Driving lessons, Do you get what you pay for ?

itsjojustjo

With the costs of learning to drive rocketing,
Me being a lily livered 22 year old I want the very best because I want an instructor thats good with very nervous drivers

With BSM charging £22 p/h I find that very hard to afford, Infact I am thinking of taking on a weekend job just for that very purpose,
But is BSM the best you can get or are smaller companies just as good?
Do you get what you pay for or am I being niave and just paying for the name?

TeamMCS

tbh 17-22 is about the going rate now.. quite expensive too run a driving comapny...

It really is a word of mouth thing mate, its kinda in their interest to keep you coming back so bare that in mind

Rakesh.Chauhan_2

Agree with TeamMCS, word of mouth is the best - this is because you will get conned if you get a cowboy who drives you around short distances, makes you fill petrol, but worst of all is collecting other students and dropping them off.

I once had an instructor who made me collect his wife from work, kids from school and drop them off home before he dropped me off too.

pinkfluffybabe

itsjojustjo wrote:

With the costs of learning to drive rocketing,
Me being a lily livered 22 year old I want the very best because I want an instructor thats good with very nervous drivers

With BSM charging £22 p/h I find that very hard to afford, Infact I am thinking of taking on a weekend job just for that very purpose,
But is BSM the best you can get or are smaller companies just as good?
Do you get what you pay for or am I being niave and just paying for the name?

I would suggest going with a suggestion from a friend or family member when it comes to driving instructors. I have never tried BSM so can't help you on that count.

clairehas

i personally would go for a local company from recommendation! i got a couple of quotes when learning to drive 2 years ago and my local instructor was cheaper than bsm etc, he also just lived a street away - so he was always on time!

achtunglady

I learnt through an independant driving school, and to be honest, the instructor kept asking if I had booked my test, but I didnt have any photo id or photocard license so I had to send off for it, then booked my theory, passed it and he told me to book my test straight away. Booked the first date available,which was 3 months away, but kept checking the website for cancellations, and managed to get one for when the OH was on holiday from work.

My OH put my name on car insurance and we practiced a couple of hours a week. Passed my test first time with three minor faults, better than the OH, who had 4!!

I got charged £18 for 45 mins,and i used to have a 90 minute session once a week, paid up in full for 10 lessons and got them at £17 each. Didn't see the point in paying an extra £5 for 15 minutes with BSM.

black-saturn

All I can say is that I took 6 driving tests and failed with BSM :eek: And then decided to try a local instructor who I passed with first time.

Lagerlegs

I personally passed with BSM after 2 unsuccessful driving schools MANY years ago but we actually pay for a driving instructor for my son from a local school that was recommended by a friend, so word of mouth is definitely the best. Good luck, it's money well spent. I did enquire about BSM for my son before the recommendation and was told they only do 2 hour lessons so it is quite expensive

Claudie

A bit different for me as I had learned to drive in another country but needed to retest here. I found a local chap who told me I would need a minimum of 20 lessons before testing. I finished my lesson with him, called BSM and found their instrcutor who was lovely; 6 lessons later I was on the road. I guess it is all down to the individual....

Ms_Chocaholic

Before my DS learnt to drive, I read in The Times (I think) that driving instructors are graded, ie leve1 through to 4 (I think) so when we booked lessons with BSM we asked for an instructor with a higher grade.

Sorry this is a bit vague but maybe some driving instructors on here, or others with a bit more knowledge, can help further.

spanner82

it will always cost a fortune so I would advise not starting lessons till you really can aford to - after all car tax, newly passed insurance, car maintenence, petrol really does add up to a lot - and that's if you own the car in the first place if not you have to pay for that too.

Try a recommended instructor - once you have had serveral lessons see if you could possibly get in practice with a family member. Practice is v important and much cheaper that way.