Howdy folks.

So uh, I just recently discovered I'm actually pretty into cars. This is after a good stretch of life (read: all of it up until 3 months ago ish?) spent truly not caring about them.

To be honest with you I'm not entire sure what changed, but the short version is I went from driving a hand-me-down automatic whose make and model I couldn't have told you if you asked me while I was sitting in it to randomly picking up a book on Automotive Engineering that was in a bargain bin (I live in a college town with a lot of automotive and aviation schools) basically to see if I could wind up saving a few bucks if I had it on hand and needed to diagnose some kind of issue down the line with my little town car.

I wound up reading it cover to cover -- again, let me stress: mechanical engineering textbook, which you'd think would be kind of a dry read -- in a weekend.

Then, uh. It's kind of a blur? Like there's chunks missing. Feels like one day, [I AM NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED HERE] am now negotiating with the Mazda dealer on a whim to see how much my old (so I thought) clunker was worth [OR HERE] bought a brand new 2018 Mazda3 GT in manual.

The first time I've ever driven a manual transmission in my life was test driving what is now my brand new car. Nobody's dead, serious injuries were kept to a minimum, and that transmission's probably been beat up worse(?) and I mean they still sold the thing to me. Can't have been that bad.

I accept delivery tomorrow, somehow they had exactly one in exactly the spec I wanted exactly way the hell away from where I lived but were willing to have it sent here for a not-depressing amount of money.

So all this preamble to say:

Guys I'm totally new to this, but I really really like what I've learned so far and my interest level in cars in general and now my new car specifically has gone from nonexistent to legit keeping me up at night. I feel like it's Christmas In September Except With Loan Payments tomorrow and I can't sleep.

What's the best new advice you've got for someone learning manual for the first time? (I'm uh pretty committed at this point so I'm learning one way or the other 'cause that's how I get to work now)

What's the best thing you really wish someone had told you the first time you purchased a brand new car, either in general or a Mazda in particular, that would've proved to be useful advice?

And lastly, why did nobody buy this thing in Eternal Mica Blue with the parchment interior except me, apparently?

Blue fans, holla

 

Welcome to the forum.

You, my friend, have just discovered what Mazda refers to as Zoom Zoom. Mazdas are fun to drive. They handle better than any other car in the price range. The manual transmissions are better than the manual transmissions of any other brand. For twice the price and three times the maintenance cost you could get a similar drive from a BMW. For three times the price you could get a Porsche.

Congratulations on going with the manual transmission. That took a lot of guts with everybody else going with the automatic. Unless you have an excessive amount of city traffic jams in your commute, you should grow to enjoy shifting your own gears.

I strongly recommend that you spend some time on YouTube watching videos on "How to Drive a Manual Transmission". I like the ones by Cars.com and TheSmokingTire. I had my daughter watch these before I taught her to drive my MINI Cooper with manual a few weeks ago.

Lastly, why did nobody buy your Mazda before you (and why were you able to get an incredible deal on it): I just heard that number of new car sales in August was 90,000 vehicles below the number for last August. For the past two years or so, the year-to-year comparison has been roughly 60,000 less cars sold per month. Total passenger vehicle sales are up slightly. People are buying more SUVs and fewer cars. People are buying fewer manual transmission as well. I just heard that Audi is going to stop selling manuals. It is difficult to find a BMW or Porsche manual on a dealer lot. Mazda is the only brand where manuals are available on dealer lots in anything but the cheapest stripped base model or the most expensive performance model.

Congratulations on your new Mazda. Make a commitment to yourself that you will never again find yourself driving a "make and model I couldn't have told you if you asked me". Enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the destination.

Good luck and welcome to the forum. I hope you stick around.