[Closed] How many driving lessons should I take before doing my test btw im a student

£20 to £26 per hour.

How much in total? That depends on how good you are at learning.

Budget for min £1k if you have driven before otherwise perhaps £1.5k or more if you are a slow learner.

🙂

edit: I didn't have a car to practice on at that time so I only drove in my instructor's car. I think I managed to drive at least once a week or once every two weeks. Took me a year plus to finally take my test. Passed 1st time but took the theory test twice. I think I had 15 to 20 lessons or something like that ...

I'm quick at learning and have had experience driving before I've also got my provisional and theory test passed and at 1k how many lessons are we talking would 10 or 20 be good perhaps I don't know I just need to know how many lessons really

n+1

My daughter had 20 lessons including the test, we used an independent instructor. She also had some practice hours with mum (not me, i'm too grumpy) 😉

Depends how easy you find it.

Took me 9 lessons, my mate did his a day or so after his 17th birthday and I know others that had like 50 lessons and took test 5 times.

I did 18 hour lessons when I was 17-18. I think most of my mates were about the same. I should point out that the town I did it in had 1 set of traffic lights and 2 roundabouts so there wasn't much to go wrong (I still took 2 attempts, mind).

Cheers guys this is great help hopefully going by your averages it should be less than £600 cheers also do any of you know what insurance i should expect as I've already brought a car( it's modded )

It will vary hugely on whether you have access to driving away from the lessons, whether you basically know how to drive and just need to be taught the correct way to do it etc etc.

For me it was 20-25 lessons IIRC to get test ready, with little other driving and from a cold start. I'm a pretty average driver, but a good test-taker 😉 , so that was it done. The test is a nerve-wracker, so dealing with that is half the battle.

jumperalpine - Member
... any of you know what insurance i should expect as I've already brought a car( it's modded )

What sort of modification? Car specs?

I think your insurance will at least be £2.5k if you are lucky ...

Get something standard without modification.

I did 8, but only coz I paid in advance for them in a block. Didn't have car to practice in. Passed first time. Anyone with a few years of urban cycling should find it a piece of piss IMO.

also do any of you know what insurance i should expect as I've already brought a car( it's modded )

Will depend massively on where you live and how it's modded. My first car was a 1 litre Rover Metro with no modifications, still cost me well over a thousand quid a year to insure it

[i]I was wondering how many driving lessons I should take before I do my test[/i]

Part of the 'cost' on your lessons is that your Instructor will advise you when they think you are ready.

I have a black vauxhall corsa twinport 1.2 16v four door with black alloys a speaker system and custom trim kit and high performance exhaust kit any idea of the insurance I can expect annually or preferably monthly cheers

How many lessons ? Enough for you to be able to drive without any instruction.

Could be anything from 20 - 45 hours ( not lessons as some are 2 hours......)

I'm a Driving Instructor and I send my Students to test when I can just sit next to them and pretend to be a Sat Nav literally saying left, right etc. Quickest I've had is 3 hours ( ex car thief ) longest 105 hours ( gobby 17 year old girl who thought the world owed her something )

My average is about 35 - 40 hours from complete beginner.

Oh and if you want cheap insurance, sell that Corsa 😉

I paid too much for the corsa and have invested a lot of time energy and money into it and insurance is only £2200 because I have recaro race seats with chest harnesses and I also have a lot of safety features installed so this lowers the insurance because it's safer than most normal cars

I have a black vauxhall corsa twinport 1.2 16v four door with black alloys a speaker system and custom trim kit and high performance exhaust kit any idea of the insurance I can expect annually or preferably monthly cheers

1) learn to punctuate
2) get some quotes, we're not here to do your homework. It'll depend on factors like where you live, mileage etc. I'd expect £300 a month +

because I have recaro race seats with chest harnesses and I also have a lot of safety features installed so this lowers the insurance because it's safer than most normal cars

That doesn't help the occupants of the other car you're statistically very likely to hit.

Also I don't mind about the price of the insurance i earn plenty of money as I'm a carpenter/bench joiner and i work at a well renowned cycling shop which both have good pay

I stand corrected then mate, are all the mods declared ? What area are you in ? I'm in Bolton and insurance for Corsas round here is £4-5 k

Also I don't mind about the price of the insurance i earn plenty of money as I'm a carpenter/bench joiner and i work at a well renowned cycling shop which both have good pay

Why ask then?

This entire thread seems to happening on fast forward. You asked what we thought it would cost, then had a quote, now don't care. In 15 minutes.

Njee I can punctuate I have a A in English language and literature I was simply writing in a quick way as this is a forum and not a formal letter or English exam perhaps I should do some homework for you, because clearly your suffering from a learning difficulty if you really think think in gonna pay £3600 insurance a year (that's 12 x 300 ) in case your brains working a bit slow why don't you grow a brain, use it and say something useful why not take some tips from the other guys on this post as they've got the idea. I suppose it probably doesn't help you were born a half developed foetus #Dont talk s*** on my post

... because I have recaro race seats with chest harnesses and I also have a lot of safety features installed so this lowers the insurance because it's safer than most normal cars

Yeah... that's not how it works unfortunately.

Regardless if the seats/harnesses etc are actually safer or not an insurance company will see them as aftermarket modifications and increase your premium accordingly. You want to see your insurance triple? Try fitting a roll cage!

From my own experience it was somewhere around 30hours. I spoke to my instructor about it. No previous driving experience but years of cycling on the road meant I had some good road sense.

My instructor arranged a mock test with his colleague. Very helpful.

You should take your test when you are able to drive, not when you are able to pass your test imo.

Is pass plus still going. That dropped my first year insurance by more than the cost of the extra lessons. Also meant I had some instruction on motorways, country roads, bad weather etc.

I didn't say I don't care I actually wanted to get an idea anyway if your not gonna say something useful why even post on here

Try fitting a roll cage!

They use statistics to calculate premiums. I've never felt the need for a roll cage.People who fit roll cages, probably feel they need one - maybe it has something to do with the way they drive? 🙂

I have declared all mods btw and the seats aren't extra so long as they are designed for that car and they comply with certain safety standards

I did 20 hours, failed two tests and then gave it up for 2 years as I moved abroad. Started again, another 10 lessons, another failed test, and then a similar number before passing.

It was really the test that became a bit of a bogey man, I was fine driving way before I actually managed to pass. Having the instructor sit in the back (didn't know you could do this!) on the one I passed helped calm me down a bit and relax in to it

I have a A in English language

There is no hope.

You seem a charming fellow, very quick on the insults there. A chavvy Corsa sounds like the perfect vehicle for you! If you can insure it having just passed your test, all mods declared, for £2200 then you're doing very well indeed.

Or where they drive it... race/track cars also need to be insured 😉

A cage in a road car would probably result in severe head injuries if involved in any sort of crash due to lack of crash helmets.

Oh God, an angry (rich) disillusioned yoof who has wandered into the IT crowd for advice.
This isn't going to end well....

I did actually get an A in both English language and Literature and I am not a chav i despise them and spit on them u simply like to have a fast car that looks nice do you have a problem with that and those weren't insults they were facts it's as simple as that also you don't have to be Shakespeare to figure that nobody wants you here you simply an irritating noise in my ear trying to be witty here's some advice why don't you, log out , close the open tab , close your computer down a go get a brain surgeon to look at your head - directed at njer

simply like to have a fast car that looks nice

Why did you buy a 1.2 corsa then? 😉

Tiny bits you can't talk about nothing by your user name alone call me rich if you like i simply just did well for myself i Learnt a profitable trade and took opportunity and succeeded more than you and I'd hardly call this an IT crowed your much like myself you just have a rather pessimist view on the end of this post

It's the fastest car I could get as an ideal starter and after the mods it goes quicker than the latest model it would probably beat about 70% of people's first cars tbh

Wow.

Wow.

Oh sorry i forgot its njee not njer does it look like i care (I don't ) clearly you need some ice as you are suffering from severe verbal burns in fact I'm starting to find you just as annoying as 29ers

I like you. Been a while since someone like you frequented this place. I look forward to many entertaining threads.

I don't think you need a licence or insurance. You are awesome....

Btw you do realise the purpose of this post was to stir some Banter i feel many people have forgotten the true meaning of cycling and that is giving Banter to one another

[i]the true meaning of cycling and that is giving Banter to one another[/i]

I thought it meant riding my bicycle but I may now consider myself enlightened.

I don't think there is any problem with getting fast car or to get your car look nice as you like it, so long as you drive safely and can afford their premium.

If money is no objection then you will be looking in excess of £2.5k (I think you might find your cheapest insurance quote in excess of £4k with those modifications) but you will definitely get some silly quotes from insurance companies. Bear in mind insurance companies will factor in all the possibilities they can think of that will go wrong with a modified car. Hence, they will likely be charging you a lot even for a small modified car.

Now, I have a boring Toyota Corolla 1.6 auto gear and I paid nearly £2k- 2.5k for my insurance in my first year. I wanted some after market suspensions but was told my insurance premium would go up if they were none standard items ... so I gave up on that idea for now.

😀

It is to multitask by cycling and dishing out banter if you read the fine print I did say it included riding a bike i just used a really small font

Cheers chewke finally someone who understands this post and is obviously drive safely as if I crashed the car I'd be pretty upset as it cost a fair bit

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I cant resist...

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First the licence. How many lessons will depend on your current standard, any bad habits, how fast you learn and how good your instructor is. I would aim to learn to dive to a reasonable/safe standard, not just learn to pass the test.

Find yourself a good instructor and book a 2 hour session with him/her. That should give them some idea of the above and they should then be able to advise on how many lessons they think you'll need.

As for the insurance, you have not mentioned your age (unless I missed that), which will be relevant. The fact that you picked a car that is modified and designed to go fast is something insurance companies don't like, especially as you are a young and inexperienced driver. To be honest, it's something your fellow drivers won't like either! Sadly young, inexperienced drivers (especially males) are the ones most likely to crash and couse others serious injuries or worse. That's why your insurance will be very expensive......

Why get a car to drive fast if you can't go over the speed limit anyway? Do you take it on track days? Maybe I just don't get it (but then I do drive the worlds un coolest, but most usefull and cheap car, an old Vauxhall zafira).

Can't comment on your use of the English language as I am Dutch, so what do I know....

jumperalpine - Member

it would probably beat about 70% of people's first cars tbh

My first car could probably tow yours faster than it can go under its own steam 😆 But who cares? It's good to have something you love, I was the same with my bike. Which wasn't that fast, for a bike, but it was a labour of love.

(insurance-wise, if you have the original parts it'll quite likely make sense to put some back on, the exhaust'll probably be making bugger all difference to performance, might even be impairing it if it's not well designed and if the car's not tuned to use it, but it'll definitely tick a box on the "charge this dude extra" list. Not so much because of the reality but more because of what it says about the owner- I want to go fast and make a noise. Most modern cars have decent standard exhausts. And nobody in the world ever needed a faster car the day they passed their test)

Lessons, it took me IIRC 10 but I had road experience. There's absolutely no way to know. Your instructor will be able to give some advice after a lesson or two.

BSM have driving simulators in some of their offices which is a cheaper and stress free way of learning some of the basics. Not totally sure i recommend it- it's all a bit weird- but I guess it was useful for me as I didn't have to waste any time pissing about in an actual car. They were terrible as a school mind

Can't comment on your use of the English language as I am Dutch, so what do I know....

Btw you do realise the purpose of this post was to stir some Banter i feel many people have forgotten the true meaning of cycling and that is giving Banter to one another

I thought banter was banned.

Pass Plus is still going but I've not done one for about 18 months as I don't really push them and everyone promises to get in touch to do it then they get a car and never go head with Pass Plus.

BSM have driving simulators in some of their offices which is a cheaper and stress free way of learning some of the basics. Not totally sure i recommend it- it's all a bit weird- but I guess it was useful for me as I didn't have to waste any time pissing about in an actual car. They were terrible as a school mind

I don't think BSM have any Offices anymore, at least near Me they don't.

Well this has gone all sensible again! I was hoping for more "banter". I originally thought troll, then I thought nah.. He will be full of awesomeness being so young, educated and rich. Hasn't posted for a while so I assume he is out spitting on chavs or fitting a boom box in his boot so he can get some tunes pumping!

I like you. Been a while since someone like you frequented this place. I look forward to many entertaining threads.

At least Kaesae and Surf-Mat were literate. Njee hit the nail on the head, its like reading the forum at 2.0x speed. I feel exhausted just reading his comments, not to mention trying to ignore the spelling and grammar atrocities.

I passed in 11 lessons but then, I am awesome.

Joking aside, I would ignore how many lessons and focus on the number of hours on the road. I had 1 lesson a week but then made sure I drove lots with my parents. If they were going to the shops, I drove them, if I needed to go somewhere, I drove and got dropped off, I drove every day from my 17th birthday to the day I passed my test. This meant I got a huge amount of time on the road and so was much more road aware than my peers who just had the lesson and no other time on the road.

And

true meaning of cycling and that is giving Banter to one anothe

[i]Btw you do realise the purpose of this post was to stir some Banter i feel many people have forgotten the true meaning of cycling and that is giving Banter to one another[/i]

Ok if that is so, I'll add in that I only had six lessons before passing my car test (did my m/c the same week too) at 17 y/o. No other driving either. Beat that 😈

And based on what my eldest two have paid (in the North) for their insurance, if you declare all mods you'll be looking at +£2500.

Jumperalpine, you do realise Njee used to work in insurance industry, is well articulate and polite man.
As you mentioned cycling, hell he would humiliate you on his racy 29er and you will end up in tatters with your smashed ego to see his smug MAMIL face.

Don't you start, cheesy young man.

Given your obvious talent for listening to advice and taking it on board, I don't think you'll need more than half a dozen lessons. 🙂

You should have one of those black boxes put in your car, that will bring down the cost of your insurance when they see you're not ragging it around beating people off the lights.

A student, well-paid bench joiner and bike mechanic. This country needs more articulate and hard-working [s]trolls[/s] men such as yourself.

...ragging it around beating people off the lights

Did you miss the bit about it being a 1.2 Corsa? 😉

This thread is moronic, thankz cardigan you highly paid carpenter you! 😉 (who lives with his mum). Chavtastic!

Does it really take 20+ lessons?

I just passed my theory test (for the 2nd time) yesterday. I drove in the UK for a year before that on an international license (5 years ago). Moving to London meant I didn't need a car. Moving out of London I now need to start driving again.

I drove for years in another country and can drive, but 20+ lessons even with practice seems like loads.

But it has a loud exhaust and it is slammed innit!

Did you miss the bit about it being a 1.2 Corsa?

It has Recaro seats and skirts for extra aero. It has to be a seriously fast bit of machinery.

Driving tests now are very different to how they were 10 or more years ago. The folk above talking about 8-12 lessons should also include what year (/decade) they're on about. You just can't do ten lessons and pass these days.

I did 12 and passed in '99 at 18yo. First car bought for £320 on the night I passed, a shite Uno.insurance was 700quid. Sold a week later then I bought an astra.

I paid for all my lessons, test, insurance, car etc myself off a highly paid summer binman job.

i cant stop myself...

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Does your ground have neon lights underneath it to make it extra rad?

I did an intensive course to pass my test, I had some practice in my dad's car for a few months then had an hour every day for a week and a half.. Started on the Monday and was passed by the following Thursday. That was 15 years ago mind u.

I had a Nova 1.2 diamond (with electric windows don't u know). Cost me £1200 to insure, these days I pay less then £250. Marvellous!

I do wonder where this lad is a bench joiner. I employ a fair few of them, it would be amusing if I found one of mine posting here......

Jumperalpine, you do realise Njee used to work in insurance industry

I still do, but I try and keep that quiet 😉

Anyway, I'm glad we've ascertained it's all just banter, jumperalpine you're clearly the Bantersaurus Rex.

Driving tests now are very different to how they were 10 or more years ago

That's correct.

A lot of my Students Parents haven't got a clue what's involved in the modern test.

In 1999, they were made a bit longer, they now take roughly 37 mins. Around 2010, they introduced Independent Driving were the Student has to follow Traffic Signs or a pre planned diagram for 10 mins instead of the usual " turn left, turn right " as a result they only do 1 reversing exercise.

The Car Safety questions are easy but does add to the stress for some students.

Students passing these Days are a lot more Independent in their decisions than I was when I passed 20 years ago.

What happens if you get lost during the independent driving? Is it an automatic fail?

I like this new guy by the way. Bet he can ride better than me too. But that doesn't take much. Welcome jumperalpine!

1997, about 10 lessons though could have gone earlier, drove loads on the farm before getting out on the road.
and modded corsa young new driver massive tick in every box on the accumulator to give a grand total of more than the car is worth, that is before they have a read of this thread 🙂

One of the worst things about Ozzie roads is it seems insurance isn't a deter ant to getting stupid cars, the number of young kids with overpowered RWD utes that skip out at the slightest opportunity is a recipe for disaster. If you want to pick the best car for a new driver think along the lines of what your gran drives.

Another way to look at things is that insurance is ‘dead money’. Even if you’re able to afford the premiums, paying around £4.5k (I have no idea if that’s a realistic figure) might be difficult to justify if you think of what else you’d be able to spend that money on. Of course, you’d have to look at the differential between your Corsa and a car which was cheap to insure to determine what the Corsa might actually cost. However, it’s likely to be significantly higher, and you may decide that it would be better spent on something else. For example, you could buy and maintain a decent mountain bike with the difference. Alternatively, you could save up the money and buy a really nice car after three years, by which time your insurance premiums would be lower, especially if you’d managed to build up a No Claims Bonus.

Also, you may find that some insurance companies will offer discounts if you have taken some additional driver training after passing your driving test. I’m vague on that, but perhaps if you pass the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ test you would qualify for cheaper premiums. In any case, courses are probably worthwhile in themselves. The standard driving test ensures you’re fairly competent, but it doesn’t really teach you to think ahead, or how to drive quickly and safely under different conditions.

I didn’t require too many lessons when I sat my test. However, I was 19, and had been riding mopeds and motorbikes since I was 16, so I had some road sense. I was also able to have a few goes in my parents’ car. The main thing which caused me problems was learning to turn the steering wheel! I initially was under the illusion that you just had to move it slightly up or down in order to make a turn, but once I’d sailed across a few junctions I started to get the hang of it! The other thing which took some learning was that some manoeuvres required extremely low speed – it felt like the world had stopped compared with a motorbike, but it’s necessary when driving a car.

I’d applied for my test, but was taking college exams until the tail end of the week before my driving test. I ended up phoning a driving instructor on the Thursday and asking if he get me ready for my test on the following Tuesday. I think I had 3 lessons. However, as I say, I already had some road sense, and I did have a basic grasp of driving – it was the manoeuvres and driving in town which I needed to learn.

I thought I’d failed my test as I had a few problems during it, including trying to do the hill start in 3rd gear, and then running out of road trying to select 3rd gear on the emergency stop exercise. My instructor’s car, in which I sat the test, was an old Fiat, and it had a terrible gearbox and barely-functioning handbrake. However, the examiner must have been happy that I recovered from the mishaps safely. After passing the test I didn’t drive a car for months, and when I next did drive, it turned out to be quite an experience!

Driving tests now are very different to how they were 10 or more years ago

20 years maybe, don't think they've really changed in 10 years, aside from the 'follow directions' driving, which I think is less stressful anyway.

I passed in 2004 (forget how many lessons, about 15 I think), my 'technical' questions were "can you please demonstrate use of the horn" and "show me where to open the bonnet".

About to top the story!!!!! I bought a car, insured it, and drove with the mrs in the passenger seat, for about 300 miles over two months. then took my test and passed! Only just, but still passed. I was very chuffed i passed with no propper lessons, but then again I had been riding a motorbike for 11 years, so knew how to use the road etc..

Seriously though, 9 months later and I'm only just feeling like a decent driver who can operate a car as well as I can motorbike. You hear a lot of horror stories about the test, but It's actually quite easy if you're prepared. I studied this site -

http://www.drivingtesttips.biz/driving-test-tips.html

And just did what it said.

As for insurance, see if you can talk someone (with loads of no claims) into being a named driver?

did my test this year (at 34) and chatting to mates who did theirs in the late 90s and early 2000's the consensus seems to be that it's a lot more picky these days. My instructor's wife was even failed for not driving in a bus lane outside its hours of operation.

I was learning in the worst city for congestion in the country and it took me 30-odd lessons. Although part of that was during the 4-month driving test waiting list...

As for insurance, see if you can talk someone into being a named driver?

Adding your parents or other low risk drivers is sensible (they don't actually ever have to drive the car after all). Even now at 28 I bring down the cost of ms njee20's insurance (she's also 28) as I have no claims on a higher insurance group car. Insuring the car in someone else's name and adding yourself as a named driver is illegal, and stupid. I realise you weren't advocating that, but worth spelling it out for anyone hard of thinking...

My instructor's wife was even failed for not driving in a bus lane outside its hours of operation.

Same happened to a friend of mine, ridiculous. Another failed after being undertaken at a junction - LH lane was left turn, RH lane was straight on, he was in the RH lane, someone came up the left and cut in, he failed for not keeping up with the cars in front. Seemed hideously unjust as I suspect accelerating harder would've been met with equally raised eyebrows!

Couple of words of advice OP:

1). Don't ask for advice and then rubbish it because it goes against your views. If you don't like it just ignore it
2). Don't talk about money. Not only does talking about how much money you have make you look like a show-off it also makes you look like a prize dickhead as there are quite a few people on here obviously with six-figure incomes or private means. In comparison as a joiner you will earn peanuts...
3). The 'banter' defence doesn't work. Also 'banter' is funny - you haven't been intentionally humorous

Hope that helps.

Just thought I'd add to my post... This is the absolute worst time you could ever try to enhance the performance of the car. Partly because it'll bum you for insurance, and partly because the extra performance is pretty useless at this level

But also, because it means it's not so easy to do it later- if you start out standard, you can add performance later to keep it interesting, if you start up upgraded (er, in theory) that's harder and more expensive to do. You've not known the car as standard so your "upgrade" has become your "standard" essentially and you'll not really feel the (perceived, possibly nonexistant) benefit

Tuning and performance is hardly ever about absolutes unless you're racing or a dyno queen, it's about relative increases based on what you're used to. Especially with a car that'll run a quarter mile in about 20 seconds at 70mph. Modding a car's about evolution and growing with you not about trying to make it "perfect" on day 1, that's for trailer cars.

Keep it standard for a couple of years then jam an extra litre and a turbo in it.

Sorry, but I cant help thinking that the OP (who only joined 4 days ago) is either markdatz mk.2 / alter ego of an existing member or just a troll.

Fred's latest incarnation was banned about a month ago, but he's generally very literate...

You hear a lot of horror stories about the test, but It's actually quite easy if you're prepared.

I think the biggest thing you can have on your side is good luck. If someone does something completely daft whilst you're on your test it's almost always going to give the tester something to think about - even if it's just because it puts them on edge.

Also, as I posted in the thread about speeding there are some strange pressures involved in the driving test which seem to me to be misplaced priorities.

I got a minor on my test for doing 25 in a 30 - near a school, about 8.30, kids all over, cars parked on both sides of the road, lots of traffic - it was considered to be undue hesitation. I got another for waiting behind a cyclist rather than overtaking where I could only have left about 3 feet of space. The driving test's priorities are a bit messed up.

If I were driving through the busy area now, not on test, I'd probably actually go slower than I did because I would be less concerned about "making progress" than I was on my test.

OP's actual car:

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😉