Car rental.....
 

Hey folks...
I'm wanting to get a rental car with a manual transmission for help in showing someone how to drive a stick....

In a quick look (on-line) at some of the rental companies web sites... All showed automatics.

Ummm....
Any ideas of who might have a econ car with a stick available?

I could call a few of them as well but thought someone here might have run across a company who has one in their fleet-

Thanks

They all do... but you have to go to Europe to get one. I don't think any of the major rental car companies stock any sticks in the US...

but here's an idea -- you might be able to buy an old Bug for about the same price as renting :dunno:

hehe - This is exactly right.

And the reason I am being asked. My friend travels to Europe often and doesn't know how to drive a stick. Trying to rent an automatic is turning out to be a pain..... Even reserving one ahead of time has not always worked...

I believe NONE of the companies in the US rents a stick.

My suggestion for people who want to learn stick is to buy a well-used (like 10+ year old) Japanese econobox (for <$1000), learn stick on it and then sell it once you're proficient. You'll be able to sell it for what you paid for it. The only cost is the hassle factor.

You'll likely only find a rental with a stick at places that rent high-end exotics. But for the rental fee on one of those you could buy several of the type of car that TD mentioned.

Two things to watch out for after learning to drive in the US in the first place and learning to drive a stick in the US are which side of the road to drive on in which European countries, and which side of the car the driver sits on. The former should be relatively easy to get used to, but trying to drive a stick with the left hand (in a right hand drive car) after learning to drive it with the right hand (in a left hand drive car) might take a while to get used to.

This is turning out to be a non-issue....
That is - No cars are available. This is true of the national rental companies as well as the 'local' mom and pop shops. All have automatics.

Buying a car is not an option....
I'll probably just use the 2002 and be VERY careful.... ;)

I could rent a Porsche for ~$250 a day but - who knows... Might be a fun way to make a 'day of it' - then again... :confused:
:eeps:

Way back when a friend rented a Maserati Biturbo for a a day just to "try it out". Fun ride!

Edit.... fixed.

Not a Maserati Biturbo? Top Gear recently destroyed one on purpose.

Ooops. Yes a Maserati. Why did I say Lambo????? Need more coffee.

That only matters if you consider the UK and Ireland to be part of Europe :D


I was worried about that before I went to Scotland in '99 for vacation. It was the first time I would be driving a RHD car, and I was definitely expecting it to be stick. Turned out to be not too bad. I really didn't have any problems shifting with my left hand. The first ~20 min drive to my hotel was a nervous experience, but I took it slow and thought through all my turns (its kind of like thinking in mirror image). By the 2nd day though, I was pretty comfortable driving the RHD car, and the rest of the trip was great. I did have one instance about half way through the trip, where I pulled out of a gas station and headed to the right side of the road -- fortunately it was an empty street :D