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How many lessons does it take to learn to drive?

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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Rachael wrote: »
    Not sure for definite but I just assumed it's because it takes less time to learn in an automatic so I guess the driving school will want to make as much cash out of you before you pass.


    i think its because there is very little need for autos compaired to manuels, and they still have the same costs, so u end up paying more, seems fair really
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think its fair at all.

    The cost of learning to drive is way to high.

    Then you have to pay for you rtheory test and your practical probably more then once, then buy your car, MOT, insurance, brekdwon service and fuel.

    I think the demand for auto and manuel learning is probably equal so I doubt its a demand issue.

    I think they are just greedy.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Far more people learn in autos than they do in manuals, the cars probably won't get as much use but will have very similar costs hence the slight increase.

    Learning to drive seems expensive but that's what it costs, think about the price of fuel, the costs of maintaining a car, and then imagine insurance costs. Then, remember your instructor has to earn a decent living wage.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had 44 driving school lessons plus about 60 hours of practice with my Dad. I passed first time though, but learning how to reverse round a corner took me at least 20 hours of lessons.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think you can really put a number on the lessons needed to learn how to drive. There are so many variables- how good your instructor is, how quick you learn, how frequent your lessons are, how much private practice you have, how much coordination you have...or don't...

    I've never been so bad at anything when I started :blush: but I got there in the end and been driving almost every day since I passed without any mishaps.

    The fact that you can't really put a number on the lessons makes it hard to budget for them but you could always take a few just to see how you find it. It is a skill for life though which is important. :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I wonder if I'll still have my driving lesson seeing as it's snowing heavily. Gosh....
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it would take less time to learn in an automatic, therefore you could need less lessons. I would have needed less to learn in an auto because I struggled to get to grips with the gears. It took me a whole lesson to understand what the clutch was! At one point he asked me 'now when do we put the clutch down?' and I replied 'when you tell me to' because I honestly didn't have a clue! But for some people getting to grips with handling a car might be easy, but learning to drive on the road is the challange for them - so there wouldn't be much difference between an auto and a manual

    I don't think all driving instructors are out to get as much money as they can from you. My instructor was very understanding that I didn't have much money and he helped me to work out a plan where I'd learn as much as I need to with as little lessons as possible. Turned out I failed because I took my test before I was ready, but he never gave me more lessons than I needed, it was the opposite way round
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    I wonder if I'll still have my driving lesson seeing as it's snowing heavily. Gosh....

    i wondered this too

    was praying for the "cancel" phone call

    it never came, i had to drive in the snow :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Littleali wrote: »
    i wondered this too

    was praying for the "cancel" phone call

    it never came, i had to drive in the snow :(

    At least you got to practice driving in the snow with someone competent teaching you what to do. It's good to know.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Where can i find an instructor liek that Kangoo??
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    kangoo wrote: »
    At one point he asked me 'now when do we put the clutch down?' and I replied 'when you tell me to' because I honestly didn't have a clue!

    Hehe, that sounds like something I'd say! :blush:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My instructor had me drive to the pharmacist so he could pick up some indigestion tablets today.

    But then I did a flawless three point turn, so all was well :). I'm so good, seriously. :cool: [/bighead]

    Sorry about that :p I always get an adrenaline high after lessons, because I'm scared :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Doomsday wrote: »
    Where can i find an instructor liek that Kangoo??

    Cardiff :p He was awesome though, and lessons worked out about £14 an hour because I'm a student and bought in blocks. Still cost me a bloody fortune though
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Learning to drive is so much fun, lol!! I recently passed my test there and I miss my instructor like mad, he was so hilarious, and we were such gossips...he ruled!! :) I had quite a few lessons, but I passed my test with 5 or 6 minors so it all paid off in the end! :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Automatic cars tend to be more expensive to buy, more expensive to run, and more likely to require expensive repairs than most manual-gearboxes. Plus most people want to learn to drive a manual, so it takes longer to turn a profit from the purchase of an automatic.

    As for how many lessons you'll need - it really does depend on whether you have any natural ability or not, how good your instructor is, and how lucky you are on the day of your test. I ended up having around 20 lessons, as I changed instructor 3 times, then they closed my local test-centre. I reckon if I'd gone with my final instructor from the start, and had the test-centre not been closed-down, I'd have needed 8-12 lessons.

    Read the highway code, pay lots of attention to anyone you consider to be a 'good' driver - watch how they operate, the things they do without thinking, and the things which require much concentration - try to take-on their good habits but ignore the bad ones.

    Get used to the noise of the car at certain speeds - it'll stop you from watching the speedometer every other second.

    Forget driving schools. Find someone who has recently learnt to drive and go by personal recommendation. Don't be in a rush - accept that you need to learn to drive, and to do-so properly as it'll work out cheaper overall than going for your test too early and failing.

    :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Randomgirl wrote: »
    I had 44 driving school lessons plus about 60 hours of practice with my Dad. I passed first time though, but learning how to reverse round a corner took me at least 20 hours of lessons.

    It took me a long long time to crack reversing round corners, I only really got it with my second instructor.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It took me a long long time to crack reversing round corners, I only really got it with my second instructor.

    I still bollocks that up, luckily I didn't get it on my test. I just don't plan on reversing round any corners (well). I had to do a parallel park on a speed bump though :grump:
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