To think driving lesson prices have reached a ridiculous new level?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Have been learning fairly intensively for the past couple of months while DH was off work (he’s back now) and reached the point of having mock tests etc. Was originally paying £80 per 2 hour lesson- instructor didn’t offer block booking discounts.

However, no tests are available in my area for months and months - I’m lucky that via an app I managed to get a cancellation slot, but it’s not til the beginning of September (and I booked that in April!)

Practice opportunities are going to be pretty thin on the ground now DH is back at work, there’s not enough time between him finishing and the DC’s dinner/bath/bed etc to go out during the week, so I’m limited to weekends to practice.

In order to keep myself at test level I really need to keep having lessons, however my instructor has now upped the rate to £90 per two hour lesson. There is a £20 discount if you block book 10 hours, however that’s still £30 more than I was being charged previously. I simply can’t afford to pay to keep having lessons at that rate for next three months, but if I don’t have lessons and end up failing then there’s going to be another ridiculous wait for a test during which time I’ll need more lessons, and it becomes a vicious cycle.

OUCH, that's a lot! It wouldn't be quite so bad, if you knew you could take say, 20 lessons, then one test, then you're a driver. But like with vet bills and car repairs, it's a limitless amount. (ie, you don't know how many 100s - or even 1000s, you could end up paying out.)

It's such a difficult thing to do, learning to drive (for many people anyway.)

Hope you pass soon @AngeloMysterioso

I appreciate your situation. How many more lessons do you think you need or has your instructor said how many more they think you need? It could possibly be cheaper to do a crash course (different intensity and hours depending on experience so different prices for each level). I don't have children so not sure how childcare works e.g if you need to book nursery in advance. If for example you booked a one week crash course, it could end up being cheaper than paying for lessons from your instructor and the money you save could go towards childcare. Sorry I'm not much help

I do wonder if given the backlog there should be no more new provisional licences issued for the time being. Not sure how long though.

175.9p, cost me 1.40 a few months ago.

Ouch OP that sounds expensive. My DD passed her test last summer and I paid £42 for 1 1/2 hours, we are also on the Kent/East Sussex border.

I’m £35 an hour op. Test is in 2 weeks (feel sick writing that!) cannot possibly add an extra lesson on a week, barely financially coping with 1 lesson a week. So very much understand your frustration! I started off at £30 an hour last year 😭

I was paying £300 for 10 lessons until dd passed recently .. that's West Sussex ..
I think there is a shortage of instructors with availability but that's too much!

Driving lessons are an absolute ridiculous price.Yes I know there's the cost of the car, fuel and they are self employed but they are taking the piss with the prices now. It's greedy.

Driving lessons are an absolute ridiculous price.Yes I know there's the cost of the car, fuel and they are self employed but they are taking the piss with the prices now. It's greedy.

Yes I'm sure you'd work for next to no profit. Which means no income after everything that had to be paid has been. Very greedy.

@OwlinaTree instructors can't just pick up their next customer and get that person to drive the previous customer back to their own start point. Not only is no customer going to want an additional 15-30 minutes after the lesson being driven back to their start point, they are definitely not going to want to be driven by another learner.

This happened with one of my instructors if you were fairly nearby.

They're not supposed to do it anymore @OwlinaTree. None of the instructors DH knows does it these days - safety reasons, GDPR, insurance etc. They can get into trouble with the DVLA if someone complains.

Yeah, this was like over 20 years ago!

Supply and demand just like it is for everything else you buy . You can't find a driving instructor here, so you could argue they're not charging enough.

Can you find a friend who would go out with you, if you're pretty much test-ready? Even if you can't have the car until DH is back from work, perhaps you can go out for a drive with a friend while he sorts the children. (Perhaps you can find a friend who would be delighted to have an excuse to leave their DH to do bedtime.)

im only paying 30 and have been since January

im south wales,uk

That seems vvv cheap. Glad I'm nit a driving instructor..how they make any money

I'm on the fence to be honest.

I learnt 18 years ago with BSM and it was £20 an hour then.

That said, there were no issues booking a test then so it wasn't dragged out longer than it needed to be like it is now☹ my sixth formers (I'm a teacher) have learnt over the last year or so and I know they waited a long time for tests.

I feel for people who can't get a test booked and then have to keep having lessons.

I paid £14 an hour in 2000!

I am teaching 2 Dc to drive at the minute. They will just have a handful of ,lessons before the test. DB did the same with his 4 kids and saved a fortune

My ds1 passed his test 2 weeks ago after 5 months of lessons every week. They were £70 for 2 hours at first but went up to £75 for 2 hours. It's really pricey and I'm so glad he passed first time!

My DD is paying £35 an hour, London. We don’t have a car, so all her lessons will have to be with an instructor. My other DD also learnt the same way last year.

Lots of people not understanding how self employment works. Supply and demand - if people want lessons and there is not the supply of instructors, it's a seller's market.

I am teaching 2 Dc to drive at the minute. They will just have a handful of ,lessons before the test. DB did the same with his 4 kids and saved a fortune

Make sure you're teaching them the stuff that is in the updated test with the different manoeuvres & show me / tell me questions. There's absolutely nothing wrong with parents teaching their children and it can be a huge saving - just DH has had a couple of pupils whose parents have taught them and a lot of stuff they've been told / taught is out of date. It's really easy to check online. 😊

It’s extortionate and it’s hampering social mobility. The poor can’t afford driving lessons so they either learn very slowly or can’t learn at all. Which restricts their access to jobs, particularly jobs in wealthier areas that they’d have to drive to. Meanwhile those who are rich enough to own family cars can practise as many hours as they want, pass easily, and drive to well paid jobs.