Lost clutch driving alone for the first time
Just a little story I thought worth sharing:
Had my license for a month now, did the exam on automatic and a few laughable hours on manual (you're supposed to take a 'shifting competency exam' in Germany but my driving instructor wasn't taking it very seriously), borrowed my moms '08 Fiat Panda last Saturday and driving it for the first time the day before, I already remarked to her how the clutch felt like it was at the end of its life (apparently the Panda 169 doesn't even have a hydraulic clutch, so the bite point was like in the upper last 3 centimeters of the pedal travel), but honestly the car drove great otherwise so wasn't really deterred. Well, following day I was accelerating quite aggressively into a freeway onramp, because I was starting from a complete stop and the car only has 50 hp so I was quite focused on getting up to speed with Autobahn traffic. Apparently that sent the clutch over the edge and in what is one of the top 10 worst experiences of my life so far by the time I was going 60kph in third I had almost no power anymore, I manage to safely pull over, turn off the car, immediately smell clutch and figuratively shit myself. Ended up limping a kilometer at walking speed because I didn't want to sit right past the onramp and risk getting rear ended by someone unable to merge on, sitting behind the guard rail for 3 hours and finally getting towed. My first thought was I somehow misshifted and burnt out the clutch but I've since been reassured it wasn't my fault so for the sake of sleeping soundly I'll try not to overthink it. In the end, quite a shitty experience being alone in a car for the first time and a lesson to join ADAC because tows are fucking expensive. Mentally it leaves me anxious to drive that car again and questioning whether my upshift technique destroys clutches but I know once I actually get in another manual muscle memory will kick in so like I said, I'm trying not to overthink it.