Car rental.....

[lip277]

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

[ZBB]

Originally Posted by lip277

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

[lip277]

Originally Posted by ZBB

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...

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...

[TD]

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.

[operknockity]

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.

[ZBB]

Originally Posted by operknockity

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.

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


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

[operknockity]

Originally Posted by ZBB

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

Have never been had the chance to drive anywhere else but in the US.

I almost went to Kourou, French Guyana, for work many years back and the only cars they had for us to rent were going to be right hand drive sticks. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it fell through and someone else was the stuckee for that trip.

[ZBB]

Originally Posted by operknockity

Have never been had the chance to drive anywhere else but in the US.

Besides the US, I've driven in Mexico, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Czech, Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain and Australia.

The most "fun" place to drive was Italy. Its crazy driving there, but once you figure out that the basic rule of the road is that you are in a race, you're OK. Essentially, if you are ahead of somebody, you are "winning" and therefore have the right of way -- and if you are behind somebody, it is your responsibility not to hit someone else. Its utterly amazing how well it works -- imagine a tied up intersection with cars heading in all directions at once would result in multiple accidents here, but in Italy its almost beautiful to watch. Cars find holes and miss by a centimeter or two, horns honk a bit, but not too much, spaces open up and are immediately filled by a car going across traffic, etc.

Countries that I've been to where I haven't driven, and never would want to drive in are India and Japan. India is just utter chaos, and while Italy has some chaotic moments (I literally saw someone pass by driving up on the sidewalk), its mostly organized chaos. India is just chaos. Japan is very organized, but if anyone has seen the Top Gear Nissan GTR race across Japan, you'll understand that the issue there is purely language-based.

[JST]

Originally Posted by ZBB

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


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

I think I posted after my trip to Ireland that shifting with the wrong hand gave me (surprisingly) no trouble at all--weird how that works. It's helped by the fact that the clutch/brake/gas relationship is the same; it would be devilishly difficult if you were trying to gas with your left foot and clutch with your right.

As you suggest, driving on the left is relatively easy where there is traffic, because of course the traffic shows you where you need to be. It's where you are pulling out into an utterly empty street that you sometimes have problems.

[lip277]

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...