You have the basic concept down you don't need to buy a beater to practice. It'll take like a week or less to get it down doing your daily driving. How bad is that gonna be for your car? To me it seems like a waste of time/money to go buy a beater to learn on.

 

id like to add, you should practice on a hill. you will get the fear out of rolling backwards. Afterwards, you will find the sweet spot/g spot of the car.

 

any beatn **** with clutch pressure stiff as hell, after you'll never complain about evo pedal pressure.

 

Whats wrong with paddle shifting? when I drove an M3 SMG ...my pants were wet when I got out...then again..its not manual..but still if you drive one..you'll feel it..

 

if i find a good deal on a car under 500 then i will buy it if not i will just practice on my friends oz ralley a few more times and save the money torward the evo....and learn stick then...but the thing is if i keep learning stick on his car hes ganna want to drive my car and i would feel bad if i wouldnt let him drive it...win/lose situation

 

You just need to know where to look. I found that Civic sedan in the nickle ad's (free at grocery stores). Or, you get the best deals if you happen to be driving around and spot a car for sale. Even if it's not for sale, never hurts to go up and ask if they'll take $XXX for it.

Craigslist is a good source, as well.