To point out the practicalities to ds

[KeepTryingToGetItRight]

Ds is turning 17 this year. He wants a car. He seems to think that he will be able to start driving with 800 quid. I've told him that yes, a car will be achieveable with 800 quid, but the insurance...oh dear, the insurance! Then there's the lessons, the theory, the practical, etc!

He thinks I'm just trying to rain on his parade, and I'm just too practical. But surely he needs to understand that he can't just pitch up at a dearlership or someone's house and drive off!

My very mentioning this (as gently as possible) is me just being negative!

I want him to learn to drive, it would make my life considerably easier, we live fairly rurally. I have a vague idea that the insurance is going to cost about £200 a month. I don't have that. He will be earning enough with his apprenticeship, which starts in April, but he has to pay me some board and lodge, and contribute to the council tax.

It's all quite depressing really, I hate to be so practical, but someone needs to be!

Am I just being mean?!

I think insurance for a learner on their own car is more expensive than for a learner on someone else's car. We found it really hard to get insurance for DS on his own car, which he needed in order to get the necessary adaptations in order to drive at all.

@User373433 he has about 1100 in his CTF, I'd forgotten about that.

Can you skip the boarding and lodging to help him get on the road? My parents taught me back in the 00's hours of driving round but saved a fortune. My first car was 3k it is now 9k for the same age car. Could you go down the multi car policy route for insurance?

Although I'm old now, I passed after 10 lessons with no practice a month after my 17th birthday. My parents bought me an extremely old and rusty car for about £50, then I spent £800 I had saved on insurance!

Just be clear what you can contribute and what your expectation is re first priority contribution to rent/council tax once he starts earning. He’ll soon find out how expensive it is. We bought DS 10 lessons for his birthday at £35/hr and I think he’ll need 20 to be test ready. A 10 yr old 60k mileage 1 litre car was £3k - price of secondhand cars is ridiculous and he won’t get anything for £800 that isn’t a money pit death trap. The other restricting factor is waiting time for practical tests - could you support him to do theory test by buying the DVSA app and paying for test as a birthday gift then if he’s lucky he can book a practical test 6 months later. You can use a paid app to get practical test cancellation slots once you are in the system. Insurance for learning with marmalade is £1.50/2 a day depending how long you purchase (to practice in their own car) but once they pass it’s ridiculous. It would be good for him to start learning even if he can’t afford to run a car once he passes.

Can he access that before he is 18?

I can't possibly skip the board and lodge, harsh as that may sound! When he starts his apprenticeship I will lose his child benefit, and no longer be classed as a single adult household for Council Tax purposes. Plus I will lose the tiny amount of housing benefit I'm on and my tax credits will go down. He will still want feeding, and ferrying about.
I think paying for his Theory test for his birthday is a good idea.
He can't get to his CTF until he's 18. I will encourage him to top it up for the next year. THEN look at buying a car. Just 200 quid a month on top of what's already there will help hugely.

These prices are eye watering! My own DS is 21 and does not want to learn - he has autism and is crap at driving games on his PS so thinks it not worth doing!
I have explained at length it not the same If you ever need a sniper he is your man though.
I had my first driving lesson on my 17th bday as I was obsessed with driving- It was my birthday present and my mum agreed to pay for 20 lessons at £6 each. I passed after 17.
The insurance these days especially for young men is unreal as is the cost of the lessons- good luck to him but he is due a rude awakening. I didn't have my own car until 25 ish though but was a named driver on my parents car. I'm sure they only did that so I could pick them up from the airport or pub! Which I did happily as I had the use of the car most evenings and all the time when they were away.

OP rural areas are much, much easier to pass in due to the lack of traffic and limited test routes. He might be able to pass with a small number of lessons.
I wouldn't advise buying a car unless it becomes apparent that he needs a LOT more practice. I'm assuming you will be the supervising adult?

You can find lots of advice and even test routes on YouTube these days.. DGN and Conquer Driving are two I really like.

You don't have to 'tell# him anything. Just get him to research and come up with a plan