Any ideas, i am starting driving lessons-insurance...

[Obvious Mancunian]

Was just wondering if anybody can offer names as to any good instructors at good prices? Plus the insurance is a killer, somebody must no a good insurer/value for money etc..
cheers blues.

 

[jimharri]

Was just wondering if anybody can offer names as to any good instructors at good prices? Plus the insurance is a killer, somebody must no a good insurer/value for money etc..
cheers blues.

Welcome to the world of running a car! €280 fully comp for me for a 1.4 Focus (yeah, I know; district nurse's car!). Sometimes it pays to be an old fart! As for insurance costs, Have you tried these price comparison sites? Or what about going on your mum and/or dad's policy as a named driver (assuming here that you are fairly young, hence the high insurance)? Just don't prang the bloody car! I'm afraid that until you have;
A. A full licence, and
B. A few years no claims built up
insurance in your own name will be a real sickener.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

Whilst yer learning get put on someone else's, such as yer Mum. Then stay on hers for a year or two, build up the NC bonus and then Direct line are not bad, especially if you are a new customer.

Yer going to tell me yer mum's run off with the milkman and yer 38 years old.

 

[quiet_riot]

I'm not much help right now, but once you've had a year with no claims - LOOK AROUND!

I paid £750 for a year with Direct Line and had no claims, so assumed my renewal would be cheaper. It actually went up to £820! I went on confused.com and saved £300 by moving to a different insurer.

 

[mancitymick]

Just prepeare for it to cost an arm and a leg. Main tip though is shop around and try and play different companies off against each other. For example if they say 700 quid just tell them another company (white lie) has offfered you at a cheaper option and see if they can better it

 

[Obvious Mancunian]

Whilst yer learning get put on someone else's, such as yer Mum. Then stay on hers for a year or two, build up the NC bonus and then Direct line are not bad, especially if you are a new customer.

Yer going to tell me yer mum's run off with the milkman and yer 38 years old.

No comment on that, i don't know where she is at the minute and im starving but there's no milk for cereal.
:) thanks for the advice, looks like its just gonna be a costly pain in the arse for a couple of years.

 

[crizack]

if your in near swinton try this guy <a class="postlink" href="http://www.ataylorsom.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ataylorsom.co.uk/</a> you learn in a brand new audi a3 for £21 a lesson! i had around 30 lesson and passed 2nd time...the 1st fail was a stupid mistake i made.

 

[crizack]

if your in near swinton try this guy <a class="postlink" href="http://www.ataylorsom.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ataylorsom.co.uk/</a> you learn in a brand new audi a3 for £21 a lesson! i had around 30 lesson and passed 2nd time...the 1st fail was a stupid mistake i made.

 

[Pigeonho]

Ah I remember these days well! Passed my test in 95' and bought a shitty, clapped out Metro for £395. The insurance was £700!!! Then I got a Fiat Uno for £1.5k, same insurance. Going nicely and becoming more of a confident drive I went and bought a 1.9 Peugot 205 GTi, at the age of 20! Car was £4.5k...insurance was £3k!!!!! Keep to something 1 litre mate, even though it sounds pathetic. You can only go so fast anyway so don't care what your mates sat etc, get a nice 206 or something like that, but still expect to pay over the ods for insurance. Go on the compare sites, then onto Privilege and Esure, who i'm with now. Whilst it all seems like doom and gloom, as you get older, (if infact you are a young 17 year old just about to learn), it gets cheaper. I know have a lovely Vectra SRi, 2004 reg and it costs me a princely £295 fully comp to insure. All the best.

 

[Marty]

Whatever you do don't go for the cheapest option. When I started out(5 years ago) I punted for the cheapest instructor and it was a total waste. After 9 lessons it was obvious where the name "Eddie Square Wheels" had come from. Spent 70% of every lesson parked up listening to him ramble on and show me pictures from books instead of actually driving.

Subsequently binned him off and went with a local fella who get's great review but was around £5 more(sounds nothing now but when you're 17 and working in Lymm Service Station pot washing every penny counts). Anyway, long story short he was excellent, never once parked up and even when I was making silly errors he'd keep calm. Another great point was he only ever touched his pedals if something was going massively wrong. You find alot of instructors can't help themselfs.

As for a parents car getting insured is great for cramming in extra lessons. The only downfall when I did it was you're inevitably being taught by a family member and they're quick to have a pop if you make an error which can put you on edge. Personally I had a couple of them in my Dads car on a quiet industrial estate on Sunday mornings just to get a feel for the car and left it at that.

When you've passed I'd suggest getting on your folks insurance and just being a named driver. You wont be eligible for no claims bonuses but the chances of you having a ping in the first year anyway are relatively high and it will effect them alot less that it will you when you come to get insured again. I paid just shy of £1000 for my own third party insurance on a Peugeot 306(think it was a 1.2 diesel or something). Unless you have a family member already tied in with an insurance company you're unlikely to get anything much cheaper. Best option is things like GoCompare etc, they do all the graft for you.

Probably too early now but if you want an idea of prices get hold of a registration of a car you'd be looking to get and run their quotation.

Hope that helps, mate - and good luck.