Okay here is my problem...

My wife is arguing with me since I usually park behind her car and in order to get her car out of the driveway she has to ask me to move it or figure it out herself (which currently she is afraid to do since she doesn't know how to drive stick).

We got into a pretty big argument the other day over how stupid stick shift cars are - and what a waste of time they are to drive. For those of us who choose to drive only MTX cars - let me tell you I had to bite my tounge.

Anyway, here is my quandry...
I'm in the market for an STi or WRX this Feb, and I'd really like to get top dollar for my Contour SVT (no jokes please - at the time I bought it, it was a good car and there were no Subaru dealers near me in FL at the time).

So do I let her practice moving the car out of the driveway into the grass with the SVT (where she might do something mechanically and I'd have to pay for before trading it in) or do I let her experiment on the STi or WRX where it would still be covered under the initial bumper to bumper warranty?

Either way, I'd definately be scared of letting her take any car with MTX on the road to drive, especially with the way she likes to park nearest to the store - even if it means next to the cart return area.

Let her practice in the SVT. If you getting rid of it anyway.
Plus do you really want to let her hurt an STi?

the contour should be easier to drive.
the wrx doesn't have any torque and will stall easier.
I never drove an STI so I can't tell u.
Either way, the controur should be easier
keith

The only thing that I'm really worried about is that the SVT has a notoriously set of spider gears... I can't tell you how many stories I've heard on www.contour.org about idiot drivers who've dumped their clutch and high RPMs and have shattered the gearbox.

Granted every tech I've let drive the car (for oil changes, inspections, whatnot) has told me that the clutch feels like its brand new - to shift I'd say I just have to maybe depress the clutch like 5 degrees.

I'm just worried about her doing some major mechanical damage that I'm going to have to pay for just to get rid of the car.

Granted her prob when I tried to teach her when the car was still under warranty was that she always stalled out with it.

Don't even get me started on her damaging either car - or her getting acustomed to driving MTX and then taking the Scooby out for a spin.

I'd say let her learn on the SVT. I used to have a similar car (Mystique w/V6), and that was about the easiest stick to drive ever. It's not likely she'll do enough damage just learning that you'd have to repair anything. I've taught many people how to drive a manual, and I've found it's helpful to have a little "classroom" discussion first. Explain just what a clutch does, why it's necessary, etc... Once they get the overall concept, the actual execution goes much better.

On the other hand, my current car has an ACT clutch (quite stiff) and a 1.8L N/A motor with NO torque, and my wife caught on just fine in that.

Learning to drive a stick is not that tough, if she wants to learn. I taught my wife on our escort and she did fine. Our escort tranny worked perfectly and went 160k on the original clutch. She stalled only once (on a hill), and now she won't drive an auto. She wants an F-XT manual before the end of next year "Aw, do I gotta'??". I taught her well, huh?

Just take it nice and slow. The WRX might be better since there is less power (at low revs), making starting less herky-jerky (which really freaks MXT noobs). Teach her to get used to the gas pedal before you start talking about the clutch. "Just get used to holding the gas at a 1500rpm with the gas pedal". Then teach her that pushing the clutch to the floor is the panic position. Then show her how the gas and clutch interact to keep the rpms at 1500 as you let off the clutch. Make sure she keeps it very very very slow and gradual and you'll be fine. A couple stalls won't kill you anyway...

DRum

I think your bigger problem is that she is afraid to learn. My wife is the same way. She says she wants to learn, but is afraid to break something. I had my WRX for 8 months and she's only driven it once (in a parking lot, for 2 minutes).

As most of my friends have told me, "You cannot teach your spouse to drive a manual tranny."

So I'm going to have a friend teach her in my brother's POS Saturn

Why do people always worry about their clutch/transmission when teaching someone how to drive MT? Millions of people learn to drive stick every year, yet repair shops aren't full of cars with shredded gears....wonder why.

Anyway, just teach her on the easiest car, which has got to be the SVT. In fact, she'll probably become a better manual driver if she learns on the SVT and then another car (WRX, STi, etc) since it will give her a better understanding of how things work.

If it helps any, I learned driving a stick on the F355 game, then went straight into the STi. The game helped by getting the mechanics down, then once I had the car, I got the fundamentals down with the mechanics. The STi is a very easy car to learn stick on.

-Mike

let her learn on the SVT. for starters, the subies i've driven with a stick all seem to feel different than any other stick i've driven - don't know exactly what it is, but they aren't as easy to drive. second, if you teach her right, you shouldn't have any worries about her damaging the car. i've taught lots of people to drive MT with my cars, and i've NEVER been afraid of damage to the car.

third, and most importantly, if your girl is dead against MT's, just get rid of her. unless she comes around and is a high revving, speed shifting, heel toe-ing vixen by this time next year, do you really want her around in 5?

I learned on my husband's WRX so that I could get my own WRX.