Hey there! I am new to the Forum. Just thought I'd introduce myself. My fiancé and I bought our first Mini this past Saturday. We have a 2013 Mini Clubman. It is technically my car, since I will be driving it. We love it so far! Only thing is, I am new to the stick shift world. I have only driven a manual once before, and that was just in a parking lot. My fiancé is in the process of teaching me to drive a stick in the new mini. I'm guessing it will take a couple weeks for me to get it down....Hopefully. If anyone has any advice or stories about their first time experience with manuals, that would be great. I'm trying to stay as positive, and confident as I can. I'm just a little impatient since I have my own mini, that I can't drive yet!

 

Take your time babe. I'll be making sure the car is in good hands while you learn

 

Best advice: stay off if I-695 while you're learning.

True but you know that already! Seriously... you'll pick it up in no time then you're driving experience will be 5x better than if you had bought an automatic.

 

I found the best thing for me was to drive as much as possible when I got my MINI. Now I take it out joy-riding just to drive it I never thought I would enjoy driving a manual so much! You'll get it, hang in there

I still stall once in a while, mostly while backing into my garage, cuz it's kind of a climb lol. Trust me, once you get it, you'll never wanna stop, and you'll make any excuse to take it out!

 

Welcome

 

I started out in a parking structure. Just kept going up and down for about 2 hours. I actually started to get car sick because my teacher kept making me start and stop, and go up and around the structure. It's just like anything in life; practice makes perfect. I've been driving stick since 05 and i still stall every once in a while. I will say that coming from a G35 Couple 6mt to the R55 is a huge difference. The clutch on the R55 is WAY more forgiving than the G35.

Just take your time and have fun with it!

 

Whoa whoa. Stop hitting on the new girl. She has a fiance!

I also never knew how to drive a manual before I got my JCW. Had my fair share of stalls but practice makes perfect. But be prepared to be discouraged when you mess up. I hate that feeling.

 

I learned how to drive stick in a Army surplus 1940 Chevy 3 spd column shifter. Try to keep your boiling point under control with your fiancé teaching you. I almost wasn't born because my dad tried to teach my mother how to drive before they were married. She said she walked 14 blocks back to her house after getting out of the car in the middle of traffic.

 

Haha, it's ok, marcmtb35 is my fiancé. He's been helping me out a lot during this learning process. I give him kudos for keeping his cool most of the time during my mess ups.
Yeah, the biggest thing I have to remember is to stay confident. I have a tendency of getting upset and emotional when I do something wrong. It makes me not want to drive anymore. I just have to keep persevering and remember that everyone has gone through what I'm going through.