Automatic Punishment

horrorhag

Hello there.

i ll just quickly set the scene. im 21 (22 in october) female, full time student, part time librarian. completely moved out of home and not financially dependent on parents.
i am currently learning to drive. after 20 2hr lessons in a manual my driving instructor recommended i learn in an automatic due to my heigh making it difficult for clutch control. i took his advice and was shocked about how easy it was (no more crippling leg pains from over streching) and also how much more expensive it was to learn.
Coming towards the end of my lessons and getting to test standard i descided to look at some hyperthetical insurances. looking at group one and two band cars in insurance as recommended by http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/motoring/car-insurance/Find-Cars-By-Insurance-Group/18/ and using autotrader to be as accurate as possible my insurance is astronomical!
i have read on this board most 17-19 year olds beening quoted between £600- £800 whereas my cheapest quote todate is £1600 THIRD PARTY on a £395 car! is it because i am an automatic driver only? i cant understand how someone younger than me would get cheaper insurance. im afraid i have wasted a huge amount of money learning to drive for a car i have no prospect of owning!

Also i heard that people who have applied for jobs with company cars have been rejected because they only have an automatic licence because they only have manual cars on offer. but surely this is not allowed as its descrimination as its not my fault im too short to reach the clutch.

any advice would be great because i m considering stopping my lessons over this.

shandypants5

Surely if you have problems reaching the clutch, then you must have problems witht the brakes and gas too?

I think you should find a car with a seat that can be adjusted correctly for you, and then pass your full licence.

After that you can drive auto OR geared as and when you need to, and would be in a stronger ,more employable position.

horrorhag

the gas and break are fine to reach the seat was as close as it was going to go without being illegal (too close to the air bag and i ll die). automatic lessons are considered the norm for those who have difficulties and disabilities. i only took automatic lessons on the recommendation of my instructor who in suggesting i take automatic was loosing me as a customer (Their company doesnt do automatic lessons) ergo loosing out on income.

shandypants5

Sorry..
I wasnt trying to disagree with you in any way, (although I still dont understand how you can reach the brake but not the clutch?).

I was just trying to point out that a company with a fleet of cars is unlikely to employ Anyone without the skills to operate the machinery required to do the job(a geared car).

If your leg length is such that it could be classed as a disability, then maybe a specially adapted car (or an automatic) would be provided.

But most companies would just not employ you, sorry

horrorhag

can anyone help regarding insurance?

i cant imagine many library jobs that have company cars anyways

Oldernotwiser

I originally learnt in an automatic and I didn't find the insurance or the lessons any more expensive. I suppose if your job needed you to use a pool car then you might have difficulties if there wasn't an automatic in the pool, just as I wasn't able to have a courtesy car when the car was in the garage as they only had manuals.

I agree with the above as to reaching the clutch when you can reach the brake and accelerator; have you tried speaking to an insurance broker?

Idiophreak

horrorhag wrote: »

i have read on this board most 17-19 year olds beening quoted between £600- £800 whereas my cheapest quote todate is £1600 THIRD PARTY on a £395 car!

This is interesting...I don't believe most 17-19 year olds only pay £600-£800, especially guys...But I also don't believe too many pay £1600...

I paid 1200 odd for my first policy at 22, but that was fully comp on a £9k car...

Rest assured, a couple of years on, I'm down to paying around £400 - it falls quite quickly, just gotta get through the first couple of years incident free...

Have you used confused.com and the like to find the cheapest prices?

I (broadly) agree with the above poster - it really is *much*better to learn in a manual car, but if you really can't do it, you can't do it. I don't think the discrimination thing's gonna fly, though - people just won't employ you if you don't have a full licence.

busiscoming2

My dau is just 21 and was named on my mum's policy whilst learning and then after she passed her test, (she didn't drive very often as away at uni), she accrued NCB while on mum's policy (direct line), and now has a policy in her own name with her brother as a named driver (just 18 and passed in jan) her premium is £395.

I also don't understand how you can't be comfortable with the clutch and yet be ok with acc and brake. I'd say you are sitting too close, maybe you need to have lessons in a bigger car ie: escort, mondeo etc rather than the corsa, fiesta types.

horrorhag

the prices i found were through confused.com and go compare (which for some reason when i type it properly on here comes up as !!!!... strange)

But surely the insurance company would not pay out if i put my mum under named driver if she doesnt live with me and never drives it...

Ive tried various size cars from smart to my dads hugh Mercedies 4x4 and nothing works clutch wise. im only 4ft 5 tall tho. i could reach the clutch but after 10 minutes i would get excruciating pain which would last for days in my left leg from over stretching to reach. not safe getting leg spasms on the road.

CLAPTON

horrorhag wrote: »

Hello there.

i ll just quickly set the scene. im 21 (22 in october) female, full time student, part time librarian. completely moved out of home and not financially dependent on parents.
i am currently learning to drive. after 20 2hr lessons in a manual my driving instructor recommended i learn in an automatic due to my heigh making it difficult for clutch control. i took his advice and was shocked about how easy it was (no more crippling leg pains from over streching) and also how much more expensive it was to learn.
Coming towards the end of my lessons and getting to test standard i descided to look at some hyperthetical insurances. looking at group one and two band cars in insurance as recommended by http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/motoring/car-insurance/Find-Cars-By-Insurance-Group/18/ and using autotrader to be as accurate as possible my insurance is astronomical!
i have read on this board most 17-19 year olds beening quoted between £600- £800 whereas my cheapest quote todate is £1600 THIRD PARTY on a £395 car! is it because i am an automatic driver only? i cant understand how someone younger than me would get cheaper insurance. im afraid i have wasted a huge amount of money learning to drive for a car i have no prospect of owning!

Also i heard that people who have applied for jobs with company cars have been rejected because they only have an automatic licence because they only have manual cars on offer. but surely this is not allowed as its descrimination as its not my fault im too short to reach the clutch.

any advice would be great because i m considering stopping my lessons over this.

why not try hypothetical quotes for similar cars (although one auto and one manual) and similar age profiles, location etc rather than reading somwhere that people your age get insurance at 6-800 ... that seems too cheap to me.


Not many jobs demand you can drive : most companies that offer company cars also offer a cash alternative for you to buy you own car.


In any event, I can't see what you can do about it. Theere are probably quite a few jobs that someone short is unsuitable for but then that still leaves a very wide field.

KentishLady

shandypants5 wrote: »

Surely if you have problems reaching the clutch, then you must have problems witht the brakes and gas too?

I think you should find a car with a seat that can be adjusted correctly for you, and then pass your full licence.

After that you can drive auto OR geared as and when you need to, and would be in a stronger ,more employable position.

I have short legs and can see how someone would be able to reach all three pedals but be unable to satisfactorily control the clutch. The OP did not say she couldnt reach the clutch, but had difficulty with the clutch control due to her height.

I used to be a driving instructor and some people never get the hang of clutch control but are still able to safely drive an automatic.

To the OP - shop around for insurance and see if you can get a cheaper quote. Consider doing pass plus after passing your test as this can reduce your premiums. Don't worry about having an automatic licence rather than a manual licence - this is only going to be a problem if you intend to apply for a job which requires you to drive manual vehicles. This may limit the jobs you can apply for (i.e. you wouldnt be able to be a multi-drop driver if the company only owns manual vehicles). On the other hand if you were applying for a job with a company which driving did not form part of your job role I do not see why you would need to tell them you had an automatic licence - just tell them you have a licence and access to a car.

KL.