Driving Lessons - Advice needed please

winnie81

HI, I went with a local independent guy who was highly recommended - Heard too many horror story's from the franchises but as this is no good for you have a look here for recommended ADI's

http://www.2pass.co.uk/

I've used the site for a while and I found its helped. I'm paying in 10hour blocks for £190 if that helps,

Good Luck

Tulip09

Thanks for all the advice

RachVG - I am near Northallerton & Thirsk area.

I have just ordered her the highway code book and cd - thank you for that advice and i think i will just get her a few lessons to see if she likes the instructor before getting her a package.

I didnt realise car insurance was so expensive for teens - (I will have to hit the family i think to chip in )

Thanks again for the advice

DaveF327

Tulip09 wrote: »

the best chance of her passing or the pitfalls i should be looking out for when picking an instructor.

Look for an instructor with a green badge and a high grade (either 5 or 6 - you'll have to ask them) together with a decent pass rate. Decent is over 70%. The instructor you choose should appear professional at all times (watch out for scruffy, dirty cars and/or personal appearance which betray their true colours of poor attention to detail).

should we avoid the cheaper ones etc?

Definitely. You get what you pay for. Instructors with the best reputations and pass rates don't have to cut their prices to get work, so are "reassuringly expensive". If a price appears too good to be true, it probably is.

What should i be looking out for?

Quality, not quantity.

A previous poster mentioned a written training record. This is good, but only if rigorously adhered to and completed religiously. An instructor who lets details fall by the wayside (such as always updating the record, punctuality, setting aims and objectives for the lesson, clear and concise recapping and consolidation) should ring alarm bells.

Another question i wondered is - Would weekly lessons or intensive courses be better.

Somewhere in between. Semi-intensive works best (10 hours a week, 2 a day, for example) but the truly intensive courses which involve 5 days of 8 hour sessions may be too much to take in.

mikey72

The insurance is a nightmare now, choose the car after getting quotes, but it will still cost an arm and a leg.

TVR2

I paid £20 for my lessons six years ago and that was considered the standard rate for decent tuition. I went with an independent and he was a little scary (in a constructive way), but totally dedicated and took me through to my test with a first time pass. I can't imagine he would cost much more today so I'd aim for that sort of price point.

daveyjp

Have enough cash so you never have to cancel lessons and go for 2-3 lessons a week, she will pass quicker.

If you don't know who to go with when you are out and about make a note of the instructors you see - busy ones are the good ones and you'll see them a lot.

Avoid block bookings to get discounts - it's easy to add a couple of lessons to get the money back.

RachVG

Ah, then I think my instructor will be too far out for you - having looked at his site today he mostly does Leeds and ventures just about into North Yorkshire but I think I'm more or less as far out as he gets.

For anybody in the Leeds area looking, though, this is his website and I highly recommend him:

http://www.drive-wright.com/

Mojisola

daveyjp wrote: »

If you don't know who to go with when you are out and about make a note of the instructors you see - busy ones are the good ones and you'll see them a lot.

It's worth watching the driving school cars. I did this when my boys were coming up to 17. Some of the driving from instructors was dreadful! I saw one go through a red light and another overtake in a very dangerous place. They were off my list immediately.

sassy_one

I would recommend the AA, as they have always seemed very good to me!

james_joyce

I was taught by a good local instructor 3 years ago for £19 per hour, which was pretty reasonable even then. I passed after two tests and 50 lessons but I was in my thirties so that was fairly average. (Isn't it 1.5 hours of lessons per year of your age, or similar?).

(That instructor also mentioned that the big national franchised schools tend to use a lot of trainee instructors, and of course they also tend to be dearer.)

Since then I've looked at possible lessons for my wife and daughter and the What Car? Driving School looks promising. High standard. I've just checked rates for Leyburn (a random North Yorkshire place which I like!) where they offer classes for £22 per hour which comes down to £16.67 if you book 12 lessons. Same price for Thornton-le-Beans between Thirsk and Northallerton.

(I happen to subscribe to What Car magazine but I have no other connection with them).