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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Does it matter which car you take lessons in?

31 replies

hastingsmua1 · 04/03/2019 14:49

Person A is paying for Person B’s driving lessons.

Instructor 1 charges £690 for 30 hours block booking, and £27.50 for standard lessons. Lessons in a new BMW 3 series.

Instructor 2 charges £610 for 30 hours block booking and £22 for a standard lesson. Lessons in a Corsa.

Both instructors charge the same for practical test days and have similar availability.

Person A wants Person B to go for the 2nd instructor, also the individual lessons are cheaper if extra lessons are needed. Person B doesn’t want to due to the type of car used (they plan to buy a car similar to the 3 series) and they want a female instructor which they can only have with Instructor 1.

Who is being reasonable or not?

OP posts:

TheQueef · 04/03/2019 14:52

Do the test in the car you learn in applies but I don't think learning a specific car matters.

TeenTimesTwo · 04/03/2019 14:54

He who pays the piper calls the tune.
(Unless there is a real need for female instructor.)

SpoonBlender · 04/03/2019 14:54

If person B expects to be able to pay for something like a 3-series, they can pay for their own bloody lessons. Or at least the difference. Has B got any real idea of the cost of car ownership, and how fancier cars cost so much more to run/service/lease?

Shadow93 · 04/03/2019 14:57

I don't think it matters tbh if you can drive a car you can drive a car. The difference will probably be to cover the insurance on the more expensive car. YANBU to think that if you can you go with the cheaper lessons. Hope it works itself out

OrchidInTheSun · 04/03/2019 14:58

I'd imagine that if Person B can afford a 3 series, they can pay for their own driving lessons.

On a less flippant note, it's worth driving in as many different cars as possible so that you learn how different cars feel. That way you can hire a car or borrow someone else's in extremis without panicking that you can only drive a Corsa or whatever.

Sparklesocks · 04/03/2019 15:09

I would say the payer should be able to dictate the budget they have for lessons. And learning in a BMW isn’t a necessity, even if they intend to buy that car. It seems a waste to spend money on higher insurance when you don’t need to. It could really add up, especially if the learner needs more lessons than they thought.
A Corsa is a nice car to learn in, and if the learner hasn’t passed yet there’s no guarantee they will buy a BMW, they might find they don’t like it, or it’s too pricey, so it seems a bit frivolous to base your lessons on that. And as others have said you learn to drive generally, not to drive the exact car you learnt in. I would assume most people don’t go on to buy the exact car they learnt in.

Sparklesocks · 04/03/2019 15:10

Also new driver insurance in a Z series will most likely be very high, something to consider.

Handsfull13 · 04/03/2019 15:11

The choice of car shouldn't effect who you choose. Especially if someone else is paying but your second reason is a fair decision maker.
I chose to have a female instructor even though I had to wait a few weeks to start because I didn't want to be alone in a car when a male.
It depends on what is the true reason for choosing the more expensive option. And what the reason is for someone else paying.

HomeMadeMadness · 04/03/2019 15:16

I don't think the type of car needs to be similar to the one they'll eventually get but some cars are easier for learners than others. I would get a single lesson with each and go for the instructor they're most comfortable with. The instructor makes a huge amount of difference.

DisplayPurposesOnly · 04/03/2019 15:17

I think Person A is being slightly unreasonable (if you're giving a gift, give it) and Person B is wrong (to dictate the gift).

Person A is reasonable to only want to pay for the cheaper one (both options give driving lessons after all) but can't force Person B to take that one IF person B is willing to pay the difference.

Person B can't dictate Person A should pay for the more expensive one.

StoneofDestiny · 04/03/2019 15:57

If you can drive a car you can drive any car.
I learned in one model, took text in completely different make of car (without warning of the swap!) and bought another.

Person who pays should choose and if the other person wants to 'upgrade' to a different car/instructor, they should pay the difference (which they can easily afford I imagine if their first car is to be a BMW).

Original poster

hastingsmua1 · 04/03/2019 16:06

Thank you all!

Just out of interest, how much did you pay for your driving lessons? Are the above prices in a normal range?

OP posts:

araiwa · 04/03/2019 16:10

Its not just price that is the reason that most driving instructors tend to use small cars. Easier to drive being the main one

TheQueef · 04/03/2019 16:12

I won't tell you mine Hastings tis a touch out of date

WhatHaveIFound · 04/03/2019 16:24

We're paying £27.50/hr for DD's lessons and she's learning in a BMW 1 Series. There's no way she'll be able to afford a car like that when she passes her test.

PivotPivotPivottt · 04/03/2019 16:30

I pay £26 a lesson learning in a Peugeot!

Person B is being unreasonable. The only thing I think is reasonable is the request for a female instructor if there's a good genuine reason (fear of being alone with a male etc).

Rockbird · 04/03/2019 16:44

A corsa is plenty good enough for a learner driver. But if the learner wants a female instructor then that's a different story.

Eliza9917 · 04/03/2019 17:00

My first lessons at 17 were £14ph!

LunafortJest · 04/03/2019 17:12

I don't know what a corsa is, nor have I heard of people getting lessons in blocks. Where I am it is pay-per-lesson. But it should not matter what car the driving school takes you in. Lessons from my experience (albeit in Australia) are the same regardless of car, and you normally don't get a choice. You either decide you will learn in manual or automatic, and whatever car the instructor meets you with is what you learn in. I can't even remember the makes of cars I learned in, it never occurred to me that it mattered. As long as I passed, I had no clue as to make or model nor cared less, and the school never told you anyway, so who cares. From my memory of learning to drive (in to late 90s) the price was the same regardless, only time it was more expensive is if you were learning to drive a truck or bus. Apart from that, it was uniform no matter what car, make, model, or transmission.

CornishMaid1 · 04/03/2019 17:14

Unless there is a specific need for a female instructor, learn in the Corsa. It is cheaper and to be fair I would be more worried learning in the more expensive car.

The only time it would make a difference is if one car was manual and one was auto or electric as what licence you end up with would be different (if you pass your test with an auto you can't then drive a manual).

My lessons were about £20ph I think, but that was about 18 years ago!

LunafortJest · 04/03/2019 17:15

Also quite a few people chose to learn in family cars or cars that they owned, and the price was the same. It was for tuition. Not for make or model or who owned the car. It was a standard tuition price.

Parly · 04/03/2019 17:30

Learner should foot the extra for learning in the BMW if its that big an issue.

Not a mountain of difference in price but out of principle I would say person A shouldn't pay anything over the max price it would cost if they used the Corsa.

Learner sounds a real cheeky arse and a little too far ahead of herself even more so if she's already planning to buy and drive around in a BMW.

Anyway yeah if the learner is so keen to go for the more expensive option and has certain demands they should pay the difference.

Holidayshopping · 04/03/2019 17:33

Who is the learner who’s going to buy themself a BMW when they pass?! If they can afford that, why aren’t they paying for their own driving lessons?!

GruciusMalfoy · 04/03/2019 17:35

Most people don't learn to drive in the same car they and up buying. It isn't a big deal to get used to a new car.

I was £25 a lesson here. Expensive, but the best thing I've spent my money on.

Holidayshopping · 04/03/2019 17:36

Lessons are £240 for a 10 block course or £25 a lesson here.

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