Driving lessons & monthly cost of learning?

mgsdude

Just wondering where would be the best schhol for me to learn to drive? I live in Leicester and would like to save as much as possible on the cost of learning, how much does it cost on average to learn to drive a month?

hgotsparkle

Go with the best independent instructor you can find, it doesn't always pay to go for the cheapest as they may be cheap because they haven't got a great pass rate.

If you're in a built up area and lessons can be done within an hour, then it will be an hour which is roughly £25, though if it takes more than half an hour from your house to the test centre then its 2 hour lessons, generally £50. I learnt in both Middlesex and Suffolk and prices were exactly the same.


If you haven't already done your theory, thats £40 (I think?) and I really can't remember what the practical is (£65?).


If you can save, it may be worth looking into an intense driving lesson ending in test, which aim to get you passed within a week I believe, but they are a few hundred £s.

daveyjp

The best way to reduce the cost of lessons is to save about £1,000 then start having lessons. As you have the money saved you can have 2-3 lessons a week, you will learn quickly and therefore spend less in the long run.

scotsbob

hgotsparkle wrote: »

Go with the best independent instructor you can find, it doesn't always pay to go for the cheapest as they may be cheap because they haven't got a great pass rate.

Pure speculation, it's something you will never know.

For decades consumer groups have campaigned for instructors pass and failure rates to be published.

Organisations like BSM have lobbied successive governments to prevent this.

The one statistic that would help the public choose a good instructor is withheld from us.

hgotsparkle

scotsbob wrote: »

Pure speculation, it's something you will never know.

For decades consumer groups have campaigned for instructors pass and failure rates to be published.

Organisations like BSM have lobbied successive governments to prevent this.

The one statistic that would help the public choose a good instructor is withheld from us.

Something thats easily acquired from word of mouth though - I know of plenty in Suffolk who shouldn't be used - from what I've heard. The one I did learn with, I'd heard good things and checked his facebook page - probably the one good thing about facebook!

forgotmyname

Get introductory lessons for £10 - £15 by paying upfront. But if your unreliable and miss lessons at short notice then you may lose the money for that lesson.

Illness and holidays and other unavoidable commitments put my daughter months behind on her lessons.

So do you pay £20 a lesson and have 100 lessons or £30 a lesson and have 30 lessons?

You may not like the way the instructor teaches you. Nobody's fault just one of those things, So best to have a trial lesson 1st.

DaveF327

hgotsparkle wrote: »

if it takes more than half an hour from your house to the test centre then its 2 hour lessons,

That worries me. That suggests that an instructor is just training you to "route learn" rather than teaching you sound driving judgement.

I know of many instructors who can't teach their way out of a paper bag, but simply sit in on as many driving tests as possible to learn the routes, then train their pupils to drive only on those routes. As soon as they go off route, they're completely thrown and don't know what to do as they haven't been taught judgement. They usually fail many tests as a result.

If your instructor makes you drive miles from your home just to circle the test centre for the entire lesson, then you need to change instructor quickly. A properly taught driver would be able to handle any situation in the UK, even on roads they are driving on "from cold". Naturally, this would involve some travelling away from home to experience a variety of situations, but this should not involve every lesson being near the test centre.

scotsbob wrote: »

Pure speculation, it's something you will never know.

For decades consumer groups have campaigned for instructors pass and failure rates to be published.

Organisations like BSM have lobbied successive governments to prevent this.

The one statistic that would help the public choose a good instructor is withheld from us.

Sad, but true. The reason this data is not published at the moment is solely down to the margin of unreliability: instructor's details (and examiners' reports) are currently hand-written by the examiner and scanned by computer, so mistakes are made due to natural variances in handwriting. Inaccurate data being published would result in the publisher being sued, so there needs to be a more foolproof way of gathering this data before it can be made available to the public.

In the main, consumers will have to rely on an instructor's honesty when asking about his pass rate, as well as being savvy to the definition of pass rate as there are various means of applying "spin" to figures.

scotsbob

DaveF327 wrote: »

The reason this data is not published at the moment is solely down to the margin of unreliability: instructor's details (and examiners' reports) are currently hand-written by the examiner and scanned by computer, so mistakes are made due to natural variances in handwriting. Inaccurate data being published would result in the publisher being sued, so there needs to be a more foolproof way of gathering this data before it can be made available to the public

That's the type of illogical argument the driving instructors try to hoodwink the public with.

For many years now marking in schools, colleges and universities is done by hand and scanned by computers and they don't seem to have a problem identifying good results from bad results.

MX5huggy

Practice, practice, practice. I had 3 lessons then drove 6000miles in 8 months. Had 2 lessons to check I was ok then passed on a test route that 90% of I had never driven.

You don't learn the violin in 30lessons you have a lesson once a week and practice a lot in between.

Poppy9

Have free trial lessons with instructors if they offer it and see if you get along.

DD first went with a female instructor who had come recommended by school friends. The instructor had a young child and she was unreliable due to family commitments and kept ringing to change lesson times etc. at short notice.

DD then tried out two other instructors one male on female. She immediately found them better. She opted for the male one as he was less chatty and calmer. She paid £180 for 10 lesson block and had 20 with him which included the day of test and she passed first time. He did have a waiting list which put many off but according to school friends who did learn with him they all passed first time.

duggan1

MX5huggy wrote: »

Practice, practice, practice. I had 3 lessons then drove 6000miles in 8 months. Had 2 lessons to check I was ok then passed on a test route that 90% of I had never driven.

You don't learn the violin in 30lessons you have a lesson once a week and practice a lot in between.

I think this is good advice.

I've been taking lessons (at the ripe old age of 37) and I found I struggled not so much with learning new techniques and the general maneuvers, but with overall road confidence. A friend let me drive her car occasionally over a weekend (supervised and insured!) and I found it immensely helpful just to practise driving about.

Haven't had a lesson in a month though due to work and other commitments so I have been considering buying a car to practise in. I'm blessed with some friends who are more than happy to take me out for an hour a few times a week, even late in the evening, or even for a quick jaunt to the shops etc. All worthwhile practise I am sure.

I considered intensive courses but I'm in no real hurry and I'd much rather learn how to drive than learn how to pass a test. It will cost more but I think worth it in the long run.

Any recommendations for a good cheap car to learn in?