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Learning To Drive - BSM OR THE AA

I am learning to drive and I want the best quality lessons, I came to a conclusion of 2 schools The AA or BSM. Which one is better and Why?

Reply 1

Danielle89

14

Dont go with a driving school. They'll rip you off. Choose a good private instructor, based on recommendations from people you know.

Reply 2

Turdburger

16

Danielle89

Dont go with a driving school. They'll rip you off. Choose a good private instructor, based on recommendations from people you know.

This.

Reply 3

gunit14

OP

2

Isnt it private schools that try to rip you off, because they know they can take advantage.

Reply 4

BrightGirl

15

Aww what's wrong with BSM? I have my first one booked on sunday. :redface:

Reply 5

Nuffles

19

Private instructors are far better. You cannot guarantee anything with a driving school, like the driver or car. I took my lessons with a guy who runs the company himself, he's the only instructor and he only has one car. A load of my friends used/use him and they passed first time. That is the kind of reputation you can rely on, he can't **** you over because a lot of his advertisement is by word of mouth.

Reply 6

becky.fm

18

gunit14

Isnt it private schools that try to rip you off, because they know they can take advantage.

How can they take advantage?

Bigger schools tend to push out as many instructors as they can, so they won't necessarily be of a great quality - and they tend to be more expensive.

Reply 7

juju123

2

I'm with AA
Its ok but they do try and rip you off by teaching you slowly
but the teaching is good

Reply 8

Danielle89

14

gunit14

Isnt it private schools that try to rip you off, because they know they can take advantage.

No.

Instructors who work for BSM and AA have to give the company a percentage of their earnings so they tend to take their time with teaching you.

Private instructors also give cheaper lessons most of the time. And they have their own reputations to protect, so if they're ***** teachers then its a bad reflection on them as opposed to just a bad reflection on BSM or AA.

Reply 9

small&mighty

I'm currently learning with a private instructer that someone told me about, £36 for 2 hour lessons and I should be passed within the next couple of months. Whereas my friend went with BSM, paid £50 for 2 hour lessons and took well over a year to pass (failed test 3 times!).

Reply 10

x-pixie-lottie-x

14

i learnt with bsm, had 2 instructors (switched from desiel (sp?) to petrol, because my own car i was practicing in between lessons was petrol and my instructor thought it was starting to hold me back)
both of which were very nice guys, explained things well, used their lil wipey note books to illistrate...

between the 2 instructors i had 1 lesson with a private instructor in my own car, he made me cry he criticised every little thing, then because he took us ways that made the lesson over an hour, charged us for an hour and half...! after that i just went straight back to bsm...

and passed first time

cheaper if - 1 your parents are rac members (get certain % off)
can use tesco points for lessons...

get 1 year free basic rac cover if you pass with them

x x x

Reply 11

gyyy2807

14

Danielle89

Dont go with a driving school. They'll rip you off. Choose a good private instructor, based on recommendations from people you know.

This.

Those driving schools charge in excess of £20 per lesson whereas going with a private instructor can cost much less. Plus, there're also private instructors that are really good, (although some are a bit not so good).

Reply 12

Elegant Elephant

12

Private instructors can be just as unreliable/reliable as driving schools. It all depends on the instructor to be honest. I have an AA instructor and he's absolutely fantastic, I blocked booked 20 lessons for only £19 per hour and I'm almost done after 18 hours!

Reply 13

username165223

I had a years worth of lessons with AA and it was awful. Their website is soooo annoying when you are trying to pay as it always says it doesn't work and that happened least 3 times, and another time took double the amount.
The instructor was not very nice, and turned out he actually didn't know what he was doing. I failed my test on 3 things, one of which included the controls of the car cos he never bothered to show me where the stuff was and I just panicked and couldn't work it out cos I never knew lights were in a completely different place for Fords and stuff.
Switched to a little local one and only had a month with him and passed. He had to re-teach me everything but was really good and actually did my pass plus with him as well.

No idea what RAC is like but basically don't just go for the biggest name thinking you should be safe cos that was my mistake. Go online, or on yellow pages and look up driving schools in your area and try and go on their website if they have one and try and see if you can find a pass rate for their pupils. My 2nd instructor had a really high pass rate, one that was 15% higher than the average pass rate for the area.

Reply 14

jaz_jaz

Go with a smaller company if you don't want to go with private.- although private are cheaper & if recommended, good.
Bigger companys rip you off.

Reply 15

SilkySmooth

People always slate BSM, I went with them (and passed). Had a great instructor, but I've heard bad experiences, all depends on your instructor, you get and bad ones, just go with what's cheaper. BSM is currently £25 an hour for students I think.

Reply 16

Steeps

11

charla

The instructor was not very nice, and turned out he actually didn't know what he was doing. I failed my test on 3 things, one of which included the controls of the car cos he never bothered to show me where the stuff was and I just panicked and couldn't work it out cos I never knew lights were in a completely different place for Fords and stuff.
Switched to a little local one and only had a month with him and passed. He had to re-teach me everything but was really good and actually did my pass plus with him as well.

That part in bold scares me. You're allowed on the road but you blame your instructor for not showing you where the light switch is? Most cars are different to drive, have things in different places.

Reply 17

Charlski

14

Go with a private instructor. Ask around, find out who's the best, and go with them. The big schools are not the best and tend to completely rip you off.

Reply 18

psychocustard

18

I'm with BSM, and I'm lesson 6 standard after 3.
If you book now, you can have 10 hours for £189, and if you've got some Tesco vouchers lying about, go on the Tesco website to see their BSM offer - four hours of driving, plus all your books/DVDs and L plates; definitely worth it.

In my experience, the private instructors are the worst. If some of them don't get a lot of pupils, they tend to hang onto you, as you're a cash cow. I definitely recommend BSM!

Reply 19

psychocustard

18

SilkySmooth

People always slate BSM, I went with them (and passed). Had a great instructor, but I've heard bad experiences, all depends on your instructor, you get and bad ones, just go with what's cheaper. BSM is currently £25 an hour for students I think.

£21 with a NUS card :yep:

Learning To Drive - BSM OR THE AA

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