Scrib

Ok, first and foremost I love my G35. It's such a great car.

However, I'm beginning to regret getting a stick for the SOLE reason that my wife can't drive it. While I always had it in the back of my head that I could teach her to drive it, it's just not working out.


So... Would I be stupid to try and see if a dealer had a '03 coupe AUTO and would basically trade me straight up??? My manual for an auto??? Even swap?


I wonder if it's possible?

Thoughts?

95gt

God don't do it man don't do it. That car was made to have a stick


Why can't your wife learn? Does she just not want to? Does it really matter that she can't drive it, is there some reason that she needs to?

Red-CL

She has the Murano.

Keep your car.

Scrib

She just needs to know how to drive it. In an emergency or in a pinch... To be able to jump in a car and just go...

I'm not at all worried about her destroying the clutch, transmission, etc. That's all repairable... I just want this to happen for my piece of mind.

She just doesn't understand the concepts... Doesn't see a need for it, etc. I knew it was going to be difficult to get her to understand the basics. I just didn't think it'd be this hard.

proaudio22

Tell her if she really has to be able to drive your car, you have to get an M3 SMG.

chef chris

I'm having the same issue now with the wifer...she drove the G the other day in the snow...was scared shitless. Now wants me to get rid of the car...

Hell, I've only had it 2 months...

anyhoo...I say go with the auto 05...atleast you get the newer interior, etc.

Scrib

The money tree isn't bearing much fruit these days... At least for new car purchases.

chef chris

Shit, I hear that...

EDIT: Ok, I see you said 03 now.

But actually, 03's are going for over $31K in my area now...aren't the new ones only a few thousand more? It would be a super low car payment...

DivineCL

Take ownership of teh G35 and give your car to your wife.
BTW - Is the G35 a coupe or sedan?

DivineCL

Auto = :ghey:

Scrib

I already own the G... So it's kind of hard to take ownership again.

It's a coupe btw...

DivineCL

Yes, I understand, but what I meant to say is why not
swap cars with your wife? What kind of car do you drive
Scrib?

BTW - What color is the coupe?
GET THAT! Scrib =

phipark

Scrib drives the G35 and his wife drives a Murano. He wants her to learn how to drive his car for emergency purposes.

95gt

But she refuses to learn leaving scrib in a tight spot

Scrib

DivineCL

Oh...now I understand.
Scrib, don't do it. Why compromise a beautiful car for your wife?
She has to learn how to drive manual. For some people it takes
time but once you learn you will never forget.
What color is your G35 Scrib?

DigiBox

Your not crazy at all. Nothing wrong with thinking of the family.

If you don't want to get rid of the M/T, could you pick up a beater? Something that runs enough to teach your wife how to drive an M/T? Say less = to or less than $1k? Figure if you have something just for learning purposes, you won't have to worry about things getting trashed. I learned to drive stick in a 1960 Volkswagen bug. Glad I did. It's always good to know how to drive an M/T.

chef chris

Two of the most completely contradictory statements I have ever seen in one post. x 10000000000000

Firstly...Divine...if you ever plan on getting married or have any serious ideas about not being a single person the rest of your life...you will learn that a car & a wife are not something you can choose between.

Not to mention...beautiful car or not...a beautiful woman can give you cootchie, which a car surely cannot...I can live without a car....

DivineCL

Thanks for proving your point.

chef chris

Steady cootchiiieee > nice car. Always & Forever x a bazillion x a million...

DivineCL

Thanks Chefboyrdee but its not like his wife is going to
leave him if he doesn't get an auto.

Shawn S

That’s a tough call man.
It’s a shame she can’t learn the basic skills to be able to use the car in a rare emergency.
Having to downgrade the car just for that seems silly.
I do like the M3 SMG suggestion though.

Just exactly how “bad” have the lessons gone?
I’ve taught a lot of people stick shift over the years.
Today’s modern cars are so much easier to drive then the old manuals of 10-15 years ago.

As a side note, my wife never drives my cars.
She never drove the Legend, never drove the 2001 CL and has never driven the Blinger.
When we drove down to Florida in my 2001 I told her she would need to help me out with the driving duties, but I ended up the entire way both directions myself.

Her RAV4 is an auto, but she knows how to drive stick.
Her Integra was a 5-Speed and both cars before that as well.
She just got tired of it and wanted an auto this time.

Scrib

Part of the problem is I have zero patience... And since this is my first stick car, I'm not as tenured in my manual driving career. Combine the two, and it's partly my fault.

She just wants to mash the gas and go. It's all about feel, and getting the idea of a third pedal, etc... She wants nothing to do with it.

Then comes in the concept of gears, when to shift, what speed and what gear... And it's game over. "This is too complicated. Why would anyone want to drive a car like this?"

Regardless, she still needs to have access to both cars... I probably won't dump it. Simply because I know any dealer would want a sizeable amount of money out of me. Which I'm NOT going to do.


I really need to find someone who can just take my car and her to an empty parking lot and teach her how to drive. Someone who has the background and understanding how to really drive a manual transmission. I just don't have the patience nor the deep understanding necessary.


Shawn... How about a round trip ticket to Chicago... Couple of free meals? Teach my wife how to drive???

chef chris

Sounds like she's a bit impatient too...

mclarenf3387

The key is paitence. My dad taught me stick on his 1987 BMW with a short throw shifter, not exactly the easiest car to learn on. But he has infinite paitence (which I don't), but he was able to teach me in just a few hours.

She also has to want to learn. If she doesn't, its gonna be tough no matter how much paitence you have.

evilone

why dont you see if there is a driving school that has a teacher with a man car scrib?? that way YOU dont have to deal with her. i tought my ex how to drive and i will never ever ever ever do that again. i wanted to choke the bitch

Mike

if it was REALLY important to her she'd stick w/it.

i taught my kid over the course of a week. how hard can it be???

how much are new clutches going to these days?

Scrib

$1200

95gt

Shawn S

The teacher must have as much patience if not MORE then the student.

What I usually do is find a nice large parking area with ZERO obstructions and ZERO traffic.
Have the person practice starting out in first gear over and over again.
As soon as the car starts moving and the clutch pedal is all the way out…STOP and repeat until it’s done with no jerking or stalling.
Always stress that it’s better to have too much gas and spin the tires then bucking & stalling the car.
1-coast stop…1-coast stop… 1-coast stop…over and over again.

Then go on to 1-2 shifts and then STOP. 1-2 STOP 1-2 STOP….over and over again.

That might be enough for one day depending how fast they progress.
The next most difficult thing to do is hills which always brings the most anxiety out.
Again, find a spot with a GRADUAL hill and no traffic or anything to roll back into.
But they’ve got to be proficient at the first two steps before tackling hills.
And DON’T teach the E-Brake trick to prevent rolling back until they do it the right way.
Then explain that method in case they’re stuck on a real steep hill or some A-Hole is right on their bumper.

Always make sure the person is quite comfortable with the clutch before heading out into traffic.

I taught my older sister stick shift in my Omni GLH-S back in the mid 80’s.
If that can be done…ANYONE can learn.

TypeSAddict

Why don't you sign her up with lessons from a professional driving school? That's how I learned. I had never driven stick in my life, had one lesson from an instructor, drove the 20 mile treck home from the driving school in the MT car

Scrib

Example of a school??? Certainly taking her to the Richard Petty driving school is a "bit" overkill.

Mike

@ 16 years old my wife kicked her impatient mom out of the car and taught herself. again, how hard can it be?

something else to think about. are you guys planning on kids? if so, get your toys now...and keep your car.

mclarenf3387

I think the problem here is she doesn't seem to enthusiastic about learning to drive stick.

Scrib

yeh

kids are in teh crystal ball


x 2

Scrib

Naw... I wouldn't say that.

She does mention... "So when are you going to teach me?"

Yet, I try, she gets pissed... It's a neverending cycle...

Mike

exactly...so it's really not important to her.

Mike

then send her off to a large parking lot on her own

Mike

maybe she needs a reward? use a diamond as a carrot and i'm sure she'll pick up quickly

mclarenf3387

My dad still has his toys. Greanted it took awhile to get them back since my brother was born 22 years ago, but hes up to a small boat and his second car.

SO it sounds like you just need a different teacher. Maybe a different car would be easier to learn on as well? THe idea of a school sounds good, that way she won't get pissed at you, but the instructor