I didn't read all that, but you should buy my car and learn. Haha. But seriously I'm asking half of what you said you're willing to spend and it's a pretty good car to learn on with a stick.

 

+1. Save the remainder of the 8K to help with insurance and payments (if this will be part of your responsibility).

Heck, you'll probably want to keep the beater car around anyway...good for hauling stuff you can't fit in the Z.

 

You can rent a car at 18 the only problem is its like an extra $20-60 a day so i wouldnt recommend it. Like everyone else said just use a friends car. When i learned my friend who drove a manual rx-8 told me he would teach me he then proceeded to walk over and ask my friend who had a manual 02 eclispe to let him borrow it for an hour. he taught me in that car and i think i was laughing the whole time. The cool thing about it was if i needed to leave school early and i didnt have my auto eclipse my friend would let me borrow his stick elipse until the end of the day.

So point being im sure you have a friend that can help and if you dont go make one.

 

You really don't have any sort of problem if you can get past worrying about this.

Forget about a “practice” vehicle to learn how to drive a MT. The manual transmission in the Z has a great clutch and short-throw shifter. You couldn’t ask for a better MT for learning to drive a vehicle that has a clutch. My Grampa taught me to drive a manual transmission in 1960 on a Ford Falcon that had “three on the tree.” I had it mastered in a couple of days, and this was much more difficult (lousy synchro that required “double-clutching,” very long throws, horrible clutch, etc.) to learn-on than the Z’s great MT.

Get the Z, and then ask your dad or your brother to teach you (Hey, what are they good for if they can’t do that for you? ). Go to an empty parking lot with dad or brother in the passenger seat, and practice starting from a standstill (forward in 1st and in reverse gear). Once you can start smoothly from a standstill (that will take just a few minutes to master), practice shifting into 2nd, then to 3rd, etc.

A couple of things to avoid:

1) Never “ride the clutch.” Your foot should only be on the clutch while actively depressing or releasing the clutch. All other times, your foot is not on the clutch pedal.

2) Don’t keep the clutch depressed for more than a few seconds while standing at rest. For example, if you come to a red-light, put the car into neutral and release the clutch. When the light is about to change, depress the clutch, put the car into 1st gear, and prepare to launch.

You will do just fine. At 16 you have about the best reflexes you will see in your lifetime… perfect age for smart shifting a MT.

--Spike
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Edit: Oops, just noticed that Dad doesn't know how to drive a MT. Ok, no problem, your brother becomes the instructor.

 

Junk yard, $300, temporary plates...one hell of a week.

As long as it can make it back to the junk yard, you should be able to get $250 for it at a different salvage yard. Or just dump it into a lake.


Either way who cares what you do to the beast.


And i recommend a late 80's/early 90's toyota camry. Such an amazingly easy 5-speed. My roomate got one for $800 and drove it for 6 months until the fuel line started spraying gas behind the car. Other than that the car was strong and a great drive. He got $300 for it from a dealer when he traded it in for his truck last week.

 

Tell your parents one of the "old guys" (I'm 64) said you could learn easily on your Z when you get it. It would be a waste of money to buy another car just to practice a MT.

I taught my son to drive a manual on my Z with no damage to my Z or his psyche!!!

 

64!? Never would have guessed that from your posts (you don’t look/sound a day over 40).

Just curious… What was the first MT car, vehicle, or whatever you first drove?

I am asking out of curiosity. Like I told the OP, my first experience with a manual and a car was a 1960 Ford Falcon. But actually, my first experience with a MT was at age 12 on a John Deere tractor. Talk about hard to drive… no sychro (requiring double-clutching on up-shifts and down-shifts), 3 axle ranges, 4 speeds…

Now… that is what makes someone into an expert.

--Spike
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Edit: I'll bet you have me beat on the first MT. I am a young 57.

 

seriously, learning in another vehicle really wont help as much as you think it would, im sure that everyone can agree that every clutch has a different feel. get your Z and learn with the car you are going to be driving, and just make it a point to "Learn" away from people and curbs.

 

Very good idea. Go to car max with your mom or dad and pretend to want to buy a car. If a parent is with you they will let you drive a few.

Or do what i did and get a G/F who has a stick and learn or hers. Plus any girl who can drive a stick is sexey as hell IMO and can do wonders in other areas

 

just get the Z and then have your brother teach you...im sure he woudnt mind you grinding some gears in your own car.

 

Wow, alltrac turbo celica? Those things are pretty damn rare aren't they?

 

Actually I think you will be fine on the z but there are other considerations about having a second car.

I think all mt drive differently and experiencing two different kinds is not a bad idea.

Also you will have a second car so you can leave the z at home and use the beater for things like store runs, movies, bad weather and things you just don't want to use the z for...