I don’t think they were saying you shouldn’t ever look at the tacho, but that you should learn to be able to pick your shift points without having to look at the tacho.

As you say you do want to figure out what revs works best for a particular vehicle (having driven/ridden vehicles with redlines between 2500 and 19000rpm there I can say there is a little bit of variability to be found out there) but it shouldn’t take long to figure out what this sounds and feels like for regular use.

When you get the hang of driving stick, which you will pretty quickly, you can try matching revs on downshifts to smooth things out and then you can try heel toe with matching revs.

This I definitely do recommend once someone is comfortable with the basics, particularly the rev matching on downshifts. It both makes driving smoother and makes clutch wear once moving negligible so in the long run you save money too. I consider rev matching an early intermediate level skill - not something I’d trouble a raw beginner with due to information overload but something that should be learnt before they start thinking it’s too hard (because while it is not hard an unfortunate number of people will tell others it is).

Heel toe shifting can wait until people are comfortable with driving in general but I think is something one should learn if one enjoys driving - if only because it’s just plain satisfying to do. Again this is a technique made out to be difficult but it’s really not that hard (though how much foot manoeuvring is required does vary between vehicles).

When you get really good you can shift gears without engaging the clutch just by rev matching, but don’t try that til wayyyy later. Can mess up the gears.

This one however I recommend people keep in mind is possible (in case one ever loses clutch movement) but keep to a bare minimum on synchro boxes. Try it a couple of times to show yourself it works but you do have to be very familiar with the car to do this without putting wear on the synchros (keep in mind that if it didn’t slip in like butter you didn’t get it quite right and the synchros had to pick up the slack for you). It’s more easily done with a non-synchro box as these both give obvious auditory/tactile feedback when you’re doing it wrong and tend to have wider engagement points for the gear dogs to slip into. Motorbikes for example run non-synchronised gearboxes and are typically very easy to clutchless shift as long as you’re upshifting while accelerating and downshifting while decelerating.

Lots of people talking about clutch work so I’ll mention something else - how to use the gearstick. Sounds a bit of a silly thing to talk about but how you do it can actually help.

I’ve seen various inexperienced drivers shift by grabbing the gearstick tightly and pulling it around in that same tight grip until it’s where they think the next gear should be. This usually works for getting around but it makes it hard to know what gear you’re actually shifting into and when it’s properly engaged - particularly on boxes that don’t give much feeling through the gearstick. One person in particular was repeatedly struggling with hitting the wrong gears (particularly when other things were happening) until I suggested they change this behaviour.

I recommend instead keeping a relatively loose grip on the shifter and considering changing gear a quick three part motion instead of a single one. Say for example that you’re shifting from second to third in a typical 5 speed H pattern - the three parts are you pushing up to move out of second (which you don’t need a tight grip for as it’s just pushing the shifter with your palm), centring the gearstick to below third (where you only need a loose side grip - there’s minimal force involved and keeping loose lets you feel the springs pull it where you want to be), and pushing upwards into third. Your grip should be changing a bit depending on what part of the shift you’re in and what gears you’re moving in/out of, I find this does help with improving feel and accuracy.

In terms of actual daily use the oldest thing that I can actually date would be the table my computer sits on - that’s been in the family since at least the 60s (when one of my uncles scratched his name into the drawer). It’s just a basic solid wood desk, still holding up fine and unless abused will continue doing so for quite some time yet.

Aside from that some of my dinner plates are over 30, the motorbike I usually commute on is a '97 model, and the butter knives I like are not dated but I believe could be anywhere from early 1900s onwards (faux bone handles, made in England with various Sheffield makers marks).

I do have a few tools, cameras, and telescopes around which are also reasonably old but they aren’t daily use items.

With all of them I’m at a real disadvantage due to not speaking any local languages, considering you basically need the locals for long term survival that puts one on the wrong foot to start off with.

Surviving A would require a lot of luck, B would be a bit more achievable as that would give me some clothes and a multitool but still very hard going as I know nothing substantial about the local bush food and dangers.

C is where I might actually have a chance as I have a lot of tools, camping gear, some food, and some books which might help (albeit nothing specifically on Peru except whatever’s in the Encyclopaedia Britannica). Given luck I could probably manage solo for a while with this. What’d probably happen is the locals come along and make off with everything though so I wouldn’t give good odds on long term survival.

The Japanese brands are generally a safer bet for reliability. Toyota is one of the best reputation wise but that comes with an increased price due to that reputation.

A manual transmission is best for reliability IMO, but if for some reason you really must have a automatic look for one with a standard auto transmission rather than a dual clutch box or a CVT. Run away from VW dry clutched dual clutch and Ford Powershift transmissions.

Ideally you would have proof of regular servicing, though a completely good record is harder to get on a low budget. Not only do you want it to have the engine oil changed at the service intervals (depends on the vehicle but often ~10k km) but also the other regular stuff that often gets ignored - e.g. brake fluid, coolant, transmission/diff oils, brake pads/rotors. Keep an eye out for big ticket maintenance items such as timing belt changes (typically due around every 100-150k kms) as these are expensive so are often ignored at the risk of major failure.

If you’re not confident in spotting issues try and bring along a friend or acquaintance who is more familiar with cars to look it over.

Since you’re in Canada where I believe road salt is common check for rust under the car and in places like wheel wells where moisture is likely to be trapped. It’s hard to avoid some rust in such an environment but you don’t want rust holes anywhere or large sections of flaking rust.