we're soon going AT from MT like for 10 years already. Medyo puzzled lang ako, I've read the entire thread, sinasabi na mahal ang maintenance and gas ng AT. Mga how much kaya ang difference? Right now kasi, my brother do most of the driving, and lagi sya namamatayan ng engine, minsan in the middle of EDSA pa, grr..ako naman hindi, siguro once or twice lang. Ang hirap pa nya pagsabihan like any other brother(!) 
. Kaya naisip namin, AT na lang talaga. And we're also getting a bigger SUV. Mag enrol pa ba ako ng AT driving sa driving school like A1 or I will readily learn to drive an AT given na a decade na ata akong nagda drive ng MT. If so, can I do that sa dealership? Can I ask them to spare me an hour? 
it should not take much "getting used to". konting familiarization lang yun. you'll sometimes find your clutch foot jerking. mag inggat ka lang pag long time AT ka na tapos mag MT ka, kasi malilimutan mo nag clutch. lol.
7 years ako nag MT. 4 of those years, dahil sa business ko, i'd spend, 6-12 hours driving on the road with 18 hours on very busy days. i really felt like a taxi / delivery driver noon. at noong una napapasma pa nga ako. i've driven, MT Sedans, MT pick ups, MT Trucks, Water container trucks, MT Vans (aluminum included), and our old Land Rover. all of them either power steering or pawis steering. i used to maintain my dad's 80s benz na AT and my lola's Ford Hi ace type vehicle na AT.
then i shifted to fully to AT when i left everything and moved to Australia. now I maintain my dad's 2005 Corolla cuz he's always away and I have a new Corolla and a Land Cruiser. All are AT
having driven different ATs from different decades, may very big improvements naman, iba pa din ang manual para sa akin. personally, I really miss manual. but maybe that's because i miss feeling " alive " while driving. lalo na sa pag 4wd, iba yung may total control. but i like the comfort and care free feeling of driving an AT.
anyway, based lang sa experience ko sa pag shift to predominantly MT driving to fully AT driving, it will take you some adjustment, baka ilang days lang nga yan. but be careful pa din, kasi pag nagkick in ang instincts, mapapabalik sa sa nakasanayan mo, yun bang mabubulaga ka sa kalsada...yung tipong hazardous situation
meron din naman matapang mag timpla sa MT, nakalimutan na AT na, kaya nababangga sa traffic or sa parking. kasi matapang ang tapak sa accelerator pero nalimutan ang clutch. ive seen it happen to the best of professional drivers.
mas mahirap nga dito sa aus dahil baliktad pa ang kalsada. hindi ako gaanong nanibago sa pag maneho dahil nakapag clock naman ako ng maraming hours sa AT in manila. it took me less than 5 minutes to get used to the ugali ng car, and it was more of how they drive here ang adjustment.
presence of mind lang ang katapat lahat ng mga yan. but you need to clock lots of hours para ma cement mo sa instincts mo na naka AT ka na.
