My Metro died. What car should I get? Thinking Camry/Accord appliance.

[redpoint5]

Some people are unteachable, but that's the exception. Taught my wife (gf at the time) to drive stick in just one 30 minute session. She was struggling with letting the clutch out too quickly and killing the engine until I instructed her to take an eternity to let the clutch out as slowly as possible. She got it from then on out and after that it's just refining things.

I told her friend I wouldn't teach her on my vehicles after trying to teach her in a borrowed (from Chrysler) Jeep. She muscles the shifter rather than finesse it, sometimes without using the clutch. Revs the heck out the engine and still manages to stall it by being impatient with the clutch. She once abandoned the Jeep on a hill because she had burnt the clutch and gave up until someone moved it for her. I think Jeep ended up having to replace that transmission. I've currently got her driving a C-max with the hope that an e-CVT will hold up to her constantly switching between mashing the pedal and letting off entirely (if not braking).

I gave up immediately with my sister too. Similar issues of lacking the coordination and patience to operate machines correctly.

[Xist]

My sisters have had cars with manual transmissions.

That might be the best thing that I could say about them.

By the way, how many threads were created from others in the last few days? I know of this one and the Off-topic bickering one. I felt surprised that more posts were not brought over.

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Some people are unteachable, but that's the exception. Taught my wife (gf at the time) to drive stick in just one 30 minute session. She was struggling with letting the clutch out too quickly and killing the engine until I instructed her to take an eternity to let the clutch out as slowly as possible. She got it from then on out and after that it's just refining things.

Teaching so many people has shown me what works and what doesn't. What works is demonstrating the engagement point, telling them to HOLD THE CLUTCH THERE and build up speed, then release. What doesn't work is telling them to release it over a specified time period, i've tried. They just don't get it. I think its them thinking the work is done when it starts engaging, so they just dump the clutch. In just an hour long session the usual recruit goes from clueless to being able to pull away with revs, able to upshift and rev match downshift, reverse, park, etc. Some people are harder to teach than others while few will instantly have a grasp on things. I have never given up on someone or cancelled a session because I think they are killing my car.


For my slightly on topic contribution, I do also love the sound of a 2JZ. There was a straight piped SC300 around my school campus, holy god was that thing eargasmic. Still has exhaust resonator apparently.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Did a quick perusal through the car ads on Facebook marketplace and Craigstlist with "Bismark, ND" and a radius of 200 miles; the selection of cheap, used cars for sale in ND is pathetic! Even SD has a much larger variety.

I'd echo Ecky on the Insight; or any manual Honda/Toyota really, but finding one in ND seems tricky with the lack of options.

That Accord seems alright from the pictures, but a bit old and too many miles for $1200.

If I was in ND I'd probably fly out to get a good car and then drive it back. But I'm a bit picky when it comes to the cars I get.

[19bonestock88]

I will be probably the only one to suggest a Saturn. They aren’t bad cars if you do the basic maintenance on them, the Ions and L series do NOT hold value whatsoever. The S series can be had for cheap but some people seem to think they’re made from gold or something... the 1.9 was a decent engine if you overlook (and manage) it’s oil consumption. The ECTS is a common issue and for the love of all that’s holy replace it with a brass tipped one if you expect the car to run properly. The 2.2 used in the Ion, Vue, L series is a good engine with the timing chain tensioner being the only issue (and even then it only seems to come up on cars made before 2004 but they revised that part two or three times). Stock, my car gave 35+mpg on rural roads and probably could’ve gotten close to 40 highway with diligent hypermiling. My car has never left me stranded along the road, other than recently when I broke the shift linkage beating it mercilessly on the tail of the dragon. My fault there though.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by Shaneajanderson

..... argument from my wife that "if you get a manual then I can't drive it."

My wife really liked her 2008 bare bones manual Hyundai Accent. We bought a bare bones 2016 manual Elantra & she loves it. She is a very active women, NEEDING the manual, to fit her personality.
In 2009, one new car sales dealer sold TWO Accents for $14,000..... a good beginning to determine a low price for a used Accent. Our 2008 Accent, now has 152,000+ miles & looks good to sail past 200,000 miles & keep going. Within the last 5000 miles, the Accent got 51MPG. Tho the transmission is low-geared, I use 8% over-sized tires(205x65x15) to reduce rpms on the freeway, which gives the Accent a grown-up feel. SNOW CHAINS WILL NOT CLEAR THE WHEEL WELLS, & you'll need smaller tires to use chains. The timing belt has to be replaced every 60,000 miles, altho I've gone as long as 70,000 miles. The 2012+ Accents have timing chains. The Accent also goes through electronic ignitions every 70,000 miles. The muffler, catalytic convertor, & suspension are original & nothing else has failed, even minor things. The car remains tight, with no creaks or squeaks. Wheel alignments last 40 to 50,000 miles.
The Accent is nice to park. Altho the Accent has a narrow exterior, it has 1+ inches more interior width than other similar small cars. Rear seats are comfy only for kids & medium-sized adults won't be happy. Little storage room in the hatchback rear. With the rear seats folded down, we have gotten lots of stuff in the Accent. But if you need to carry lots of stuff often, look for a bigger car.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

......someone pulls away from a stop in a plain jane 2000-2006 Camry sedan and you realize it's got a....manual transmission! Unicorn sighting! Actually happened to me this summer.

In my manual Hyundai Elantra, I pulled up behind another Elantra. As she took off, I could tell she was driving a manual AND she parked to shop! Pulling in nearby, we had a good time talking about manual Elantras.
So..... I got to talk with a...... unicorn! I never realized till reading your post. Wow!

[Shaneajanderson]

Originally Posted by Daschicken

Then teach her! If she refuses, that's her problem then. I am up to 18 people taught to drive stick now.

She can drive a manual, just refuses. I ended up getting a 96 Camry, auto, but the owners had service receipts for everything, and it's spent it's whole life driving 55 down the highway. It should get 30+ mpg, can haul a couple people more than just me, should be reliable, and was cheap.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by litesong

She is a very active women

How many women is she?

[Shaneajanderson]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Did a quick perusal through the car ads on Facebook marketplace and Craigstlist with "Bismark, ND" and a radius of 200 miles; the selection of cheap, used cars for sale in ND is pathetic! Even SD has a much larger variety.

I'd echo Ecky on the Insight; or any manual Honda/Toyota really, but finding one in ND seems tricky with the lack of options.

That Accord seems alright from the pictures, but a bit old and too many miles for $1200.

If I was in ND I'd probably fly out to get a good car and then drive it back. But I'm a bit picky when it comes to the cars I get.

There's a couple factors at play with that.

The first and largest is bismanonline.com. it started out as a car ad magazine before the internet was a thing, and they launched their website way before Craigslist. As a result Bismarck Craigslist is largely unused. The Fargo Craigslist (which I am actually closer to) is much more useful.

Even with that, people in ND are general very cheap frugal and won't pay $5 for a Craigslist ad when Facebook marketplace is free. I found my Camry on Facebook.