Driving Lessons

[HamsterWheel23]

My dc has just started lessons with a lovely driving instructor at £35 per hour. But after a few lessons they've just said it's going up to £40 per hour. I just wondered who else is getting a 14% payrise at the moment! 🙄 Is this really the going rate?

Probably reflects fuel, insurance etc costs. The guy's got to make a living after all...

Yes this is the going rate. Mabye he's held back increasing for a couple of years and has now gone for it. I've do the accounts for a couple of driving instructors and their expenses are high, they are not rolling it in and secret millionaires!

£40 an hour seems to be the rate here in Hampshire I'm afraid.

It's not really a payrise when you take in account how much fuel & insurance costs nowadays.
If you don't like it, insure them on your car and you teach them?

Ok thanks for the replies. Sounds like it's about right then.

7 years ago was £28/hour, fuel and insurance both gone up massively.

£40 per hour is the going rate here, I'm afraid. (Midlands).

Have a look at fuel costs, insurance costs, vehicle costs, and then work out how much of that £40 the instructor takes home as profit. I think you'd be surprised.

It's hardly a payrise.

My insurance has gone up over 50% this year (no changes, decades of experience), and I'm not a driving instructor.
Add in cost of fuel, and their margins must be quite tight.

I just wondered who else is getting a 14% payrise at the moment! 🙄

Me too, but I can tell you for sure it isn't the driving instructor; but you surely didn't think they earn the cost of the lesson?

Err no of course not. I get insurance has gone up, but that's a one-off cost and probably a small part of their overall costs. I should imagine wear and tear on the car and petrol/diesel are the main expenses and actually the price at the pump is less than it was a year ago.

I'm currently learning and it's £40 per hour, or slightly less if you do an upfront block booking of 10 lessons.
We're based down south so I think they're charging a fair rate

I’m paying £30 per hour in the NE, but they do two hour lessons. Seems to be the standard cost for all the instructors around here.
It’s also really difficult to get an instructor, they’re all really busy with waiting lists.

My dds have just gone up to £37 ph, I think it's really expensive tbh. That said she's been working PT since she was 16yo and is paying for them herself.

Blimey, I thought DS's lessons were expensive. I pay £66 per two hour lesson as I book five two hour lessons in a block. Otherwise it would be £68 per two hour lesson.

That does seem steep. Dc1 passed in March, their lessons were £35 an hour or 10 hours for £300. We started taking them out after 4 hours of lessons once the instructor gave us the go ahead so they got plenty of practice in between lessons.

I’m paying £40 p/h in East Anglia

My DD is paying £75 for a 2 hour lesson in London. I think that she has a slight discount as has done a block booking

Thanks everyone. We haven't been given the option of block booking lessons but I might ask to see if that saves a bit.
I do feel that the instructor could have warned me that their prices were going up within a few weeks when I initially enquired about lessons. I decided not to go with other instructors as they were charging £40 but had newer cars. Now my dc is comfortable with this instructor they know I'm probably not going to change 🤨 I will do as @Muchtoomuchtodo suggested and get dc out practising with me as much as possible.

It’s the going rate!

I’m finally getting around to learning to drive myself and it’s so expensive. I’ve found it cheaper and more fitting to my lifestyle to buy my own car and have a family member teach me for free. Although this isn’t an option for everyone.

Ds2 has been learning this year and paying £30ph at mates-rates (his instructor plays a team sport with him). His standard is £35 I think, but ds started in Feb so I wouldn't be surprised if it was £40ph now. I know friends have been paying £40ph.

And then when they pass you have to think about insurance!

I pay £75 for two hours in Essex , sadly my instructor doesn’t do hourly lessons.

@funkylittleboatrace ouch! Two hours is quite full on.

2 hour lessons seem to be pretty standard here.
I suppose if you are centre of town you could have 1 hour and get quite a lot of in town driving.
Ds would either get picked up from home and end the lesson at college, or picked up from college and end the lesson at home. Typically 30 mins to get from home to college plus 1h 30 driving around town. As he got more proficient some time on the dual carriageway as well.

DD is paying £38 per lesson or £360 for a block of 10. When I was learning in 1984 the going rate was £7.50 and you didn't have to parallel park or do a theory test!