Driving Lessons - Who to book with?

slenderkitten

Ok i want to start having driving lessons I am not sure who to choose.

I called up bsm they seemed pushy to me, they dont have pay zero for additional tuition should you fail your test any more as they said most people pass first time and they charge £24 p/h

Are there any perks to going with bsm, or should I try someone else?

Just to get an idea of how long it will take me to pass my test(s) i'm not sure how many there is to take, how long would it take from first lessons to taking the test? are we talking 1 year as a guess or what. Initially i am having 1 hour lessons maybe 2 but that would be the maximum i could afford.

Which books/cd should i pick?
I live in Scotland

tight_scotsman

hi i would go with an independant local instructor they tend to be cheaper and much more honest than the big franchises like BSM AA RED ect the big companies will tell you that you will need more lessons than you do just to get more cash out of you some independants also give you a free lesson to give you a rough idea how much tuition you may require

he this helps

tight_scotsman

forgot your last question. Get yourself the official highway code and study it. There are loads of websites that let you do a mock theory test over and over again used in conjuction with your highway code you should master it in a few weeks.

Idiophreak

slenderkitten wrote: »

Just to get an idea of how long it will take me to pass my test(s) i'm not sure how many there is to take, how long would it take from first lessons to taking the test? are we talking 1 year as a guess or what. Initially i am having 1 hour lessons maybe 2 but that would be the maximum i could afford.

There's a formula that people band around on these threads sometimes - its something like the number of hours' tuition you have is supposed to be one and half times your age...But I'm not sure I swear by that..

Most people need a minimum of 20 hours, I'd say (plus the tests) - this will rise depending on age and confidence levels...So if you could do one one 2 hour lesson per week, passing in 4-6 months may be doable.

FreddieFrugal

I had an instructor recommended to me by work colleague of a parent. However I lost the number, just had the first name.

Looked online for driving schools - looked on freeindex which has a lot of them listed with reviews and found one in my area which was one of the highest rated in the UK.

Turned out they had the same name as I was given.
Excellent instructor, £21 an hour, but first lesson free.

I had about 17 hours tuition before I was ready for the test, I then had 3 more hours including the lesson just before my test in the time leading up to it, so had 20 in total but could have had less. Instructor changed his car just before my test so I had an extra couple of lessons just to make sure I was familiar with the new one. It was much better to drive than the old one anyway.

Started end of September and passed the following January.

But as stated it doesn't matter how long someone else took to learn because everyone is different and some people take to driving quicker than others, it's like learning anything.

Remember it's the individual instructor that's important, not the driving school. There will be good and awful instructors who work for a national driving school and good and awful instructors that work independently.

it also helped that a put in a LOT of extra driving practice outside of lessons. Driving around the area and also just getting dad to sit in car while I practised manoeuvres.

Rain_Shadow

slenderkitten wrote: »

Just to get an idea of how long it will take me to pass my test(s) i'm not sure how many there is to take, how long would it take from first lessons to taking the test? are we talking 1 year as a guess or what. Initially i am having 1 hour lessons maybe 2 but that would be the maximum i could afford.

Which books/cd should i pick?
I live in Scotland

How close are you to a test centre?

My sons are learning / have learned in Salisbury. From where we live it is a 25 minute drive each way so 2hour lessons are required.

Try and get a local independent recommended to you. That is what we did and she turned out be very good indeed.

Good luck. Driving is one of the most important skills you will ever learn.:)

daveyjp

Ask friends and neighbours, keep a look out and note the names of the instructors you see in your vicinity - if you see some names a lot they are busy, a good sign. LArger outfits charge VAT so will be more expensive.

If finding the money for lessons every week is going to be a problem start saving enough for 1-2 lessons a week from now and when you have about £1,000 start learning to drive. It is far better to have a "learning to drive" fund than scrimping to afford lessons as there will be weeks when you can't afford. If you have the money in the bank it opens up the opportunity to have 2, 3 or even 4 lessons a week, this reducing the time it takes to pass.

aileth

Keep an ear out and go with a good, local independent instructor. My lessons with BSM put me off driving for 4 years, until my sister passed first time with an independent lady who had a near perfect pass rate. She was about £24-25 an hour but had such an incredible reputation.

I got a theory test computer program which was brilliant and I only got one question wrong in my theory.