I'm 23 and want to drive, but it's so expensive. How do younger people afford it?

Reply 40

LtCommanderData

13

I can't afford it, my parents can't afford it... So I've never started to learn to drive

Reply 41

itchy and scratchy

13

~~Ask~~ Get your parents to pay :cool:

Reply 42

Historiana

14

Original post by TheEnigmaUK

I would love to pass my test and be able to drive, but it's so damn expensive at the moment. I was thinking of doing an intensive driving course, but then the prices were around £600 - 700 for the course, including theory test and practical test. Also, the thing is, I'm not a fast learner when it comes to driving, and I'm quite nervy on the road, so it sometimes takes me more lessons. I did lessons in the past, but the instructor messed me around, so I quit once the block of lessons had been completed. Since then I haven't done any more lessons, so how much would it cost for me to buy a car, insure it, and take lessons + practical and theory test? How do young drivers afford it when they're at college etc? I understand working part time, but then you have to have a lot of money to buy a car too, so it's not financially easy to drive.

Parents paid for my lessons because we live in a rural area with poor public transport and my chances of getting a job without being able to drive are incredibly slim....

Reply 43

MAlec

7

I passed within 6 months of turning 17, I've had a part-time job since I was 15 and I would work 9-5 for half of my holidays. Approaching 19 and I'm currently saving for a VW Camper.

Reply 44

shorty.loves.angels

16

Original post by TheEnigmaUK

I would love to pass my test and be able to drive, but it's so damn expensive at the moment. I was thinking of doing an intensive driving course, but then the prices were around £600 - 700 for the course, including theory test and practical test. Also, the thing is, I'm not a fast learner when it comes to driving, and I'm quite nervy on the road, so it sometimes takes me more lessons. I did lessons in the past, but the instructor messed me around, so I quit once the block of lessons had been completed. Since then I haven't done any more lessons, so how much would it cost for me to buy a car, insure it, and take lessons + practical and theory test? How do young drivers afford it when they're at college etc? I understand working part time, but then you have to have a lot of money to buy a car too, so it's not financially easy to drive.

I had a part time job - actually I;d worked full time hours through every school holiday too so that helped. I know I was lucky to be able to easily get a job like this - I took lessons while I was in sixth form - wasn't paying for too much else at the time so it was affordable.

My parents paid for a few of the lessons for my birthday, but I paid for the rest.
I ended up finishing the lessons after a bit so paid to be insured on my mum's car (regrettable but hey) and my parents took me out in that until I passed my test.
After that I saved up £500 for a car of my own and paid for my insurance (about £700 at the time) monthly out of my part time job wage.

Having to replace the exhaust and change tyres set me back a bit but it was still more affordable than buying an expensive car with a high insurance premium.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 45

k3ro

16

I did it during sixth form whilst I was getting £30 a week from EMA. Haha, my lessons were only £18 a week so I managed to get by with 1 lesson a week.

Reply 46

tufc

14

My Dad paid for everything. And I mean everything

Provisional License - £50
Lessons x 35: £650
Provisional Insurance, so I could practise with him: £99
Theory test: £31
2 x practical tests: £124
Car: £1595
Insurance: £2,875.79

Comes to £5324.79 in total

I think I could probably make money from running courses in emotional blackmail :wink:

Reply 47

kerily

15

I'm not sure either, I'm honestly not. I can't medically drive anyway, but considering that I know some people who have spent upwards of £2k on learning to drive (slow learners who took their test multiple times), I have no idea how they afforded that. There's a few people in my year who did so through a part-time job, but I suspect that the rest of them just got their parents to pay :eek4:

I don't know if that's common. Can most people's parents afford that sort of money? Are they willing to pay it out for their kids to learn something? Apparently so...

The other alternative is joining the army. Back in the 80s (I believe), my dad joined the TA and got his driving license that way, and paid precisely nothing for the privilege. I'd imagine you can't just sign up, learn to drive and then bugger off, but it is a way of doing it if you're desperate :yep:

Reply 48

rachel.h

16

I paid for the licence and both tests and my parents paid for the lessons. My Dad didn't really have the cash to spare, but he said if I didn't learn at 17 then I probably never would get round to it. Plus after uni, I probably won't have the spare cash myself either.

My advice to you would be - go with a really good driving school, a really well-known one, whether it's a nationwide one or a popular one in your area.
There's one in my town, which everybody at 6th Form seemed to use and recommend and each of their driving instructors followed the same formula: 12 lessons, focusing on a different skill in each lesson. And then as many lessons as you need after that.
I also had a 2-hour lesson fortnightly rather than an hour a week. I found this to be beneficial to me as I couldn't get a lot done in hour really, having a good old practice and a long drive fortnightly helped me more.

I had no practice outside of my driving lessons and it took me from April 1st to November 13th to pass.

Reply 49

Alison1992

13

Original post by zigzog7

grandparents who are convinced they are going to die so are busy spending money so we dont pay inheritance tax on it.

lol mine do that too, last 2 christmas's they're just handing out money to the grandkids

Reply 50

Alison1992

13

Original post by kerily

I don't know if that's common. Can most people's parents afford that sort of money? Are they willing to pay it out for their kids to learn something? Apparently so...

yeah pretty much everyone i know got lessons from their parents

Reply 51

infernalcradle

15

Original post by zigzog7

grandparents who are convinced they are going to die so are busy spending money so we dont pay inheritance tax on it.

I'd be pretty scared if they thought they weren't gonna die.....

Reply 52

kerily

15

Original post by Alison1992

yeah pretty much everyone i know got lessons from their parents

Do people's parents seriously have in excess of £700+ lying around, though? :frown:

Apparently so, if they pay for driving lessons for their kids. At the risk of sounding like your stereotypical angry broke Northerner, I do find this middle-class culture of spending large quantities of money on your children deeply mystifying - especially when they could just go out and get a part-time job. (Unless you live in an area with no jobs, but then how do the parents have that sort of money themselves...?)

Reply 53

xoxAngel_Kxox

21

My parents bought me my provisional license and a block of 10 lessons which cost £150 for my 17th. They've also said they'd pay for my test (theory and practical) when I get around to it. But after the block of 10, I could afford spending £22 a lesson, and certainly knew that I wouldn't be able to afford a car/insurance even if I passed, so I figured I might as well wait until I graduate and can get a job.

I have a plan for that though. Going to book an intensive course in the August after I graduate, as I've been saving up for it for a while, and then hopefully I'll be able to get a job and be able to afford a car. But I'm insanely jealous of people who's parents pay for all of their lessons and their car, but I understand that mine just can't afford it at the moment and I don't resent them for that at all.

Reply 54

Steezy

15

Driving lessons were a 17th birthday present, car was an 18th birthday present.

Reply 55

EonBlueApocalypse

13

Parents felt it was a extremely important skill that I needed to learn and footed the bill for which I am grateful. The thing with paying for it yourself is that you often can only afford a lesson or two every now and again which isn't the way to learn properly and in the long run probably costs more money.

Reply 56

Lantana

10

Compulsory Basic Training -He's talking about bikes :wink:

Though he's forgotten to add to the cost of gear like a helmet, jacket and gloves at bare minimum though that can be done for ~£100.

Original post by TheEnigmaUK

This is my worry too! I live in a rural village where the only mode of transport is a bus that runs every 15 mins.

You're not rural enough if your bus comes every 15 minutes. I used to live in a village where it was every 2 hours!

But like everyone else, I got money for my driving off relatives and my parents bought the car and insurance. My bike on the other hand, I worked in my gap year to pay for it and pay my own insurance. (Bike insurance is cheap)

Reply 57

Kim_xx

9

Part-time job and savings. Had a bit of birthday money on my 17th birthday towards the first lot of lessons but then I funded it all myself, lessons, car, insurance and tax. Have you got a job that you can keep some money aside from to pay for lessons? Save up for a few months first and try and save enough for say 20 lessons, and then book them instead of just having one when you can afford it because there won't be a routine then. If you have a birthday coming up ask family for some money towards it :smile: