Hi All
When I get my licence changed when I finally move to Ontario will it allow me to drive a manual,and if so is it cheaper to buy and insure a manual .Thanks.

Not to my knowledge.

Not sure about insurance, but when I've looked at buying new cars online the manuals are always cheaper by about $1300.

At least where we were in Calgary, manuals appeared to be a bit of a rarity. They are also a bit of a pig to sell as we found out when we came back home.

Yes, yes, no. Slightly cheaper to buy a manual (of most makes and this may be offset by the need to specially order it at the factory price vs. taking a discounted vehicle off the lot). Insurance companies don't ask about the type of gearbox.

Even F1 cars no longer have a clutch pedal.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...7070826AAekAUl

Formula 1 cars cant get cheap ins.either.

Neither can Canadians.

Whatever the ins. issues , once you've had a decent ( European ) automatic , the chances are you'll never want another manual ;
life's too short , to worry about changing gears , some said .

Ive got one manual, one auto. For long drives with traffic I prefer the auto, less work in a traffic jam. For driving arround here I much prefer the manual for the feel that Im in control, but new autos are pretty good.

Manuals are cheaper to buy, but thats cos they are harder to sell, very few north americans want one. Less spendy to fix too, once an Auto tranny starts to misbehave its going to cost big bucks to fix in all likelyhood. A clutch for a manual shouldnt be too bad.

If you plan to live in a city with gridlock, get an auto.

As far as insurance goes no one cares.

I have an auto, would'nt have a manual now... if you get a vehicle with a tiptronic gearbox you can use it similar to a manual ( just easier ) you can also get " sports mode " which gives more throttle response than when in " normal drive auto "

I'm not a N. American ,
I used to be a S. African and now I live in the Capital of the EU ;
can't remember having a manual since mid 1970s , except for a few shabby urgently-rented runabouts in places like Spain or France .
Even a a turbo Golf auto was the same rental price , as a manual one , from AVIS Vienna ( GREAT CAR ! ) , or was it Budget ?
Here , all around me , there are thousands of freaked-out irresponsible driving maniacs , men and women : one hand holds a burning cigarette , the other one a mobile phone ( on which you have to chatter all of the time and the passing traffic cops do Nothing about it ! ) ;
then the driving imbeciles arrogantly steer badly and how they change gears in their silly little manual cars , noone has yet explained .

Easier to rock a manual out of a snow bank, should the need arise. Sometimes clutch control can be a blessing too when there is limited traction, but then again, the vast majority of cars in Canada have autos and they get by. The tiptronic type DSG is undoubtedly a great bit of engineering, but I would still miss the whole zen thing of heel and toe brakeing, blipping the throttle on downshifts into a sharp corner and all that, its part of the fun of driving for me. Less so getting an achy left leg sitting in traffic on the 401. Horses for courses I guess.

But as far as the original question go it makes no difference, get what you prefer based on your budget and driving preferences.

I have a granny car with a semi-automatic DSHD(?) gearbox. It's not very good for the winter and not much fun in the summer. Very sensible though, easier for drinking coffee and phoning and such.

I agree with the manuals being cheaper to buy, especially second hand, but there is less choice.

Thinking of selling my lovely Spitfire....