How much did it cost you to get your 17 year old on the road, and how did you afford it?

[Howsaboutthat]

My eldest turns 17 this year, and is very keen to get out on the road. I've told her she'd better start saving now as I don't have the £4,000 required to get her on the road.

Breakdown of costs:
£2,000 Insurance for Vauxhall corsa, Nissan Micra type car (who insures their 17 year old nowadays?!)
£400 Driving lessons (20 x £20 1 hour lessons)
£100 for driving test and theory test
£250 Road Tax (dependent on car)
£50 MOT
£400 Provision for tyres/work if cheap car
£800 for an old banger (that I'm not too happy about my child being in but costs must)

AIBU to wonder how people do this? Should I have been saving for this day since she was born?

We're rural and on no bus route - maybe cheaper for us to move house.

Not benefit bashing, just stating, my sister's 2 kids are 18/19 and were set up to drive at 17, and she's on benefits with no additional income, so have no idea how she does it, I was hoping you lot would be able to let me into the little secret of how it's done.

And I got my l plates on my sixteenth birthday, p plates and test on seventeenth birthday. We then had access to parents car if needed, but funded our own car to buy, tax etc by eighteen.

she'll need more than 20 hours of lessons. i had to pay for my lessons and car myself, but my mum paid for my first year of insurance. if i were you, i'd pay for some lessons and maybe her test, and tell her to get a job if she wants her own car, otherwise she can just be added onto yours.

If there's no pressing need for her to learn, I'd advise waiting for a few years. If she follows the pattern that most of my friends took, she'll spend nearly a year learning to drive, then have the car for a year while she's still at college, then leave it SORNed at home for three years while she's at university, then sell it to tide her over financially while she's looking for a job, then buy a new one (by which time her insurance premiums will have dropped substantially due to age and "experience").

With that in mind, unless her plans are substantially different, she may as well just skip the really expensive years. I wish I had - I took some driving lessons at 18 but didn't get good enough to pass, because I desperately needed to be able to practice outside of lessons and it would have been prohibitively expensive (c £700 per month) to insure me on my parents' car. I'm now starting again at 22, and insuring me as second driver with DH as first driver (not fronting, he will be driving most even after I've passed) is costing us £460 for the first year. I'm also finding it much easier this time around - I don't panic when unexpected things happen, I don't get flustered, I don't take it so seriously, and I seem to have better control over myself and greater awareness of my surroundings.

Also, the money saved can be put towards a better car, which will be safer and less likely to go wrong in frequent and costly ways (unless you know somebody who knows a hell of a lot about cars and can vet the cheapies for you). My first car has cost us less than £2,200 in total (including new brakes, front tyres, CD player, and MOT), and it is in as-new condition with 4,000 miles on the clock, a full 10 year service history with 6-monthly checks throughout, and no rust/damage at all (checked thoroughly from underneath). That was a bit of a one-off bargain, but if she's prepared to look for a long time I'm sure she will be able to find something similar by the time she's likely to need to learn to drive.

Genuine question..why do people do so many lessons? - a lot of parents aren't willing to sit in the car with learners. my dad wouldn't until i'd had at least 25 hours of lessons, and parents work too. my parents were out of the house 9-5 and after work, the last thing they wanted to do is sit in a car and teach me how to drive.

cutepuppy because my car's an mpv and automatic (so hopeless); and dh's is electric (so also hopeless). Therefore the driving lessons are quite helpful. We did six a week for about four weeks in the summer holidays and then two a week until the test in November. We bought him a ka - 03 plate for Christmas. He tends to drive to school in the mornings and I drive it to work (nowhere to park at school). He will drive it to the gym, etc., and to see a friend in the day time but is not all that keen when he goes out in the evening because he wants to have a drink. We are also London so transport isn't really an issue - we did as a life skill and promised him when he was 8 that if he never every got on a motorbike we would buy him a car for his 18th birthday.

As you live in some inaccessible part of the country it may be useful but how does DC get to college at present?
I do know of a few 17yr olds who were bought cars and all costs paid for them but that was due to parents having lots of money and little sense It was more about status! and one case a lazy parent who resented getting up to take them to school
Most 17 yr olds these days are in full time education so don't need to drive, those who are working should pay for it themselves!
My 21yr old is having lessons now as it is desirable for work and she lives 100 miles away from us. DS1 and 2 (25 and 24) still don't drive as they live where public transport is ok. DS2 lives 250 miles away and comes home by train. DS1 lives locally.

It is hard to pass a driving test these days. For most people, you need an expert to teach you at least some of it.

The little secret is that the 17 year old (who is nearly an adult) pays for themselves!

I passed my test after 7 hour-long lessons. 72 hours? really?

How long ago did you pass your test?

1987, is it different now?

Driving lessons as 17th present. Everything else they pay.

Weekend work/ money from gifts/ cleaning your car etc for money

If she starts before 17, and aims to pass test by 18. Thats a least a year of saving. Save longer if needed.

Ie Restaurant work at £5 per hour, 5 hrs sat and sun/ or fri night is £50 a week. Can double if more hours.

£25 a week over 52 weeks is £1300. More work, more money.

Nobody paid for me. I paid everything myself. Driving lessons as well as my first car and all associated costs.

If you want to, I'd pay the first 10 lessons as a birthday present and then it's up to the learner to fund the rest.

DP and BIL had everything paid for by ILs and I still think now that they didn't appreciate having a car as much as I did.

I think my dad gave me a block of ten lessons for my 17th birthday. I paid for a couple myself after that but then left it as there was no way I could afford a car at university anyway. I passed my test after I bought my first car (brand new!) and just before I started my first career type job age 24.
DH's parent paid for all his lessons (and his sisters) and also bought their first cars for them.
We disagree quite strongly on what to do for DS - both prefering the experience we had as children and we are in the fortunate position of it being nothing to do with affording it.

Don't do it. She can get the bus until she can fund it herself. I learned at 22, paid for it all myself as a matter of course, bought my car, insurance etc etc. I wouldn't have dreamed of asking my parents to fund it. And as it sounds like you can't afford to fund her, you'd be perfectly within your rights to tell her that! She isn't entitled to a car/lessons/insurance.

My DSD passed her test when she was 19. She funded it all herself. She was working full time. Spent about £500 on lessons, and pays her own insurance, only thing she got was her grandparents gave her their car, so she was very fortunate in that respect.

DS is 17 next year, we will probably cash in some shares to set him up with a car/insurance. We may give him my car and I will then get a new one.

My lad is 17 this year. We gave a budget if 5 grand set aside for him and will do the same for his brother in 3 years time. We can afford it. I'd rather spend it on mote holidays but don't really mind

There are five of us on the car insurance, including three boys aged between 17 and 22. The insurance is under a grand a year, fully comprehensive.

Go for a small engined car and the insurance and car tax are much cheaper.

I think learning to drive is an essential skill, and it's easier to do when young if you can manage to help them get it done.

Does she really need her own car, or could she share with you?

I got a block of lessons for my birthday then funded most of the rest myself. I was working sixteen hours a week at tesco alongside A levels and managed to save £1000 for my first car. My parents paid for my insurance, for which I was eternally grateful. Tax discs paid for by me.

I did mine by working 2 jobs. All I got from my parents was a congratulation card.

When mine are 17 I will get them a block of lessons and that will be it (dreading the twins becoming 17-double the cost of everything!). My parents paid for about 20 lessons and I wasn't very good and took it for granted and then didn't bother. A few years later I paid myself and had 10 lessons then passed first time. I couldn't afford to fail and had to have the car while DH was working away...So sometimes paying themselves is an extra push to work hard at it.

DS1 took his test and passed from scratch after around 15 lessons. I had eight from scratch in the old days. He took his test aged 17 nand has not driven since that day. He will get a car when he can afford it andas he doesn't drive at the moment will be guaranteed to have the benefit of a clean licence.

well you would only need the deposit for the insurance as she could pay monthly

as for tax and mot buy a car that includes these.