Should I get a manual or automatic for the driving test?

I live in Fort Myers Florida and I'm going to buy my first car in March but I go to take the test on October 12th 2016. I'm currently learning on my fathers 2007 Ford Focus Hatchback 5 speed and I'm struggling a bit but I'm starting to get the hang of things such as starting off in 1st gear. I can't seem to figure out how to do a smooth gear shift from 1st to second and it is a little rocky from 2nd to 3rd. But a question I have is if I take my test in an automatic if I chose to get one, will I be able to drive a manual if I upgrade in the future or do I have to take the test again in a manual down here in Florida. If you can give me any tips for shifting smoothly through the lower gears while up shifting I would highly appreciate it and other tips and tricks as well. (Auto or Manual for first car to pass the driving test?)

Replacement fog light cover?

I have a 2012 Ford Focus and I recently noticed that the driver side fog light cover has disappeared. Not the fog light but the chrome thing that covers it. Where can I buy a replacement? I can't find anything on where to buy a replacement

I want my car to be broken, 173,000 miles?

I have mk1 Ford Focus 2004 automatic, with 173,000 miles, how long will it take until it breaks completely? I don't like it, I have had it for one year now, it's my first car since 17 and now am 19 it's coming up to two years and am at college can't afford a new car please help me, until it breaks then I can buy a new car from my mum she will pay for it

Focus rear wheel bearings?

I got a 2008 Ford Focus, an the situation is that I hav been heaving problems with the rear wheel bearing (noise). I repleced it for 2 times on last year, first the bearings presented factory defects (was generic brand) so the mechanic said a brand change was better, it were on last august, but nowaday I heard a little noise.

What can I do to fix it?

These bearings has no lubrication by myself.

My car shakes and shuts off (or tries to) if I break too fast or too hard?

I have a 2005 ford focus wagon, and it just started happening about a month ago. If I break too fast or too hard the car starts to shake and I can see the lights on my dash flickering and sometimes the car shuts off completely (not the battery just the engine.) Even if you hit the breaks hard and let off the car keeps shaking for a few seconds after you let off of the break. I have replaced the rotors and the break pads and its still doing it. There's NO check engine light on, so what could it be? The calipers maybe? I would just rather fix it myself before bringing it somewhere.

Should I sell the car or trade it in?

I have a 2001 Ford Focus SE wagon. It has about 178,000 miles on it. Yesterday, I went to two dealerships. One told me I wasn't going to get much for it but would not give me an estimate. The other one I went to told me that it was in good shape but because of the year and mileage that it still would not be worth much.

We were thinking about setting our own price and selling it ourselves. What would be the better deal - selling it ourselves or trading it in?

Is it supposed to be somewhat difficult to slide a stick into a gear?

Alright, so I'm fairly new at driving a stick shift, but I seem to have been having some difficulty sliding the stick from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. Every now and then it'll be hard to throw it into 1st as well, but not near as much as 2nd and 3rd. I thought it was something on my end, so I focused and hammered the clutch, and tried to shift it nicely, and occasionally it works with limited to no problems, but usually it has some difficulty, and I don't want to force it into gear. Is it supposed to have slight resistant when trying to move the stick into gear? And if so, how come 4th and 5th gear don't have much resistant when I throw it into those gears? Also, if this is a problem… And since I caught it before it got to bad… How much would this usually cost a person to fix? I know the clutch is a pain to replace, so I hope it's not that. Also, while we're here. The clutch is really stiff, and somewhat hard to push down as well… Could that have something to do with it? Also, before you all say I don't push the clutch all the way in, believe me… I'm. So, any thoughts?

Added (1). Also, to add for the record… When the car is sitting in my driveway and turned off, it's easy to slide through the gears. So I know it's not the tranny.

Added (2). Also, on top of all these questions. I'm planning to change the oil in it as well and I'm curious which type of oil I should drop into it. I heard both 5w30 and 5w20 work well, but I want to know which one is the best for this particular vehicle. It's a 2001 V6 3.8L 5 speed Ford Mustang.