The Student Room Group

How much did it cost you to use your instructing car on test day?

Hi,

So I had my driving test today and I thought it was going to cost the same as normal - the cost of two hour lessons but when I got in the car the instructor said it would be £70 today! I didn't understand why and they said it was because you are hiring the car and the cost of picking up and taking back - but it was still 2 hours and they had to do less work than normal. I didn't even get picked up I had to get a bus to meet the instructor as they had a test before.

Anyway I looked at the site and can't see any mention of how much you should pay on the test day but it seem's like an awful lot and it really should have been mentioned before as I didn't have enough/

So how much did/ are you going to pay to use your instructing car on the day the test.

Also, I failed - boo :frown:
I haven't done my test yet, but I think it usually the cost of 2 hour lessons, most instructors will pick you up and drop you of from wherever you like at no extra cost
My test is next week, and for me yeah its £70...idk why apparently its normal for people to pay that much
Reply 3
Original post by CarafeOfKhan
I haven't done my test yet, but I think it usually the cost of 2 hour lessons, most instructors will pick you up and drop you of from wherever you like at no extra cost


I just checked with a different driving school and yup it's £70!, maybe just double check with yours so your not in for a surprise like I was, but hopefully not!
The pick up part was just poor planning on the instructors part.
Reply 4
Original post by yelllowribbon
My test is next week, and for me yeah its £70...idk why apparently its normal for people to pay that much



Thanks for confirming :smile: yeah that's what it seems but I'm sure it was never like that before - as if they don't get enough of your money!
Original post by t.b.s
Thanks for confirming :smile: yeah that's what it seems but I'm sure it was never like that before - as if they don't get enough of your money!


no problem :smile: but yeah i know what you mean, just hope i pass first time to save on the money :tongue:
Reply 6
Original post by yelllowribbon
no problem :smile: but yeah i know what you mean, just hope i pass first time to save on the money :tongue:


Good Luck! :smile:
Reply 7
Exactly how much time elapsed from the moment you got into the car to the moment you stepped out after he took you away from the test centre?

If this was close to 120 minutes, then does the instructor usually charge around £35 per hour? An instructor's hourly rate normally includes the hire of the car for that time.

Unless his terms and conditions explicitly mention that the cost of the hire of the car on test day is different to normal lessons, then it sounds like you have been taken for a ride. What does your contract say?
Reply 8
Original post by Advisor
Exactly how much time elapsed from the moment you got into the car to the moment you stepped out after he took you away from the test centre?

If this was close to 120 minutes, then does the instructor usually charge around £35 per hour? An instructor's hourly rate normally includes the hire of the car for that time.

Unless his terms and conditions explicitly mention that the cost of the hire of the car on test day is different to normal lessons, then it sounds like you have been taken for a ride. What does your contract say?



Yes it was 2 hours , 1 hour lesson from being "picked up" and then 40 min test then 20 mins back. It's normally £23 ph, I don't have a contract?? it was through a driving school but the instructor switched companies part way through . I phoned up the original driving school and enquired an they said it's £70 which includes pick up, hire of the car then being dropped off. I think it's not okay and don't see at all how it's acceptable to add on a random £24 but if they can get away with getting more money then they will.
£70 seems absurd to me when i took mine it was the price of a 2 hour lesson which was £40 something
Unfortunately your experience is not unusual. As an instructor I cannot understand why test day prices are so high - mine are just going up to 2 hours, which I do not think is unreasonable. After all you get an hour before the test plus the test time itself, which is usually around an hour all in. How the price seems to creep up by an extra hour is beyond me. I think part of the problem is that you are essentially a captive audience. If you don't pay, you don't go for test. A bit mean if you ask me.

The one issue I have is that my diary is divided up into specific time slots (1.5 hours eac) and tests can cut across those. This means that one test can take up two slots in the diary i.e., 3 hours. However, this is my problem and not the pupil's and I have to accept the cost, not pass it on.
Mine was 2 hours, I had a single lesson before the test and then the hour of the test. £45 or something it cost me, plus the £60 of taking the test. She picked me up, waited in the test centre then took me home afterwards, but not sure where they get £70 from
Reply 12
Original post by Emma-Ashley
Unfortunately your experience is not unusual. As an instructor I cannot understand why test day prices are so high - mine are just going up to 2 hours, which I do not think is unreasonable. After all you get an hour before the test plus the test time itself, which is usually around an hour all in. How the price seems to creep up by an extra hour is beyond me. I think part of the problem is that you are essentially a captive audience. If you don't pay, you don't go for test. A bit mean if you ask me.

The one issue I have is that my diary is divided up into specific time slots (1.5 hours eac) and tests can cut across those. This means that one test can take up two slots in the diary i.e., 3 hours. However, this is my problem and not the pupil's and I have to accept the cost, not pass it on.



Thank's for explaning that, I was just more surprised as I was told at the start of the lesson about the extra cost and not beforehand which made it seem even more dodgy. It is mean! if only you were my instructor at least now I know it's an extra cost to look out for.
Reply 13
Original post by t.b.s
I don't have a contract??
You should have.

Whenever you agree to pay somebody for a service, a legal contract exists between you. Never settle for a verbal one. Always get terms and conditions in writing. In your case, these written terms will exist somewhere, either on the premises of the driving school, given to you on your first driving lesson or contained in the documentation (progress record etc.) that you were given when you signed up with the instructor.

You say that the school normally charge £70 when you phoned them, so this must be in their terms. This is why it always pays to read the small print on day one. I'm sorry to say that you've been fleeced. It hurts even more when you didn't know about it before the day.
Reply 14
Original post by Advisor
You should have.

Whenever you agree to pay somebody for a service, a legal contract exists between you. Never settle for a verbal one. Always get terms and conditions in writing. In your case, these written terms will exist somewhere, either on the premises of the driving school, given to you on your first driving lesson or contained in the documentation (progress record etc.) that you were given when you signed up with the instructor.

You say that the school normally charge £70 when you phoned them, so this must be in their terms. This is why it always pays to read the small print on day one. I'm sorry to say that you've been fleeced. It hurts even more when you didn't know about it before the day.


No it's okay advisor, really is not the end of the world was just abit of a surprise as if you read an earlier post on the thread some instructors/companies charge more for the test day and some don't. The terms don't mention it on the website but as I mentioned before the instructor changed driving schools which made it more confusing. Main thing I wanted to find out is if I had actually been as you put it 'fleeced' by the instructor who on the day decided that he needed some extra cash and randomly decided to bump up the price on the day. Turns out it's not the case and seems to be quite common, but appreciate your advice and moral is always read the terms. Thanks :smile:
Reply 15
Original post by Emma-Ashley
Unfortunately your experience is not unusual. As an instructor I cannot understand why test day prices are so high - mine are just going up to 2 hours, which I do not think is unreasonable. After all you get an hour before the test plus the test time itself, which is usually around an hour all in. How the price seems to creep up by an extra hour is beyond me. I think part of the problem is that you are essentially a captive audience. If you don't pay, you don't go for test. A bit mean if you ask me.

The one issue I have is that my diary is divided up into specific time slots (1.5 hours eac) and tests can cut across those. This means that one test can take up two slots in the diary i.e., 3 hours. However, this is my problem and not the pupil's and I have to accept the cost, not pass it on.


You're a good woman, Emma.

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