Cost of Driving Lessons in My Own Automatic Car

Emmia

forgotmyname said:

FlorayG said:

Its very odd that instructors don't all train in automatics now that everyone is supposed to be moving to hybrid and electric cars. They really need to get with the times

But they have to have rules in place like the OP that may struggle to drive a manual car. If they only do automatic lessons and no manual then

there will be people on the road that struggle to drive a manual but allowed to drive one with what consequences?

Is everyone supposed to be moving to auto/hybrid,  NO.

It is illegal for someone with an automatic only driving licence to drive a manual.  They would effectively be driving without a licence, which would also affect the validity of their insurance.

Manual cars may fall out of fashion as a day to day car, but people keep and drive cars for fun which would be manuals. 

If all licences/tests became automatic, I expect the manual part (i.e. driving with gears) would become a category after a certain date - a bit like having the automatic right to tow a trailer with your Class B car licence, which I think was removed from licences in 1997.

Flugelhorn

there are plenty of automatic only instructors in the south west, very popular. I have insured 3 automatics this year and they are no more expensive than manuals 

Kim_13

Flugelhorn said:

there are plenty of automatic only instructors in the south west, very popular. I have insured 3 automatics this year and they are no more expensive than manuals 

It is not the insuring of an automatic car that is more expensive, but someone with an automatic only licence being charged more to insure one than someone who has a full manual licence.

Car_54

Kim_13 said:

Flugelhorn said:

there are plenty of automatic only instructors in the south west, very popular. I have insured 3 automatics this year and they are no more expensive than manuals 

It is not the insuring of an automatic car that is more expensive, but someone with an automatic only licence being charged more to insure one than someone who has a full manual licence.

There is really no such thing as an automatic-only licence. 

It is simply a full licence, but with a code - 106  (restricted to vehicles with automatic transmissions). 

If an insurer asks "Do you have a full licence?" you can truthfully say "Yes".

And an online DVLA check of my own licence does not show ANY codes. So there appears no reason for an insurer to know you are restricted to auto.

Emmia

Car_54 said:

Kim_13 said:

Flugelhorn said:

there are plenty of automatic only instructors in the south west, very popular. I have insured 3 automatics this year and they are no more expensive than manuals 

It is not the insuring of an automatic car that is more expensive, but someone with an automatic only licence being charged more to insure one than someone who has a full manual licence.

There is really no such thing as an automatic-only licence. 

It is simply a full licence, but with a code - 106  (restricted to vehicles with automatic transmissions). 

If an insurer asks "Do you have a full licence?" you can truthfully say "Yes".

And an online DVLA check of my own licence does not show ANY codes. So there appears no reason for an insurer to know you are restricted to auto.

If you have an auto licence it will have the codes "78" or "106" on it somewhere which will indicate you can only drive vehicles with automatic transmission. 

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-codes

Edit: on the reverse of the photocard, 12. has the codes - mine for example has 115 indicating I'm an organ donor, and 071 indicating it's a duplicate (as I lost my licence, applied for a new one... Then found the original!)

Flugelhorn

Kim_13 said:

Flugelhorn said:

there are plenty of automatic only instructors in the south west, very popular. I have insured 3 automatics this year and they are no more expensive than manuals 

It is not the insuring of an automatic car that is more expensive, but someone with an automatic only licence being charged more to insure one than someone who has a full manual licence.

that is interesting - my 2 kids insured their first cars, one manual licence , one auto licence  - they were the same age (mid 20s) and basically the price was much the same. 

Mildly_Miffed

freespirit said:

I live in a moderately remote area of Scotland and a local driving instructor suggested I get my own car to learn in, as automatics instructors aren't so common here. (I have spent too much money already on manual lessons, but anxiety and overwhelm regarding the gears and clutch meant I didn't learn effectively.)

...

Instructor can't be as flexible as I had hoped with the time of lessons and the cost she has quoted me is £40 per hour. Does this sound reasonable?

Going back to the original question, surely there's really only one answer that matters...

How much would other instructors in your area charge to teach you in your own car?

How much is being charged in other parts of the country is not relevant unless you're suggesting travelling a long way to the lesson.

If only one instructor in your area is willing to offer you lessons in your own car, then that's the market price, take it or leave it.

As far as automatic vs manual learning goes, the basic actions of changing gear should be one of the easiest parts of learning to drive.
If anxiety means they're a showstopper, how will that anxiety fare when it comes to the more complex parts which can't be easily worked around, such as dealing with other traffic?
Is there a way to address the anxiety, rather than try to work around it?

freespirit

singhini said:

How much did it cost you to insure the car with a provisional licence ?

About £479, comp.

freespirit

lr1277 said:

If you are remote as you say, what would you estimate the travelling time and cost for the instructor would be to both get to you and then get back to their own area? Compare that with the travelling times for your instructor when you were learning in England.

I don't know how often instructors use their client's car but your car won't have the features of their own car such as dual brakes. Does that make driving with a learner more of a risk? Maybe.

Edited to add: Find out the hourly cost of learning from an instructor with an automatic car when you meet them at their house/office. Then find out the cost of a return taxi journey to take you to said driving lesson. Is the taxi cost more or less than the difference in the hourly rates of the instructor?

The instructor lives in the same town and works/teaches in the town next to ours. In England my instructors came to pick me up from home.

Yes, I have thought about the extra risk of having no dual controls

freespirit

Mildly_Miffed said:

freespirit said:

I live in a moderately remote area of Scotland and a local driving instructor suggested I get my own car to learn in, as automatics instructors aren't so common here. (I have spent too much money already on manual lessons, but anxiety and overwhelm regarding the gears and clutch meant I didn't learn effectively.)

...

Instructor can't be as flexible as I had hoped with the time of lessons and the cost she has quoted me is £40 per hour. Does this sound reasonable?

Going back to the original question, surely there's really only one answer that matters...

How much would other instructors in your area charge to teach you in your own car?

How much is being charged in other parts of the country is not relevant unless you're suggesting travelling a long way to the lesson.

If only one instructor in your area is willing to offer you lessons in your own car, then that's the market price, take it or leave it.

As far as automatic vs manual learning goes, the basic actions of changing gear should be one of the easiest parts of learning to drive.
If anxiety means they're a showstopper, how will that anxiety fare when it comes to the more complex parts which can't be easily worked around, such as dealing with other traffic?
Is there a way to address the anxiety, rather than try to work around it?

The overwhelm of trying to understand the clutch and gears as well as learning everything else simultaneiously was just too much. I did have two VERY bad instructors to start with and I didn't feel confident or have any easy ways to know how to position myself on the road correctly, for example. They just threw me in at the deep end and i had to flounder and work things out. One was having a mid life crisis and was agressive at times. Ignored me while speaker- calling his new gf at other times... It was just too much. My second lesson ever was a big roundabout. I just spent a lot of money to get frustrated and a bit scared.

 I understand the gears, logically I get it, it's just having to do that along with learning and observing everything else, is too much.

I do think I'll learn a manual after I have got the hang of automatic, perhaps had a licence for a year or two. Then the rules and habits will be hard-wired already.

I will email the only other instructor in town, who I had about 10 manual lessons from, nearly two years ago, to see what his price would be. That's IF he'd teach in my car.