https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:46:42 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013457 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:55:00 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1013457@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@littlebittyhouse: That's what I'm hoping will happen too. :) DH has already test driven a Subaru Outback and he thinks I'll like the handling a lot better than my clunky PT Cruiser or the Jeep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013393 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:46:36 +0000 littlebittyhouse 1013393@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NaturallyCathy: i had a stick shitft for 10 years before getting my automatic subaru outback and i miss it! i told DH that my next car (in another 10 years ha!) will be manual.</p> <p>i say go for it. i only had about an hour 'training' before i drove my stick off the lot and after a few days it was natural.</p> <p>i am in love with my subaru btw. can fit my big a$$ stroller and all my groceries #winning </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013163 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:47:11 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1013163@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PurplePumps: As I mentioned, we fully intend to have me try and learn first before we make a firm decision. We're going to try and teach me sometime this week and if it goes well, we might get the Subaru as early as this weekend. Because if I can't learn there's no point in getting it. We haven't made a final decision. We're just going to try. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013130 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:36:24 +0000 PurplePumps 1013130@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Have you tried driving a manual at all? It comes really easy to some, and to others it's just damn near impossible. You definitely should not make this decision if you've never even tried it. Have him take you for a lesson and see how quickly you pick it up. If you pick it up quick, and know what it feels like, you can decide if you want to commit to manual. If you hate it and stall every time you start, then you probably shouldn't. I was out of the parking lot and pretty comfortable on the road after a few minutes of my first lesson, but I still didn't want a manual as my main car. It's just nice to know that in a pinch, I could drive one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013096 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:26:24 +0000 LazyLightning 1013096@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: haha could be. I grew up driving a 70s VW bug so it never would have occurred to me that such a feature existed! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013075 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:20:25 +0000 MsLipGloss 1013075@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LazyLightning: Maybe your clutch skills are so clutch you didn't notice . . . :P Hill-Holder is available in Foresters according to the google. And yeah, my mom's car definitely did not have a bunch of bells and whistles . . . very basic vehicle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013063 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:16:24 +0000 LazyLightning 1013063@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: whoa. I wonder if my forester didn't have it or if we just didn't know! Was a base/low model but still. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation/page/2#post-1013055 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:14:48 +0000 MsLipGloss 1013055@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LazyLightning: Back in the day (the early 90s), my mom had one in her Loyale. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1013034 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:09:13 +0000 LazyLightning 1013034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: wow I didn't know that about subarus! My 01 forrester definitely didn't have that :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012991 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:00:25 +0000 MediaNaranja 1012991@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LazyLightning: this is why I love my manual! I feel more in control, I pay better attention, and it is way more fun to drive. I drove a manual In san francisco for years, and became a master of not rolling backwards on hills! Fun! Now, Whenever I'm forced to drive an automatic I get so bored! And my left foot gets all antsy, ha!</p> <p>@NaturallyCathy: sounds like youve made your decision! Once you learn it'll become second nature :-) you'll wonder why it was such a big deal in the first place! And like others said, it is definitely a skill worth having. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012985 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:59:18 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1012985@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: Really good to know, thank you so much! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012973 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:56:23 +0000 MsLipGloss 1012973@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NaturallyCathy: This is from the Subaru site (my mom used to have a Subaru :) ) about the Hill-Holder System:</p> <p>When you stop on a hill, you fully depress the clutch pedal and brake pedal. As long as you keep the clutch fully depressed, braking force is retained by the Hill-Holder System, and you can remove your right foot from the brake pedal without fear of the vehicle rolling backward. When it’s time to go, your right foot will be free to depress the accelerator pedal as you pull away. As you gradually release the clutch, the brakes release automatically. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012948 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:49:32 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1012948@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: Thanks, I didn't know that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012933 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:45:19 +0000 MsLipGloss 1012933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NaturallyCathy: I drove in heavy city traffic for *years* with a manual transmission (I sold my car when LO arrived.) It's really not a big deal. It won't take long to learn if you decide you want the Subaru. </p> <p>FWIW, Subarus have this thing called a hill hold for their manuals that makes hills suuuper easy. My fancy sports car did not have anything like that! lol</p> <p>@PrincessBaby: I totally agree that it can be a lot of work if you hit traffic. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012898 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:35:18 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1012898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@locavore_mama: Of course. Until I'm comfortable with it, DH would drive the kids. We're going to let his parents or my parents watch the kids so he can teach me. But honestly, DH drives the family 80% of the time anyways. Even though it would be 'my' car, I just don't enjoy driving </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012850 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:14:38 +0000 regberadaisy 1012850@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NaturallyCathy: would you be able to learn and get comfortable driving a manual first without the babies in the car? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012828 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:05:29 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1012828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PrincessBaby: Someone else mentioned maybe not getting it because of hills and stop and starting. I guess it doesn't bother me for a few reasons. Even though we live in the county seat, we're not exactly 'in town'. We don't drive places that have a lot of red lights. We take long windy back roads or the interstate. Even though we're a little hilly here in TN, there isn't a lot of stop and go as there would be were we living in, say, Nashville. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012807 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:58:40 +0000 PrincessBaby 1012807@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had a stick shift before in a sports car I had and it sucks! It's not hard to learn, it's just that you're constantly having to work with the clutch and the shift! Sitting in traffic, slowing down/speeding up- it sucks!!! I mean it was totally 2nd nature to me and I still thought it was annoying. My next car was a 4dr sedan automatic and I was like "Why didnt I do this years ago???" </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012804 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:57:45 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1012804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@locavore_mama: DH <i>only</i> drives manuals. His BMW is a manual.</p> <p>We've been looking for months and we're getting into a tight spot because my car cannot safely hold two large car seats. It's hard enough with one full sized car seat and one infant car seat. The passenger and drivers seat are pushed unsafely close to the front airbags (which cannot be turned off) and therefore are pressed against the car seats themselves. That means if something hits us, we hit the car seats, the car seats go into the other seats... I know they're brand new, tested for crashes and what not but in my head I see a mangled mess. </p> <p>We <i>have</i> to have another car. We <i>cannot</i> wait any longer. We've been putting it off since last August when we first found out we were pregnant with a second. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012795 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:55:26 +0000 LazyLightning 1012795@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Plus it forces you to pay attention and not check out (eating, on the phone, etc while driving). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012791 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:54:51 +0000 LazyLightning 1012791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NaturallyCathy: good luck! Personally I love manual transmissions and wish my current car had one. I think it's a lot more control while driving. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012783 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:53:15 +0000 regberadaisy 1012783@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Why can't DH take the manual and you take his car? Or is his a manual too?</p> <p>I would pass on the manual and Jeep and keep looking. Unless you have been for a long time and this is the only reasonable option that came up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012755 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:48:37 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1012755@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: I won't be viewing the car personally but I can send the items with DH when he goes to look at the car. The understanding with the dealership (which is 51 miles away, an hour and 10 minute drive) is that we will be trading in my PT Cruiser plus possibly putting some money down. DH would drive the PT Cruiser to the dealership with the stuff, then unload the stuff from the PT into the Outback. If it works, great. If it doesn't, we have a problem. </p> <p>DH also reasons that the drive is just long enough to give the Outback a good run. Make sure it's mechanically sound before handing it over to me, as it were. We'll see of course and none of this is yet set in stone. It's just talking out all the options.</p> <p>Which is why I put it to the boards ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012698 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:33:18 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1012698@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NaturallyCathy: DH has a Subaru WRX so he's obviously very pro Subaru. Don't forget your trunk monkey! *rolls eyes*</p> <p>My one recommendation is to take your stroller and other bulky items with you when looking at the car. Another family member drives a forester, and my graco stroller fit in the trunk but not with not much room to space. I must have the worlds chunkiesy stroller. </p> <p>I ended up buying a fed edge because it was the only SUV that would fit my chunky stroller and three suitcases at once. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1012682 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:26:15 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1012682@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lemondrop: See, the more I think about it the more good points the Subaru has. I know my dad is personally against it because he thinks (like some of the others think) that I have too much going on as it is. Two kids in the back, new car, having to re-learn to do manual shifting with my hand, not my foot [driving a car vs. driving a motorcycle], etc. Which is why he was offering up the Jeep because he knows I'm more comfortable with it. </p> <p>But really. In a bind, it's a skill I <i>need</i> to know. Especially since I <i>do</i> have two kids. We're hoping to find an hour or so this week after work where DH can just show me. See how it goes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1011783 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 21:16:21 +0000 lemondrop 1011783@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I love my Subaru, so you know my vote. The ones I test drove have a pretty easy clutch, I don't think it's a hard thing to learn. You can do this!! For me, driving a manual has a little pride that goes with it, and if I get into a bind (weather, mud, etc), I'm more comfortable and feel in control with a manual ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1011769 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 21:08:07 +0000 Mrs. Grizzly Bear 1011769@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH's Point of View (Me acting as Secretary):</p> <p>Jeep<br /> - This particular Jeep is black in color, meaning it will absorb all the heat that the sun has to offer; so at mid-day if I wanted to go out with the kids the car is already baking<br /> - Don't like the way the transmission feels, like driving a rubber band<br /> - Fuel efficiency won't be as good because it's not nearly as aerodynamic<br /> - Also higher off the ground which means it will be less stable in emergency reaction situations<br /> - Despite the height, it has less usable storage space than the Subaru</p> <p>Subaru<br /> - Driven one and found it very good handling vehicle, with excellent visibility<br /> - Smooth running engine and power delivery<br /> - It has more space than the Jeep<br /> - It is relatively simple to work on<br /> - Has consistently been <i>the</i> safest car on the road for at least half a decade (if not longer)<br /> - Well known for their reliability</p> <p>And this is just off the top of his head... You can see he's really against it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1011383 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 18:00:59 +0000 mrsmate 1011383@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I vote manual but only if you don't need to do a lot of city driving. It's not hard - DH taught me to drive (not just drive manual, but drive period) on his clunky 98 jeep Cherokee when we were engaged and we survived. But it's kind of a pain if you need to constantly stop and start, and with 2 LOs I'd be a little worried about distracted driving. But if that's not an issue, then the Subaru by all means. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1011368 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:55:18 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 1011368@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would buy the Outback. It's pretty easy to learn how to drive a manual. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wwyd-car-situation#post-1011347 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:33:27 +0000 chopsuey 1011347@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Dh tried teaching me how to drive stick. Misery! I don't know how and will probably never learn.<br /> I'd go with an automatic! </p>