Full marks for getting a manual, it is a shame that more don't.
I think people have forgotten that until the advent of the internet, all workshop manuals were in paper form and they were your bible when it came to working on your vehicle. If you got stuck or were doing something non-standard there was usually enough knowledge amoungst mates or club memebrs to get it sorted but that sadly seems to be all in the past.
There are other manuals available and of course there is nothing stopping you downloading & printing as you require but a Haynes is perfectly good and you can't beat having a book to hand (an oily hand usually) when you are in the garage wielding a spanner and just want to check something.
Nowadays it seems that no-one (ok, nearly no-one) buys a manual and instead asks a question everytime they want to know something whether it be the tyre pressures, how to change the oils or replace a clutch. Buying a workshop manual BEFORE even buying the vehicle gives you a real insight into how a vehicle works and what to look out for when you go shopping for one and when it comes to tackling a task, a read of the relevant chapter first will make life so much easier.
Nowadays the internet has replaced the clubnight & chat and indeed there is a lot of good information out there (although there is even more poor information out there unfortunately) in the same way that many owners now wouldn't know how to walk into a dealer to buy a part and assume that if it isn't available on Ebay then it just isn't available.
