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Teenagers

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

Original poster

Spare car for teenagers to learn to drive and share...!?!

38 replies

Sssloou · 16/06/2021 19:39

Looking at getting a car for my teens to learnt to drive on and to keep at home for use during uni breaks (shared) is this going to cost me ££££ to have it insured for most of the year not in use ..... and then other issues with them sharing it?

Anyone been through this successfully

OP posts:
TeenMinusTests · 16/06/2021 19:53

Well, you could be the main user and keeper provided you use it more than them.
We use Admiral multicar and it isn't unreasonable.
As named drivers check they will be accruing their own no claims bonus.

newnortherner111 · 18/06/2021 07:28

Why not use your own car?

roobicoobi · 18/06/2021 07:29

It seems like an absolute waste of time and money to me. Especially if they are home and away at the same times.

Are driving lessons not an option?

ginfixx · 18/06/2021 07:31

Watching this thread with interest too !

we have an 18 & 19 year and one vauxhall zafira - which i think is too big for them to learn to drive in ,?

spotcheck · 18/06/2021 07:34

Both kids had their own cars which they used to get extra practice while learning. Saved oodles of money in lessons.

They were both fairly cheap cars which they bought and insured themselves though.

Abraxan · 18/06/2021 07:36

Driving lessons alone aren't ideal. They needs lots of practise between lessons to make progress.

Not everyone can use their own car for their teens. Both my and dh's cars are automatic and electric. Dh's is also too powerful a car for a learner.

We got Dd a car for learning to drive. Sadly the pandemic has meant that she hasn't yet managed to sit and pass a practical test and now she has gone to university her car sits unused a lot of the time. We really hope the driving instructor will restart soon as she was so close (her first test was cancelled due to lockdown 1; her second due to instructor needing to isolate) and she would benefit from being able to drive!

snowy0wl · 18/06/2021 07:43

^Driving lessons alone aren't ideal. They needs lots of practise between lessons to make progress.^

Plenty of people (myself included) didn’t have access to a car in-between lessons and still passed in a reasonable time frame. Having your own car is a luxury, not necessity.

roobicoobi · 18/06/2021 07:44

Driving lessons alone aren't ideal. They needs lots of practise between lessons to make progress.

Thousands of people mange with driving lessons alone. Literally every day people are passing their tests who have never had any practise outwith lessons.

TeenMinusTests · 18/06/2021 08:05

Not sure why everyone is being so negative about the idea.

Yes it isn't a necessity, but having access to a car to practice in alongside lessons will definitely help and is a nice idea if the OP can afford it. Plus there is a bit of a backlog in driving lessons due to lockdown so the OP may have difficulty finding an instructor for 2 teens.

We bought a small automatic for DD1 to learn in and in fact DH ended up teaching her with only 4 lessons due to scarcity of driving instructors. We intend to do the same for DD2 as she would also benefit from an automatic and more, shorter, sessions than you get with an instructor. You can get dual control conversion kits to add brakes for the passenger.

jendifer · 18/06/2021 08:07

How about buy miles (or something like that). It’s the insurance company where you pay a base rate then pay for the miles driven, so you’re not paying for a car which isn’t driven a lot of the time.

Sparklingbrook · 18/06/2021 08:08

Have a look at Marmalade for insurance. It's not cheap but you can do it by the week/month. Once they've passed and just come back from Uni and drive they also do cover for that and you just specify how long for.

I would definitely support driving practice in between lessons but it is slightly terrifying to be sitting there with them, I'm not going to lie.

roobicoobi · 18/06/2021 08:10

Not sure why everyone is being so negative about the idea.

Because OP asked and some of us have a different opinion to you?

ForkedIt · 18/06/2021 08:13

I bought my first car and insured it for the last year of sixth form so I could practice in it and then use it get to college and work once Id passed my test. This was about 10 years ago and the car cost about £300 (was a ‘97 1L micra) and insurance was around £50 a month I want to say. Not 100% sure on the insurance costs as it sounds low and I think it’s even more for young people now.

Anyway, when I went to uni the car stayed at home, my mum insured herself on it for less than £100 a year and used it as a run around. She used it a lot for dog walks as it was so old and beaten up or for popping into town as it was so easy to park. I think she probably recouped that £100 in saved fuel as it was such a tiny car! I wasn’t insured so the premium was low, then I insured myself when I came back for the long summer and she cancelled her policy.

ForkedIt · 18/06/2021 08:14

(To clarify, my mum had her own car but she found it useful to have a little hatchback on the drive)

GlencoraP · 18/06/2021 08:20

We have always done this as neither of our cars are suitable for learning. One is a company car and the other has too powerful an engine . We live rurally so frankly driving is an essential skill and pretty much all the teenagers in our village learn as soon as they can.

We have three dc so the car has done all of them We had a Vauxhall Corsa first and then a Ford Fiesta which was great , only a 1199 engine, cheap to insure but had all the safety stuff. We have used insurethebox from the start, they haven’t put the premium up massively on passing their test which lots do, we can only do 6000 miles a year , and the premium is reasonable . After 10 years the first one had an accident at Xmas , they were brilliant , gave us more than expected for the car and paid out very promptly.

It’s almost impossible to work around here without a car or using lifts so the dc have all worked once they passed their A levels .They pay for fuel we pay the insurance and servicing costs whilst they are students . One moved to London so now doesn’t need a car , one has now bought his own and the other is about to go to University .

TeenMinusTests · 18/06/2021 08:24

@roobicoobi

Not sure why everyone is being so negative about the idea.

Because OP asked and some of us have a different opinion to you?

My confusion was on the everyone. I was surprised there wasn't more of a range of opinions, not that some people thought it wasn't a good idea.
Skyla2005 · 18/06/2021 08:28

Nope. Ours had part time jobs to pay for their own lessons. They saved and when they passed we helped them with the cost of their car and insurance but they have always known they need to work to get our help. Don't hand everything on your kids plate it doesn't help in the long run

Fozzleyplum · 18/06/2021 08:28

We bought a used Skoda Citigo for our teens to share. It's the same car as the VW Up, but cheaper. It's been perfect for them, and is nice to drive - I certainly wouldn't mind having one for myself.

roobicoobi · 18/06/2021 08:33

My confusion was on the everyone. I was surprised there wasn't more of a range of opinions, not that some people thought it wasn't a good idea.

Everyone wasn't negative though. As many people were 'for' it.

StuffinThePuffin · 18/06/2021 08:37

Do you live rurally with no access to public transport? In these cases it can be useful to have an extra vehicle for the kids to use during the uni holidays, but it's certainly a luxury that I wouldn't bother with unless I was quite well off.

If you don't live rurally then this idea sounds totally nuts. The kids can use public transport or cycle for the short amount of time they are back home.

Mumoftwoinprimary · 18/06/2021 08:39

shrugs

If they have a car to practice in then they will need less lessons. Lessons are expensive. Whether it is more cost effective to have them have lessons and practice and all the (mainly fixed) costs that entails or just lessons (which are a variable cost) will depend on the child and their own driving ability.

With 2 kids of similar age it is likely that a practice car will be worthwhile.

Child who is a county level tennis player? Likely to have excellent hand / eye coordination so it will be cheaper to go down the lessons route.

Child who walks into the house, knocks over a drink and trips over the cat - they are going to need lots of practice.

snowy0wl · 18/06/2021 08:52

Not sure why everyone is being so negative about the idea.

I’m not against the idea (if you have the money and space, go for it), but I disagreed with the comment that you need a car to practice in in order to pass the car test.

I personally would feel very nervous about travelling in a car without dual control unless my child was at the point of taking their test.

PegasusReturns · 18/06/2021 08:54

I think it sounds very sensible. Driving is a life skill and it’s important to practice.

Uni breaks are long and it’s great to give them their freedom.

I also think that if you can avoid them sharing your car (even if it was suitable and many are not) then that will lead to a more peaceful life.

PegasusReturns · 18/06/2021 08:57

I personally would feel very nervous about travelling in a car without dual control unless my child was at the point of taking their test

I’d personally feel very anxious about a child who had only had perhaps 20 hours of lessons driving, despite the fact they’ve passed their test.

Whereas id feel much more confident about a child who had done another 40 hours practice.

Helenluvsrob · 18/06/2021 09:00

Use your car.
Buying another would be so expensive when you factor in insurance.

Also given that the risk of them crashing is not nil they absolutely need to be driving a car with as good safety features as you have not an “ old banger “ if you possibly can . It also needs to be well maintained