Driving test on automatic transmission

whitepigeon

If anyone has done their test recently in an auto could you please tell me what it was like? I've treid to pass my test on manual but failed on vehicle controls

Mister Man

If you take your driving test in an automatic car, you will only be licensed to drive automatic's. Worth keeping in mind before giving up on manual.
Automatics are easy to drive if you're starting out, but I would assume you would be comfortable with driving if you've taken your full test already? Have you been dodgy in terms of gear changes? Has your driving instructor said anything in that regards to you before will doing your lessons?
If I was you, I'd stick to a manual, and work on it until you can actually pass it that way. Taking the test with an automatic will really limit your range of cars to choose from. I'm assuming your current car is a manual, so you'd have to sell it and buy something else before taking the test again.

I can't tell you why

Autos are easier to drive. You are limited to just driving them afterwards.

How many grade two marks did you get, for what vehicle controls? Do you know what you were doing wrong and can't fix it or do you not actually know what your mistakes were?

ProudDUB

Mister Man wrote: »

If you take your driving test in an automatic car, you will only be licensed to drive automatic's. Worth keeping in mind before giving up on manual.
Automatics are easy to drive if you're starting out, but I would assume you would be comfortable with driving if you've taken your full test already? Have you been dodgy in terms of gear changes? Has your driving instructor said anything in that regards to you before will doing your lessons?
If I was you, I'd stick to a manual, and work on it until you can actually pass it that way. Taking the test with an automatic will really limit your range of cars to choose from. I'm assuming your current car is a manual, so you'd have to sell it and buy something else before taking the test again.

That is not true. I bought an automatic car last year and I had a lot of cars to choose from. If you go to the likes of carzone.ie and you put in your search criteria (automatic, price, locality etc etc) it will give you a complete listing of who has what in your area. It made it all very easy for me.

It is true that if you sit your test in an automatic car, your license will only let you drive automatic cars. So if you plan on driving other peoples cars a lot, that could be an issue for you. But if you only ever plan on driving your own car, it won't be.

Mister Man

ProudDUB wrote: »

That is not true. I bought an automatic car last year and I had a lot of cars to choose from. If you go to the likes of carzone.ie and you put in your search criteria (automatic, price, locality etc etc) it will give you a complete listing of who has what in your area. It made it all very easy for me.

I would guess that the second-hand car market is 10/1 in favor of manual gearboxes. I'm not saying they're rare or anything, but your choice is definitely limited.
To add to the carzone thing, DoneDeal and Adverts also have the same feature. Handy if you want to search through for some automatics.

jimgoose

ProudDUB wrote: »

That is not true. I bought an automatic car last year and I had a lot of cars to choose from. If you go to the likes of carzone.ie and you put in your search criteria (automatic, price, locality etc etc) it will give you a complete listing of who has what in your area. It made it all very easy for me.

It is true that if you sit your test in an automatic car, your license will only let you drive automatic cars. So if you plan on driving other peoples cars a lot, that could be an issue for you. But if you only ever plan on driving your own car, it won't be.

There is some truth in what you say, but there are a lot of automatic 'boxes out there that are bloody awful, both in terms of functionality and reliability.

Days 298

Try your hardest to get a manual licence. Then you can by all cars for sale. I headed out to the country roads for a few days and spent hours driving around. My clutch and gear control improved to where city driving was a breeze, if you want to practice 1st gear just head out into rush hour.

ProudDUB

jimgoose wrote: »

There is some truth in what you say, but there are a lot of automatic 'boxes out there that are bloody awful, both in terms of functionality and reliability.

Maybe so, but there also plenty of manual, second hand out there with dodgy clutches. Pretty much any and every thing could be wrong in any second car that you buy, not just the transmission in an automatic, or the clutch in a manual. Get a decent mechanic to look it over, and take it for a test drive and, you greatly reduce the chances of your having a problem with any car that you buy, whether it is an automatic or not.

Mister Man wrote: »

I would guess that the second-hand car market is 10/1 in favor of manual gearboxes. I'm not saying they're rare or anything, but your choice is definitely limited.
To add to the carzone thing, DoneDeal and Adverts also have the same feature. Handy if you want to search through for some automatics.

As someone who actively searched for and bought an automatic car last year, I'd say that that those numbers are way off. I had no problem at all finding plenty of automatics to choose from in my price range. And I include both internet searches in that and mooching around garage sales rooms.

ProudDUB

jimgoose wrote: »

There is some truth in what you say, but there are a lot of automatic 'boxes out there that are bloody awful, both in terms of functionality and reliability.

Maybe so, but there are also plenty of manual, second hand cars out there with dodgy clutches. Pretty much any and every thing could be wrong in any second car that you buy, not just the transmission in an automatic, or the clutch in a manual. Get a decent mechanic to look it over, and take it for a proper test drive before buying it and, you greatly reduce the chances of your having a problem with any car that you buy, whether it is an automatic or not.

Mister Man wrote: »

I would guess that the second-hand car market is 10/1 in favor of manual gearboxes. I'm not saying they're rare or anything, but your choice is definitely limited.
To add to the carzone thing, DoneDeal and Adverts also have the same feature. Handy if you want to search through for some automatics.

As someone who actively searched for and bought an automatic car last year, I'd say that that those numbers are way off. I had no problem at all finding plenty of automatics to choose from in my price range. And I include both internet searches in that and mooching around garage sales rooms.

biko

There are plenty of autos out there but at some point in your life you'll need to drive a stick and you'll kick yourself OP.
Try another driving instructor maybe they can help with the control bit.

whitepigeon

I made 6 two grades in vehicle control such a gears and clutch. I was so nervous. I'm not going to be the professional driver so I'm not limited. I wish to have the driving license and could drive to work on my own. There is many cars with an automatic transmission. I've tried driving automatic and it's such a comfort.

whitepigeon

biko wrote: »

There are plenty of autos out there but at some point in your life you'll need to drive a stick and you'll kick yourself OP.
Try another driving instructor maybe they can help with the control bit.

Thank you, I've just tried. I'm driving his car and found it much easier. My own car is a bit out of date

ProudDUB

biko wrote: »

There are plenty of autos out there but at some point in your life you'll need to drive a stick and you'll kick yourself OP.
Try another driving instructor maybe they can help with the control bit.

I've been driving automatics for nearly 20 years and I have never once found myself in a situation where I had to drive a stick shift car & nothing else. I don't think that the drivers of stick shift cars, are aware of just how many automatic cars are out there these days. I've never had a problem getting one from rental agency on holiday, or from a garage when my own car was in being repaired. I don't ever have a pressing need to drive other peoples cars, so if the OP won't either, I don't see what the problem is.

ceegee

There are about 41000 cars on carzone, of which 6500 are automatic. Thats 85% of your options ruled out if you only have an auto licence. While autos are gaining a greater share of the market in recent years I just cant see the benifit of reducing your options so much for the sake of a bit more perseverance while learning.

The figures for autos are also skewed towards the higher price range: for cars under 5k its about 90% manuals

Personally I struggled with gears etc while learning and contemplated doing the test in an auto but am glad I didnt now. After a while the gears, clutch become so second nature you dont even notice them, also I'd be pissed off if I couldnt take a friends new car for a spin, or run down to the shop in a relatives car while visiting them because I took the easy way out when doing my test

Corkbah

OP - don't mean to be rude to you but if you failed the test its one of two reasons:

1. a bad tester
2. a bad driver

if you need to get more comfortable with changing gears, get extra lessons, go out more often with the car, the more comfortable you are in the car the less stressed you will be when it comes to the test.

my wife has her test on the 16th and we are out every evening after work - we normally don't get home till 6/7pm so its dark … quick dinner and it could be 9 by the time we're on the road and it might only be 30mins …but it allows her to get more comfortable and gain more experience on the roads, yesterday we had her drive for 2hrs near where the test route is, so she is familiar with the route and we did a few driving test procedures - its our only day off from work and our only opportunity for her to drive during daylight hours.

Keep at it - get the experience and get comfortable with changing gears, if necessary ….get lessons !!

Days 298

Or 3. An unlucky incident.

caldew

what about option 4, BAD INSTRUCTORS

or option 5, NOT TAKING DRIVING LESSONS

whitepigeon

I've just passed my test on automatic trasmission, highly recommended for nervous students like me