day since I got it that I regretted the decision.
Go manual my friend.
04-08-2013, 05:50 PM
#29
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location:
Posts: 1,108
As a stick shift convert, here's some advice that I've lived: buy a beater with a stick to get over the intimidation. After a few weeks cruising the beater around it will be like second nature to you. Just raise your GT budget by $500 and start hunting for Escorts or S10s to buy along with it. If you don't want the beater after a few weeks, re-sell it.
04-08-2013, 05:55 PM
#30
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 917
I currently own a manual and enjoy it a lot, no second thoughts about driving it here in WI and for long trips out of state. I've rented several 2012 and 2013 Mustangs that were autos, they were very boring to drive compared to my manual.
I owned a 1989 5 speed Mustang Vert when I moved to Southern CA in 1989. The LA traffic finally got to me and my next car was an auto. Getting stuck in traffic for 2-3 hours (round trip to work and back) every day takes the fun out of a stick shift, inho. It's also tough on the clutch.
I hit stop and go traffic for less than an hour at a time and about once a week now, this doesn't bother me at all.
I owned a 1989 5 speed Mustang Vert when I moved to Southern CA in 1989. The LA traffic finally got to me and my next car was an auto. Getting stuck in traffic for 2-3 hours (round trip to work and back) every day takes the fun out of a stick shift, inho. It's also tough on the clutch.
I hit stop and go traffic for less than an hour at a time and about once a week now, this doesn't bother me at all.