Hiring a driver for the driving test

alihd

Hi,
I am buying a car with my provisional licence and want to use the car for my driving test. Unfortunately, the friend who supervises me cannot accompany me on the test day. So I need to "hire" someone to pick me up in my own car, bring me to the test centre, wait until I finish the test, and bring me & the car back home if I fail the test.
Where is the best place to look for such guy with a fairly low price? 
And how shall I calculate/know what is a fair price for such a service?
P.S. Yes, I know. I need to buy him daily insurance, too. 

[Deleted User]

alihd said:

to pick me up in my own car, bring me to the test centre, wait until I finish the test, and bring me & the car back home if I fail the test.

You can drive the car yourself to/from the test centre as long as you are accompanied by an appropriate driver allowed to supervise - ie over 21 / licence for 3 years etc and they don't need to be insured on the vehicle unless you want them to drive which won't be necessary regardless of whether you pass or fail.

But the big problem is that you cannot pay your supervising driver to supervise you unless they are an approved driving instructor so you won't be able to hire anybody.

Just find another friend or relative who will do it for free if you can.

Alternatively pay a school of motoring and do it in their car. Don't worry about it being a different car, my driving instructor turned up with a totally different car on the day of my test and I still passed.

alihd

[Deleted User] said:

alihd said:

to pick me up in my own car, bring me to the test centre, wait until I finish the test, and bring me & the car back home if I fail the test.

You can drive the car yourself to/from the test centre as long as you are accompanied by an appropriate driver allowed to supervise - ie over 21 / licence for 3 years etc and they don't need to be insured on the vehicle unless you want them to drive which won't be necessary regardless of whether you pass or fail.

But the big problem is that you cannot pay your supervising driver to supervise you unless they are an approved driving instructor so you won't be able to hire anybody.

Just find another friend or relative who will do it for free if you can.

Alternatively pay a school of motoring and do it in their car. Don't worry about it being a different car, my driving instructor turned up with a totally different car on the day of my test and I still passed.

I know that I cannot pay someone (who is not an instructor) to supervise me, but that's not what I asked. I want to hire someone to sit behind my wheel and take me and my car to the test centre and then bring me back.

The problem with the instructors is that I am finding cancellations and the cancelled slots show up only one or two days before the test. It's so hard to book instructors for even the next month (some are fully booked for a he next 6 month), no wonder none of them are available for such short notice. And why would I pay them £110-£130 if I can take my own car. Does hiring a typical licence holder to bring me there (1h driving, 1h waiting in the test centre) cost around £100, too? I suppose it should be much cheaper in West London.

alihd

obviously  if any of my friends were available for the test day, they could have sit next to me and I could drive myself to and from the centre. However, none  of my friends are available on a weekday on a short notice; that's why I’m looking for hiring a cheap driver for two hours.

I just don't know where to look for such a cheap driver; what's the fair cost, etc.

Dr_Crypto

There used to be a company in London who would send a driver on a folding bike to do this. It was for people who’d had too much to drink but didn’t want to leave their own car at the venue. The driver would come (By bike) to the customer and drive the customer home in their own car. Not sure if it’s still going. 

Or you could try a taxi company. See if a driver is prepared to do it. 

Dr_Crypto

I can’t find the company I was referring to but there are plenty of “spot hire” chauffeur companies but I doubt they are at all cheap. 

https://www.dutydriver.com/personal_services.cfm

http://www.britishchauffeursguild.co.uk/serv_temp_chauf.html

Grumpy_chap

This really sounds like finding a friend or family member who can do you a favour and then buying them a drink.

neilmcl

Don't you have a driving instructor then?

alihd

Dr_Crypto said:

I can’t find the company I was referring to but there are plenty of “spot hire” chauffeur companies but I doubt they are at all cheap. 

https://www.dutydriver.com/personal_services.cfm

http://www.britishchauffeursguild.co.uk/serv_temp_chauf.html

Correct, I called them and it's very expensive. It's mostly for daily hire. The minimum booking is for 5 hours x £20  = £100, which is too much. I just need the driver for 2 hours. Or if I can hire different drivers (so that no one has to wait at the test centres), I need two drivers for half an hour each.

Grumpy_chap said:

This really sounds like finding a friend or family member who can do you a favour and then buying them a drink.

I do, but they have to abandon their job and use one of their precious holidays, which is worth much more than a drink

neilmcl said:

Don't you have a driving instructor then?

I do, I have multiple instructors indeed. It's my 4th test. None of them usually have time for the cancelled tests and I have to beg them for cancelling their appointments with other pupils and they will not agree the next time. My instructors charge too much for the test. Besides, my instructors can't help much, as they all agree that I need no further instructions and it's all about the stress that makes me fail, so no point to keep using their help/car with such high fees. Even thinking of the instructor waiting for me to pass the test makes me feel pressured. This is getting worse on each test. I think in my own car it should be easier to take the test.

Car_54

I suspect you are simply adding to the stress. Just book a test a few weeks away (agreed with your instructor), and relax.

Car_54

Better still, sell the car. Paying tax, insurance and depreciation on a car you can't use can't be helping your state of mind.