Just add fuel for 17year olds?

motorguy

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

No way would I get in a car with a driver who had just started to drive having passed their test a number of years beforehand yet had no actual driving experience. Not to mention, no employers would allow anyone under 21/25 to drive company vehicles so how would that be an impedance to gaining employment?

It can hinder your employment because you can only get a job thats on your bus or train route.

I've a guy works for me, 26 years of age, didnt do his test when he was younger, now stuck in a job because its "handy to where he lives" - gets the bus to work every day, or if hes lucky, his girlfriend ferries him down. Totally regrets not doing his test - feels now hes too old and people would laugh at him.

motorguy

Fieldsofgold wrote: »

Be an ostrich if you like, the stats say different.

http://www.brake.org.uk/info-resources/info-research/road-safety-factsheets/15-facts-a-resources/facts/488-young-drivers-the-hard-facts

Not being an ostrich by the way.

I've a 20 year old son who i've just steered through 3 years of driving. (no pun intended)

motorguy

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

My car is in a significantly higher insurance group (30) than yours. It cost me just £400 to add him this year (£600 for both of us FC) compared to almost £3000 when he originally passed his test.

I had the foresight to make sure one of our cars was capable of being insured for a 17 year old. His step mums car is a z4 turbo, so we opted that i would change down as it were. Most of my previous cars were high end stuff but its not like his 17th birthday came as a surprise, so i planned ahead.

Pity you left yourself in a position where you couldnt afford the insurance for him.

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Plus, due to the fact he needed a car of his own, adding him to my insurance for occasional use on top of insuring his own vehicle was prohibitively expensive until now.

You're very fortunate that the three of you can share a car within your family

No, my wife has her z4, i'd the Honda at the time. In fairness, i was motor trading at the time too, so i was able to jump into anything i was reselling.

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Or surely it's better to wait until they're in a position to afford to drive a vehicle once they've passed their test? It's not as if the cost of obtaining a licence increases the older you get (other than with inflation of course). I still don't think it's wise to take your test if you don't intend to carry on driving afterwards. Surely that's the whole point of obtaining your licence in the first place?

Well, we'll have to agree to differ. I do see too many people though who have left it to the point whereby not having their test impacts their options in life.

Your underlying problem seems to have been not being able to afford the insurance for your son. Maybe if that had been different you would have viewed it differently.

forgotmyname

Im also thought the same get your licence ASAP. When your looking for a job a full licence may add a plus point to your CV.

And its something that wont get cheaper or easier as the years go by.

jimjames

forgotmyname wrote: »

Im also thought the same get your licence ASAP. When your looking for a job a full licence may add a plus point to your CV.

And its something that wont get cheaper or easier as the years go by.

Completely agree, not very easy to be pressured to pass in a hurry if you need it for jobs. Much better to do it when you have more time on your hands if not the money to pay for the lessons but at least it is then done.

Back to the original question. I've previously heard deals advertised for 18 year olds but not 17 as stated they wouldn't be able to sign the credit agreement.

It may seem nice and easy to have a single payment but you need to check what the overall cost would be - with depreciation it may not overall be much cheaper than an older car.

~Chameleon~

motorguy wrote: »

It can hinder your employment because you can only get a job thats on your bus or train route.

And without parental support, how is a young person supposed to afford to take their test, buy, run and insure a car before they get a job, especially whilst at college/university?

I've a guy works for me, 26 years of age, didnt do his test when he was younger, now stuck in a job because its "handy to where he lives" - gets the bus to work every day, or if hes lucky, his girlfriend ferries him down. Totally regrets not doing his test - feels now hes too old and people would laugh at him.

A guy of 26 years of age has presumably been working long enough to have saved up for a car/insurance costs so shouldn't be any more disadvantaged than the young person who passed their test at 17 and then never drove again until they were 21+.

If I had to choose between two 21 year olds, one who had passed test at 17 but never driven since or the 21 year old who had just passed his test, I'd choose the latter one every time.

And for the record, my son has owned his own car since he passed his test aged 17. He's now 21 and drives an Audi A4 2.0 TDi S-line on an 09 plate with insurance costing just £750 a year FC.

~Chameleon~

motorguy wrote: »

I had the foresight to make sure one of our cars was capable of being insured for a 17 year old. His step mums car is a z4 turbo, so we opted that i would change down as it were. Most of my previous cars were high end stuff but its not like his 17th birthday came as a surprise, so i planned ahead.

I didn't need to.

Your underlying problem seems to have been not being able to afford the insurance for your son. Maybe if that had been different you would have viewed it differently.

Not at all. He's owned his own cars from the day he passed his test. It was always planned that way as we both need our cars daily so could never share one. Ironically, it was relatively cheap to insure him on my car for 3 months as a learner driver which we did so he could gain valuable road experience and learn how to handle a powerful car sensibly.

Hintza

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

And for the record, my son has owned his own car since he passed his test aged 17. He's now 21 and drives an Audi A4 2.0 TDi S-line on an 09 plate with insurance costing just £750 a year FC.

You have just been arguing what a bad idea learning to drive at 17 is!

~Chameleon~

Hintza wrote: »

You have just been arguing what a bad idea learning to drive at 17 is!

Then you need to learn to read. I said it's a bad idea to learn to drive at 17 if you can't afford to drive/own a car once you've passed your test.

londonTiger

I'm out of this forum due to constant bullying by forum members