I am soon to have some manual lessons. No real experience or know how a manual car works. I've tried once and it was chaos. I stalled the car numerous cars. Don't get me started on hills. Any tips, videos, etc. How badly can I ruin the car? I just have to keep patient and calm.

Everyone goes through it. I learned to drive at 17 and manual gearboxes are standard in the UK. You spend the first lesson kangarooing down the road, then you start to get a feel for where the clutch bites and it gets smoother and smoother from there. If it helps, the learning curve for this bit is very steep and quick.

Every car is different and has the "bite" at different positions. Best advice I can give is to just raise the clutch as slowly as possible whilst keeping your foot on the accelerator ready to increase power as you feel the "bite".

Good luck - I feel your pain!

It's all about feel.

What I suggest for instant hill start success, is to place your iPhone (or equivalent) on the ground behind one of the wheels.

I've been driving for 20+ years (wow, am I THAT old?) and still don't know how to drive a stick. I guess some people prefer them, but I prefer to keep my hand free to do other things.

I learn to drive using a manual. I now drive a manual. Back home i used to drive an automatic. I think they are much better but its always best to learn manual as well. It is much usefull

I prefer a manual. With a strong little finger, you can change gears and still hold drinks in your gear-changing hand. I've been doing this for over two decades now ... hardest drinks are the big slurpees (slush puppies, in many countries) - those cups get cold!

You can do it. I learned to drive a stick shift when I was 16 and my father made me start/idle on steep hills until I got it right. I never drove another manual car until I moved here 32 YEARS later and it came back to me in five minutes.

Just learn it and you will have the skill for the rest of your life. (Plus, you will really be proud of yourself because it feels like you are actually DRIVING the car and you are a bad a**), (but I think this only applies if you are a girl!)

I learnt to drive when the gear stick was on the wheel, lol.

Love to drive, and with all the hills around here, I like to be in full control and love to change gear. I also drive an automatic, but it is not half as much fun.

After over 20 years of driving only automatic cars, I had to learn how to drive manual. Now it feels like I never drove anything but. In the beginning you will be frustrated, then you will get it.

If you're really looking for the basics, head over to YouTube. There are a lot of videos there explaining how a manual transmission works.

Or if you're talking really basic, go here: http://www.wikihow.com/Drive-Manual

Once you have basics down, go to a slight incline and practice starting and stopping there. The next day, try a slightly steeper incline. When you can start on some of the super steep hills here, you know you've got it. :-)

Head to an empty car park or industrial estate on a Sunday and keep trying. Once your foot and hand get the habit you never loose it.

Only take someone who has extreme patience to help. A stressed/tense/scared co-driver will destroy your confidence.

I learned to drive stick when I was 36 and it was a tough. I asked a friend to teach me and that worked pretty well. I also had my husband try to teach me but that ended in tears at the Dolder parking lot. Anyway, I had a deadline as our new company car was imminently arriving and I had to drive it. Now I enjoy driving manual, but at the beginning I will admit that I worked out all the various ways to get around without having to start on a hill. Notably Hofackerstrasse, Buchrainstrasse, etc. The car I drive now is automatic but I still drive my husband's manual car from time to time just to make sure I remember how to do it.

Manual is definitely my preference. I hate driving automatic as I keep stamping on the brake to change gear

Pfft. You mean you can't change a CD, update the Satnav and write an SMS too?

Amateur.

The advice that helped me the most is to actually visualize your feet, moving back and forth in opposition to one another, when one is up, the other is down, there is a point always when they are at midway. Practice doing that slowly and smoothly , and finally just add the shifting hand when the left foot is completely down (clutch is in). You can practice without a car, just to start forming the habit.

Be gentle with yourself as you're learning, and once you learn you'll never want to go back to automatic.

That "bite" spot is definitely what you need to find. If on level ground you ease the clutch out slowly, you can feel the car moving without the accelerator. That spot where the gear is engaged and pushing the car forward is when you want to push the accelerator.

Have fun! Popping the clutch is an good skill to have, practice that once or twice going down a hill, fun! And don't forget the parking brake. The car will stay in place if you leave it in gear when parked, but it can pop out of gear if the stick is knocked (kids?) and the car will be drifting.

I suggest you learn with a manual, it's got a sportier feeling imho. During traffic jams however it is horrible.

While learning, you should use your nose and stop ruining your disc if the distinct smell reaches you (you'll know it when you smell it haha) ;-)

When I learned to drive, in the states, standards were not the standard but automatics were standard so when I first had to drive in the UK and found that standards were the standard I was practically stranded.

ok, I had driven some manual gearbox cars in the states but not much, and when I first approached a stop sign at the top of a steep hill, having had no experience with hand brake starts I nearly poo'ed myself.

you get used to it quickly tho... best of luck with the lessons.

The auto is more comfortable to use however a full gearbox change is much more expensive than just a clutch change ^^ and some auto gearbox implementations are just sh!t - even if the box per se is okay-ish the engineers manage to it up with the management software.

What we need is a good manual on how to drive manual. *groan*

But seriously, when I had to teach myself, I found the best way to do it, is to give a bit more gas (till just before you hear the engine really revving), then ease off the clutch as slowly and gently as humanly possible. For the first few times, even if you are easing as slowly/gently as you think you can, ease it even slower. It takes time, and best not to do it in traffic, but once you feel it catching (ease EVEN more slower :P) then you can reduce the accelerometer to a comfortable start.

And whenever you're not on the gas, have the clutch depressed.

Maybe not the best methods, but it worked for me when I was 16, and stuck.

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