Did you come to an age where you switched to an automatic?

Litterbox

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Joined
Jan 28, 2015
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14
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USA
I've never owned an auto but I think the time has come. I'm 34 and live in a city and the constant clutch work has got to stop. I'm SO looking forward to it.

I can have remote start.. this is huge for me. My drive home from work is so short the car doesn't get to warm up.

Current: '12 VW Golf
past 09 tc
98 civic

I know there will be times I miss the manual but living in the city, I really want an auto. I dont, however, want to lose my "car guy" status!
 
I live near San Francisco, so I feel your pain...both the hills of San Francisco, and also the Bay Area rush hour gridlock between San Jose and San Francisco. I've been test driving automatics with shift paddles...but honestly, I'm not sure I would ever use them except going down hills where the gear the auto wants to use would roll too fast.

IF I got a manual again, it would need a hill-hold function.
 
I'm still driving exclusively manuals but switching to an auto has crossed my mind when thinking about getting a new daily driver. I would be nice not having to deal with a clutch in stop n go traffic. Right now, Im fortunate enough to have a job that doesnt mind me coming in late/ leaving late to avoid rush hour but in the future, i may not be so lucky.
 
For me age is only one part of it. The other is just how far automatics have come in the last decade. And, honestly, because I'm staring at multi car ownership. I want my weekend warrior to be a stick, but I don't mind if my daily driver is an auto.
 
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I think location and use are a factor for me. Part of me regrets that I bought a truck with a manual, but most of my driving is done in the city or on the way to a hiking trail or whatnot. I would not give up a manual on my bike as in a biggish city environment it provides more enjoyment than any car I've owned has.
 
While I was never a manual only guy, I have come to the point in my life where a manual really is more of a headache than it is worth. Plus I have leg and arthritis problems, so I will avoid the added pain.
 
I promised myself some fifteen years ago that I won't own a car with an auto box until I'm fourty years of age and thus I'm keeping my promise. Of course automatic gear boxes have been heavily improved over that period of time, but I guess I'll have another stick shift car before seriously considering an auto box.
 
I've been of the mentality that manuals are the only way to go for a while, and when I was shopping for the Jeep I really wanted a 5 speed, but came to the realization that rowing my own gears is one less thing I want to worry about in deep snow and mud (since I bought it as a winter commuter and summer offroad toy), so I went with an auto and haven't regretted it yet.
 
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I know there will be times I miss the manual but living in the city, I really want an auto. I dont, however, want to lose my "car guy" status!

Don't be silly, get whatever you want :)

There is also no reason to limiting yourself to just one car...
 
I'm all about the manuals, everytime I drive an auto it bores me to tears no matter how good it is. On the other hand I'm with Jimbo, I could deal with an auto daily/baby carrier as long as I have a toy with an H box. It's also not really an age thing, I know quite a few older people (like 50's) through my old club who still love driving manuals but also have no problem having an auto daily.
 
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I live near San Francisco, so I feel your pain...both the hills of San Francisco, and also the Bay Area rush hour gridlock between San Jose and San Francisco.

I live in the flattest city... in the world. I would die attempting a hill-start.
 
After 6 years of driving my E46 with a manual (which was fun), I recently switched to an auto in my daily driver. Why? Because this car is more comfortable and considering my commute is 30-40 minutes of start-stop traffic, it got old quick. Besides, I still have a manual for when I want to have fun, it's also way faster and than the car ever was or could be. Once you get into bikes, everything on four wheels is pretty slow and boring :mrgreen:

Having said that, I will own another manual vehicle in the future because it is the best way to have fun in a car. It's just that commuting and stop and go traffic isn't my idea of fun.
 
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I think gearbox choice depends entirely on the vehicle in question and how you are using it, rather than age. Although health does come into play.

My cars are both manuals, but I'm rarely in traffic and most of my driving is on small twisty roads where changing up and down the gears can be an enjoyable experience. Also, if I had an auto it'd be a 3-speed and I don't think it'd suit the car.

On the other hand I was causally browsing early 70s Rovers on eBay t'other night and I'd happily have one of those with a 3-speed auto. I'd never be in a hurry as the car is more of a comfortable cruiser than my Doloshite which has sporting saloon pretensions, I'd by happy to sit back and just waft about. Of course modern automatics are better designed and change over smoothly with good ratios, I'd be tempted in most larger cars to go with flappy paddles
 
If I had a commute where I was stuck in stop and go traffic, then I'd buy a slush box in a heart beat.

But if I ever want to use a car for fun, it either has to have a stick shift or a computer controlled manual.
 
Although I can drive stick, I'm by no means good at it. I managed to get by with the Taurus but never got rev-matching to smooth out down shifts, feeling confident on inclines, avoiding tire spin in the wet from a stop, (I guess clutch control??) etc.

If I really concentrated, I could get a nice smooth shift (and feel really good about myself lol) but that takes a lot of focus.

Then again, I end up buying cars that are ancient, so the automatics I do get are seemingly all on their way out.

I really don't know what I'll get this time around: I live and work in a hilly area now, sometimes on steep twisty routes in shitty conditions and figure the auto would make my life easier.
 
I switched from owning only manuals to an auto, for a couple of reasons. 1) the car I bought was abnormally cheap and I wasn't going to turn it down because it had a more valuable (on the second hand market) gearbox, 2) I wanted it for off-roading, auto allows smoother power delivery and for a beginner like me takes away the worrying about a clutch and gears when you're centimetres away from rolling your car off a ledge, 3) the clutches in manual Hiluxes are shit and may as well be a yearly maintenance item.

I miss having a good manual to drive. But then I drove a friend's WRX recently and it had a clutch that was even heavier than my Renault's (well maybe similar weight but it felt like a worse kind of heavy, squishy but very firm), and I remember how annoying it got after about an hour in stop-start traffic. So I'm quite happy to enjoy my new ability to eat and drink while I drive about in the city.

Having said that, I'd like to have a fun to drive small manual car again.
 
I miss having a good manual to drive. But then I drove a friend's WRX recently and it had a clutch that was even heavier than my Renault's (well maybe similar weight but it felt like a worse kind of heavy, squishy but very firm), and I remember how annoying it got after about an hour in stop-start traffic. So I'm quite happy to enjoy my new ability to eat and drink while I drive about in the city.
What year was it? I drove the 2015 and the clutch was way too light.
 
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