Is there a cheap way of passing your driving test?

lisa_75

postingalwaysposting wrote: »

be aware its not as simple as some people think :rolleyes:

You can say that again! I have been taking lessons for 18 months. I dread to think how much I have spent! Most older learners I know have a harder time picking it up and have needed 3 or 4 tests to pass.

sammiboo

I really feel for those who are taking thier lessons. They make it harder all the time.

A friend of mine started learning just before me and she still hasnt passed her test. She bought an almost new car, insurance for the car and it got vandalised. She now has a claim on her policy and she hasnt even passed her test.

The reason she is taking so long is because she hasnt got much money and taking lessons as and when she can afford it. So over seven years paying for all that. Has a car loan, paying insurance and she hasnt passed her test.

She has got into a rut now that she cant afford to sell the car as it was new nor can she really afford to keep it

Donedoingdebt

My wife is an ex pupil of mine from 20 years ago. She reckons she's still paying out!

Conor_3

dj9928 wrote: »

Is there a cheap way of learning to drive as I need to do something? I've priced local instructors and they want £25 a lesson and say I'll need at least 10 then theres 3 tests to pay for aswell:mad:

If you can't afford to pay for the lessons, you're sure as hell not going to be able to afford to run a car.

Just to sit on the road doing nothing it'll cost you in excess of £30 a week and that's NOT including buying it or even putting petrol in.

gizfizz

cheapest way of learning to drive is to use a family member/friend. I took a few lessons when I was 17, (paid for by my parents, 2 lots of 12 hours I think, my next door neighbour was an AA instructor so worked out quite well). however I only passed my test last december. I started lessons about 2 days after my 17th birthday and gave them up about 3 months later because I couldnt afford it and I couldnt expect my parents to pay for anymore! anyway, for my 20th birthday last year they bought me a car and I drove to and from work with my mum (work for my parents), a 40 mile -ish round trip twice a week for a few weeks. I got the car at the beginning of October, did my theory test (again, my first one was before my first lesson way back when I was 17 lol) and did my first driving test in december and passed with 3 minors. So it can be done but I'm quite lucky in having my parents pay for the car & insurance, about £1000 all together. I was also lucky in that my partner only passed his test a year ago after spending god knows how much on lessons and taking 3 tests so he helped me with test standards etc.
I will definately agree that if you cant afford the lessons at the mo, unless you somehow manage to rake in a hell of a lot more cash by getting a new job you're probably not going to be able to afford to run a car. We have 2 cars and both of them have just had to have parts of the exhaust replaced due to rust-£120, my tyre had a slow puncture -£8, and god knows how much we've spent on OH's car (oddly enough my car is 14 years old and not had anything wrong with it except the exhaust and tyre, but his is only 7 years old and we've spent £100s on it!)

sorry I'm rambling lol I think you really neeed to sit down and work out the figures before you do anything!

Kaz2904

Well sorry to say but when I started lessons at 17, I was given 4 for my birthday. I had a really old banger and was taken out at least 3 times a week (we lived in the sticks so had to do regular journies!). I then didn't have any instructor lessons from May to christmas when I was given more for christmas. On my second lesson after going back I was booked in for my test which I passed first time.
I had 10 lessons including the hour before the test.

rog2

Some employers will assist in the cost of driving lessons if having a full driving licence could be of help in your future career. Worth talking to your boss?

twinklie

I paid for 15 hours block booking with greenlight which made it £17 per hour. Without the block booking it was £20.

I just (2 weeks ago) passed my test first time after just shy of 30 hours in total (inc 2 hours for test and lesson before). I started about a year and a half ago, but then had an op on my foot so had to stop. I'd only had 14 hours of lessons in june/july then passed 1st time.

I didn't have a private car to practise in though. If you are upgrading your provisional licence to a full licence it doesn't actually cost anything.

But it can work out VERY expensive, and with insurance etc then, it might just be an expense you can't afford. I'm lucky. I'm a named driver on my partners policy so it's only £441 for the year, but if I was to get my own insurance it'd be well over £1K.

KME91

ask for driving lessons for birthday and christmas presents. Block booking will save you money too. And incidentally there are three tests, Theory, Hazard Perception, and Practical. However you pay for the Theory and HP all in one.

I bought a car off ebay for £150 quid, it's a VW polo, breadvan shape, runs like a dream and has done for the past two years. insurance cost less than £300 in the first year, £150 this year. I had tonnes of private practice in that, plus i was insured to drive my partner's car.

it's not been easy financially at times, and yes I had to take big breaks in lessons when money simply wasn't available. consequently i took five years to pass my test, and probably spent in excess of £3000 doing it. but over such a long period of time it was mostly managable.

But now i have my licence, and i have to say mentally it's made such a difference to me. I'm no longer exhausted all the time from commuting, I know i can go where i like, when i like, and as long as i plan financially it's not a problem.

It wasn't easy, and more than once i nearly gave up, over money worries, the sheer difficulty of passing the test, and the fact that at times it seemed impossible. so i suggest you think long and hard, budget carefully and decide whether it's truly worth it. For me it definitely was, and it's opened up a whole host of new, better paid, job opportunities.