driving lessons?

homealone_2

am i getting really old or have i just missed what i think is a major development in driving lessons? i knew they would cost more than £9.50 an hour which they were when i was learning to drive but how come all lessons now are 2 hours long. at first i thought it just a scam from one particular driving school to get more money. but all three of my kids are learning to drive at same time, one in bournemouth, one in south london and one in north london and they all have the same criteria, so now i find myself paying £50 A week for a 2 hour lesson for ds1, with the concession of £6 a lesson if i book 10 in advance at the princely sum of £440. am i going mad? all this with no guarantee of a pass. unfortunately ds1 not as academic as other 2 and is finding it a struggle to pass his theory so i am now panicked by how many lessons he will have had before he passes his theory, as one obviously no good without the other. 2 daughters passe theory first time and are working so paying for own lessons but as son in college studying car maintenance it is a necessary evil for his career. anyone else in same position, with any moneysaving ideas?? besides the obvious as me or family member teaching him as i am disabled and we have no other family memebers i can ask?

TiTheRev

Why are YOU paying for THEIR lessons???

homealone_2

TiTheRev wrote: »

Why are YOU paying for THEIR lessons???

thankfully as i said in post 2 daughters working so paying their own but son at college and has not been able to get a little weekend job for past 2 years no matter what we try. plus as i also said not as academic as others so bit limited to what he can do, as disabled though he does almost everything for me a professional carer would do so happy to pay for his just worrying about the amount of lessons he may need, or if he manages to pick it up easily will he get through theory next time around

pompeyrich

I think 2 hour lessons are probably a good idea, time you are picked up, have a quick chat about the lesson and drive round the block, or whereever the hour is usually up. £440 for 10 2 hour lessons is pretty good, try and get a plumber/car mechanic or anything similar for £22 an hour. By the time you take out the costs of fuel, wear and tear and insurance etc. I would be surprised if the Instructor gets to keep half of the fee as profit. Hardly worth the stress for a tenner an hour or so.

ClareEmily

I had to have two hour lessons because it took half an hour to drive from Alton (my work) to Basingstoke (where I would be taking the test), so by the time I got there an hour lesson would mean I would have to turn round and came all the way back. But with a two hour lesson I had time to go round the one way system, numerious roundabouts and generally get more experience.

My parents bought me 10 lessons, but I finally passed after on my 7 test and after hours and hours and hours of lessons, one day my instructor added it all up and I nearly had a heart attack.

I would suggest doing a deal with the instructor maybe he will do a discount if you do a block booking of lessons in advance. Oh sorry just re-read your post ouch that is expensive up front.

However the cost will only increase once he passes, he will need a car, MOT, insurance, TAX, fuel, servicing etc etc

I don't know what to suggest apart from asking relatives for driving lessons for Birthday/christmas.

Idiophreak

Fewer, longer, lessons seems to be the way forward to me
1) As above - by the time you've got settled into the car, had a chat etc, you're already half hour through.
2) As above - if your test centre is some distance away, you need to travel there and back.
3) Less appointments for both of you to keep - less chance of missing lessons through illness...much more convenient if organising around work etc.

As for the price, there's not a lot you can do about it, really...I paid £26/hour when I learnt about 5 years ago (although that was the top end of the scale at the time - but passed in only 18 hours or so...around half what most people I knew took).

One thing you *can* change from your OP is the guarantee of passing...a lot of places will guarantee, at least, that you pass the test they enter you for - and will pay for the retest if you fail..it's a small thing, but might add some peace of mind. Phone around and see who offers this locally.

lauren_1

Why is it a necessary evil? He wont be taking any car on a road test and neither does he need a licence to rev the engine a bit. When he qualifies or gets a job then he should be paying.

It just doesn't seem fair that you are only offering to pay for one.

briona

pompeyrich wrote: »

I think 2 hour lessons are probably a good idea, time you are picked up, have a quick chat about the lesson and drive round the block, or whereever the hour is usually up.

Personally I found 2 hr lessons VERY hard going! As a new learner I found myself getting headaches from trying to concentrate so hard! Towards the end of the second hour I would be making more and more mistakes due to struggling to concentrate.

BSM told me I HAD to have 2 hr lessons (£40 a time!), however after four 2 hr lessons, and since I was the one paying for them I made the decision about how long my lessons would be and I settled for 1 hr lessons!

I later defected to the AA and told them I would be doing 1 hr lessons (£19 p/h), and later still I went to LDC (with whom I eventually passed – YAY!). Interestingly my LDC instructor noticed that I really struggled with concentration and he recommended that I stick with 1 hr lessons (£17 p/h), with the occasional 1.5 hr lesson if need be.

And to Homealone: instructors frequently push for pupils to do the theory test as early as possible (convincing the pupil that they are "half-way there" I think!). In my eyes this is a mistake. Firstly I found that by leaving it till I had been driving for a while, I actually understood what I was answering rather than making a wild guess at the correct answer, and secondly a theory test expires after two years, and if you haven't passed your driving test in that time, you'll have to pay to do the theory again. It took me four years' worth of lessons to pass a test. I finally passed last December with just 3 months left to run on my theory. I probably would have been able to get one more test in before it expired (the waiting list here is about 6-8 weeks) but it would have been close!

tip_top

homealone wrote: »

i knew they would cost more than £9.50 an hour which they were when i was learning to drive but how come all lessons now are 2 hours long. unfortunately ds1 not as academic as other 2 and is finding it a struggle to pass his theory so i am now panicked by how many lessons he will have had before he passes his theory, as one obviously no good without the other.

Im currently taking my lessons and I can assure you 2 hour lessons are not compulsory my particular instructor does 1.5hour lessons. He believes 1hour is too short and 2hr too long pupil tends to get tired and loses concentration. Anyways you can ask the instructor for hour long lessons etc. Cost up north is cheaper maybe I only pay £20/h so £30 per lesson as its hour and a half.

I actually find doing the theory alongside the lessons more helpful in linking the two plus you have 2 years after passing the theory in which to pass the practical. No reason to panick I say 'all in good time'. Booking in advance is a good investment but only if your son/ daughter is happy with the instructor.

Maybe private practice with the neighbour? they cant charge as its illegal but need to be 21 and held the license for 3 years, double check their insurance if it will cover a learner driver.

Idiophreak

briona wrote: »

And to Homealone: instructors frequently push for pupils to do the theory test as early as possible (convincing the pupil that they are "half-way there" I think!). In my eyes this is a mistake. Firstly I found that by leaving it till I had been driving for a while, I actually understood what I was answering rather than making a wild guess at the correct answer, and secondly a theory test expires after two years, and if you haven't passed your driving test in that time, you'll have to pay to do the theory again. It took me four years' worth of lessons to pass a test. I finally passed last December with just 3 months left to run on my theory. I probably would have been able to get one more test in before it expired (the waiting list here is about 6-8 weeks) but it would have been close!

Just to defend the driving instructors here, I don't see why they'd encourage people to take their tests early if they didn't think it was best - they don't profit from you doing the theory.

It's true, however, that you can't book your practical before you've passed the theory - and so in order to get you to pass as soon as they can, they want the theory out of the way, so you can book the practical as soon as you're ready... The average number of hours tuition needed is something like 42 hours - 5 months at 2 hours per week...So for most people, the 2 years will be more than enough to pass the test.

anewman

tip_top wrote: »

Maybe private practice with the neighbour? they cant charge as its illegal

Could probably get away with going to the petrol station to practice filling up though and pay for the petrol - as you're not paying for the lessons then