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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

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Original poster

Learning to drive at 17?

72 replies

lunas · 10/03/2014 14:06

Is it commonplace now to give driving lessons, provisional licence etc for their 17th birthday when they are students? My DD says all her friends are learning but I didn't start til I had a job, neither did my DH. It's expensive, especially the insurance even as a named driver.

OP posts:

mrsjay · 11/03/2014 10:05

I got it at diamond although she was 18 and her car was older than she was, I wonder if it is because it is your car I dont really know

Fluffycloudland77 · 11/03/2014 10:14

You can legally put older drivers on insurance to lower the premium.

I.E

Main driver DD/DS

Named driver Mum

Named driver Dad.

Realistically you might not drive it but you might if its first on the drive and you need to nip out.

"Fronting" is putting a parent down as main driver and the dd/ds as named driver & is fraud.

Plus dont forget cashback sites like topcashback & quidco, I got £80 back on my car insurance last year. It's not a fortune but its worth having.

Floralnomad · 11/03/2014 10:14

My son has been a named driver on a policy with 3 adult drivers with no convictions/ points since he was 19 ,the policy was about £1000 more expensive than without him on an 07 Ford Ka. He contributed £100 a month . He has just taken on the car himself as he starts teacher training this year (after uni) so will be the main driver and with 2 yrs experience and no points we have got insurance for £570 with direct line with me and DH as named drivers ( DH uses the car about 3 evenings a week) . My point being that insurance is only prohibitively expensive for the first couple of years so worth doing.

LavenderGreen14 · 11/03/2014 10:19

Yep, I get the £2K price from putting her as an additional driver on my policy, which is what she will be as we will share the car, no fronting or fraud. I think I currently pay £16 per month for just me. I have 10 years no claims and a cheap, low to insure runabout. I always use cashback sites too.

Floralnomad · 11/03/2014 10:38

Our initial policy ( with him as named driver ) was with LV , but funnily their quote for him as the main driver with us as named drivers was double the price of Direct Line . We have not been 'fronting' , I feel quite strongly about it which is why we are changing the insurance this year as he will be driving every day from September ,whereas at the moment he only drives 2/3 times a week . We have also changed the car into his name ( kind aunty has donated it) .

mrsjay · 11/03/2014 10:53

fluffy that is what dh did with dds car he is a named driver maybe that kept the cost down,

mathanxiety · 11/03/2014 14:24

It is a critical life skill and can have a big impact. Mine all learned in school in the US before their 16th birthday. The were not added to the insurance once they got their licences unless they were prepared to pay their own premiums up front. Any time they took the car out they had to put $10 in petrol in before bringing it home. DD1 now lives in a city where parking and driving her own car would be insane but joined a car rental club for convenience.

Do not teach her yourself. It is guaranteed to lead to misery and possibly not very good driving. What you save in cost you will lose in grey hair and teeth damaged from gnashing. Best to let a professional in a driving school car do that.

IamInvisible · 11/03/2014 14:42

We paid for DS1 to learn to drive. We researched the local instructors, found one who we liked the look of and DS1 passed first time in 10 weeks with 3 minors. We insure him on our cars, we prefer that because we want him in something safe and reliable.

DS2 is 17, but has just had surgery on his shoulder so can't learn yet, as soon as he can he will. We will do the same for him as DS1.

DS1 is hoping to join the Army very soon. He will be living away, so within the first couple of months he will have saved enough to buy and insure a decent car. My dad is a dealer,so we can them at cost.

It is one less hassle for them to think about when they are start in out looking for jobs etc.

Agggghast · 11/03/2014 19:59

DD2 just passed test, she is 18, she used her birthday money to buy a Clio and I have paid for the first years insurance £1800. I think it is money well spent, next year it will be a lot less. Today she picked me up from the station, saving me a 15 minute walk, the pride on her face was a joy!

whoseturnisit · 13/03/2014 15:32

LavenderGreen14 Direct Line with DS as a learner charged me about £800 and after he passed it was about the same when I renewed it. He is additional driver on my car. No fronting, he gets to use it 2 or 3 times a week when I don't need it..
I have a nearly new cheap to run 5* safety rated car which I bought while he was learning. I did not want him driving a crappy banger. No point in him having a ar of his own when he will be off to uni soon

Rascalls3 · 13/03/2014 16:39

My last years New Year resolution was to get my 3 daughters, then 19 and 17 year old twins through their driving tests. It cost a small fortune and I almost succeeded- the last one passed in January this year!
Last summer we bought a 2 year old little Toyota for them to share, it cost £1700 to insure(Direct Line) with one of the 17 year olds as the main driver and her sisters and my husband as named drivers.
I shudder to think how much money I have spent but it really has changed their lives ( we live in a rural village) and also released me from taxi driving duties. As many have said an invaluable life skill and I have ALMOST stopped assuming they are going to crash every time they turn on the ignition!

JeanSeberg · 13/03/2014 16:47

I'm happy to support mine to pass their test but wouldn't dream of putting them on my insurance. (In that respect, I'm fortunate that I have a company car and it wouldn't be allowed.)

I don't want them to have any limitations in terms of work, travel, lifestyle and consider the ability to drive a basic life skill.

whoseturnisit · 13/03/2014 17:08

Rascalls3 I have ALMOST stopped assuming they are going to crash every time they turn on the ignition!
Yes that's the next step isn't it. DS has been driving solo for 9 months now. I know he's a responsible driver but it's another thing to worry about. I prefer him to be driving than being a passenger with another teen though.

englishrosie · 14/03/2014 21:28

To be honest, if she has a saturday job and she saves her money this will probably cover insurance. Look up ingenie. V reasonable for young drivers

BackforGood · 14/03/2014 21:37

I can't see that EnglishRose - my ds's Saturday job pays £3.82 until he turns 18.... he'd have to work more hours than are available to make that add up to the ££££s they would charge him for insurance at 17 or 18.

englishrosie · 14/03/2014 22:04

bloody hell BackforGood!! That's below minimum wage :(

englishrosie · 14/03/2014 22:04

sorry didn't get hang of bold thing :(

BackforGood · 14/03/2014 23:13

No it's not EnglishRosie - it's actually 3p above it

Here

holidaysarenice · 14/03/2014 23:34

Even if they learn and don't drive, its good. It reduces the insurance when they do drive.

Also it was a requirement for my physio job, had to have but never needed to use.

DealForTheKids · 15/03/2014 14:16

Just as an aside, if any of your DS/DDs are thinking of doing medicine at uni, get them passed before they go! Loads of friends got to uni and discovered they would be spending 3rd year in some cottage hospital in the backwater of beyond, and had to panic learn whilst juggling 2nd year medicine or live in the middle of nowhere as no public transport links. Not ideal!

catwithflowers · 15/03/2014 14:23

My son is paying for his own lessons as he is at school but works part time. I don't think it's even worth me looking into putting him on my insurance. My car is a very old and battered Volvo but it has a 2.4 lt engine which I think would cost a fortune to insure for an 18 year old. I pay £400 a year with max no claims. I think it may be a while before he actually has a car to drive

maitaimojito · 15/03/2014 14:32

I'm 28 and even 10 years ago the majority of people learnt at 17.

Driving is a skill that most people need and is much easier at 17 as teenagers have more free time compared to when they've been to uni and have a full time job. A lot of jobs will also require a driving licence.

I also doubt I would have been able to afford lessons once I moved out with rent and bills to pay.

Yes, there is the disadvantage of passing the test and then not driving for a few years but you can book refresher lessons and it's one less thing to worry about once it's done.

I wasn't actually that bothered about learning at the time but I'm glad my parents pushed me and helped pay for it.

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