Manual vs automatic

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In Australia (Victoria) if you sit your licence in an auto car you can only drive auto. Four months ago i passed my test and have an automatic licence. Anyway my grandma has offered to give me her manual car but in order for me to drive it I am required to sit another test and obviously learn manual too. Her car engine blew up yesterday and the car is worth little yet she wants to get it fixed for me. I was brought up to feel quilty for making decisions and am finding it tough to work out if it is worth trying to learn. Who here drives auto vs manual what are your thoughts?

the other issue with this car thing is that it got blown out of proportion because the engine blew yesterday and will cost around $3000 to fix and the car is worth nothing like that. Anyway I said to my grandma why dont you rather than getting it fixed give me the money towards an auto (which I can now legally drive without issue) if you wanna give me a car. She seemed really upset and turse when i spoke to her this morning like she thought I was demanding or asking for a car and I would never do that. she was saying quite angrily "your proposition is not on" i am not buying an auto and getting my car fixed i was never asking that. She doesnt get stuff a lot these days

I prefer driving an automatic, because of my left side weakness, however I passed my drivers license test on a manual. I did this because I knew if I do drive a manual it would be no problem as I would not require another license. I enjoy driving a manual and as soon as i can afford to get one of my own, I'll start driving one again. Its gonna need a good gearbox and a pretty stiff clutch though...

Manual isn't that hard. I'm currently having driving lessons and after the first 2 my instructor told me we are now done covering the manual side of things.
(in fact I've driven in an auto car once and I was freaked out it wanted to drive forward at 5km/hr when I took my foot off the brake! I didn't tell it to move!)

Or you could just wait 2 year 8 months until you have a full license

Manual's not too bad, but I definitely prefer automatic.

oh ok. Is that automatic or are you meant to inform them somehow? =/ I don't have to yeah?

On my learners I just have the S for wearing glasses (I'm in victoria too)

In the US, we don't have to pass an additional test in order to drive a manual transmission. That being said, I like manuals better due to the fact that they allow you to have greater control over the vehicle.

I've never driven an automatic car, although I'm legally entitled to. I would get bored driving an automatic car - it would take the skill and fun out of driving.

Personally, I would use your grandma's car. I never understand it when people say that it's not worth mending a car because the repairs would cost more than the car. That doesn't matter. If the car goes, it's worth it.

When I wanted to buy may car for £494 my parents kept suggesting I saved up a bit more for a more reliable car (actually, old cars aren't as unreliable as people think as a general rule! My car's been to Scotland and Wales from Birmingham). Anyway, I've spent about £250 on mending my car, most of which was for general maintenance (brakes, alignment etc.). The car, according to the insurance company is worth £250. That means I've so far spent £494 plus the car's official value of £250 (£744 altogether) on a very good car instead of spending £1000+ for a newer, 'more reliable' car which would not necessarily have been more reliable.

So, I never understand why it matters that the repairs cost more than the car's value.

To the transmission issue--it is handy to know how to drive both, if you can manage it. The first car I bought myself was a manual, though I had to learn how to drive it after I bought it. My dad swapped cars with me until I was comfortable with shifting. He was AS and while we got along extremely well, but I just couldn't learn from him. He had so many rules and preconditions for shifting, I just couldn't keep it all straight (I developed my own rules, but they were different and made sense to me). I had to learn from my nt mom, which went very smoothly. Anyway, knowing both will make your life easier if you ever have to drive someone else's car in the future.

Love manual transmission. The car is an extension of my body... much more fun because you are really driving the machine.

I've had both over the years, and don't really have a preference. I did notice that smaller engined cars do run a little better, i.e. I can get better acceleration and better mileage on manual than automatic. Where I live now though, I prefer automatic. The reason is the roads here don't handle the volume of traffic we have, so my commutes to and from work are often stop and go most of the way. When I had manual, I was constantly having to change gears but with auto, I don't have to.

Just a thought.

A manual gives me too much to try to focus on at once, so its automatic for me.

The problem with an auto is the creep issue. Most people will just hold the brake. I hate being stuck behind someone who holds the brake in low light situations so I am almost blinded. If I look away, the lights change. And I don't like waiting. I see so many people holding the clutch in first, or holding the car on the clutch, I almost cringe when I hear loads of revs and slow movement, I pity the clutch at the hands of an older driver.
When I borrowed my Boss's auto, I drove it like a manual, going fron L2and D, sometimes deactivating the overdrive when I don't want it. The gear changes in autos are rough.

As you may have guessed I drive a manual/stick, far smoother and I can change quicker than a rally car I can fix it anyway, so not bothered how I break it.

I would consider 2 options.
1) convert the car to auto
2) learn how to drive a manual
3) find a forum on the cars that can help you for a small fee. Cost of them travelling, etc.

My experience of forums like this on cars have been pretty good so far, but I am always cautious

I can drive a manual even though I'm 14, so can plenty of other people, it aint that hard once you get used to it!