Learning to drive #2

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

How much is everyone planning to spend on a first car? I don't know what to realistically budget - and insurance is going to be mad!

I spent 4K on a four year old KA for my first car, realistically I wouldn’t have spent more than 5k, but everyone has different budgets.

everyone tried to convince me to get a cheap run around as I’d probably “bump and scrape it”, but I’ve honestly never bumped or scraped my car. I think because I bought a decent car, I have a lot of respect for it and I am very careful not to damage it! I wanted something reliable as I needed it for work and for visiting my mum. It’s not like I was a college teen, I was 23, almost 24!

my insurance wasn’t mad either, due to my age and due to having a low insurance car, my insurance was £58 a month when i passed, two years later it went down to £28!

What are peoples views on black box insurance?

I didn’t go for a black box as literally it only took my insurance down from £58 to £48.

 

[noseybirdxo]

I spent 4K on a four year old KA for my first car, realistically I wouldn’t have spent more than 5k, but everyone has different budgets.

everyone tried to convince me to get a cheap run around as I’d probably “bump and scrape it”, but I’ve honestly never bumped or scraped my car. I think because I bought a decent car, I have a lot of respect for it and I am very careful not to damage it! I wanted something reliable as I needed it for work and for visiting my mum. It’s not like I was a college teen, I was 23, almost 24!

my insurance wasn’t mad either, due to my age and due to having a low insurance car, my insurance was £58 a month when i passed, two years later it went down to £28!


I didn’t go for a black box as literally it only took my insurance down from £58 to £48.

I’ve not yet picked what car I want to get after passing last month, partly cos I don’t have a need for a car just yet as I am wfh. When I get a new job I will so for now I am just on my boyfriends insurance as an additional driver - only cost 250 but means I can keep it till I decide what I want.
He had a black box his first and potentially 2nd years of driving and it did really help his insurance come down. He went with Hastings Smart Miles for his, be careful though as some black boxes have curfews for driving (his brothers black box wouldn’t let him drive after 11? i think it was) and his sisters insurance kept ringing her for her scoring that the black box did but it did bring all 3 of theirs down considerably. The one thing I did like about my boyfriends black box is it tracked every journey so if something had happened like the car got stolen for example then we’d of been able to track it probably.

I think I might go for a black box for my first insurance but I’ll have to see, I’m 27 so I haven’t got that awkwardness of being young compared to a 17-21 year old passing and getting a car

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

I’ve not yet picked what car I want to get after passing last month, partly cos I don’t have a need for a car just yet as I am wfh. When I get a new job I will so for now I am just on my boyfriends insurance as an additional driver - only cost 250 but means I can keep it till I decide what I want.
He had a black box his first and potentially 2nd years of driving and it did really help his insurance come down. He went with Hastings Smart Miles for his, be careful though as some black boxes have curfews for driving (his brothers black box wouldn’t let him drive after 11? i think it was) and his sisters insurance kept ringing her for her scoring that the black box did but it did bring all 3 of theirs down considerably. The one thing I did like about my boyfriends black box is it tracked every journey so if something had happened like the car got stolen for example then we’d of been able to track it probably.

I think I might go for a black box for my first insurance but I’ll have to see, I’m 27 so I haven’t got that awkwardness of being young compared to a 17-21 year old passing and getting a car

Yeah you might find you don’t need one. I was almost 24 when I passed and like I said, it only took my insurance down from £58 to £48, so I didn’t bother with a black box in the end as it just didn’t feel necessary!

 

[noseybirdxo]

Yeah you might find you don’t need one. I was almost 24 when I passed and like I said, it only took my insurance down from £58 to £48, so I didn’t bother with a black box in the end as it just didn’t feel necessary!

I think there’s lots of things to consider when going for one, for some people it is worth it. Probably a lot of factors to consider individually isnt there, like area, age, etc

 

[loobyscoobydoo]

Argghh!!

Any tips on how to recover from a bad lesson? Aside from the obvious of just get behind the wheel again

I set off from work today rather than home and got flustered doing that as it's city centre and from there it was just silly mistake after silly mistake with me getting more and more flustered over time to the point where I was basically holding back tears for the latter half of my lesson. I'm normally good at keeping my cool when I make small errors but I just couldn't today. I'm trying hard to see positives in what I did but I just feel so annoyed at myself. I'm not giving up but just wondering how other people recovered from a bad lesson and got their confidence back before the next?

I was meant to go out practicing at the weekend in my boyfriends car but I've come home in such a state I think he's going to suggest we don't practice at the weekend.

 

[under the ivy]

Argghh!!

Any tips on how to recover from a bad lesson? Aside from the obvious of just get behind the wheel again

I set off from work today rather than home and got flustered doing that as it's city centre and from there it was just silly mistake after silly mistake with me getting more and more flustered over time to the point where I was basically holding back tears for the latter half of my lesson. I'm normally good at keeping my cool when I make small errors but I just couldn't today. I'm trying hard to see positives in what I did but I just feel so annoyed at myself. I'm not giving up but just wondering how other people recovered from a bad lesson and got their confidence back before the next?

I was meant to go out practicing at the weekend in my boyfriends car but I've come home in such a state I think he's going to suggest we don't practice at the weekend.

I think the best thing to do is have a cry/moan about it and take it all as experience! Learning to drive isn’t linear, so don’t beat yourself up! I think you should practice with your BF at the weekend, even if it’s just parking or driving around the car park. Learning to drive is a HUGE skill to learn x

 

[elloelloello]

Argghh!!

Any tips on how to recover from a bad lesson? Aside from the obvious of just get behind the wheel again

I set off from work today rather than home and got flustered doing that as it's city centre and from there it was just silly mistake after silly mistake with me getting more and more flustered over time to the point where I was basically holding back tears for the latter half of my lesson. I'm normally good at keeping my cool when I make small errors but I just couldn't today. I'm trying hard to see positives in what I did but I just feel so annoyed at myself. I'm not giving up but just wondering how other people recovered from a bad lesson and got their confidence back before the next?

I was meant to go out practicing at the weekend in my boyfriends car but I've come home in such a state I think he's going to suggest we don't practice at the weekend.

I had my worst ever lesson two lessons before I passed my test. I made so many stupid mistakes and convinced myself I was going to fail and I really didn’t want to drive again!! But I just tried to focus on the mistakes I made and not make them again and it really helped, I haven’t made the same mistakes since. Try not to lose your confidence, my mum told me we all have our bad days and it really is true

 

[Thank(space)you]

Argghh!!

Any tips on how to recover from a bad lesson? Aside from the obvious of just get behind the wheel again

I set off from work today rather than home and got flustered doing that as it's city centre and from there it was just silly mistake after silly mistake with me getting more and more flustered over time to the point where I was basically holding back tears for the latter half of my lesson. I'm normally good at keeping my cool when I make small errors but I just couldn't today. I'm trying hard to see positives in what I did but I just feel so annoyed at myself. I'm not giving up but just wondering how other people recovered from a bad lesson and got their confidence back before the next?

I was meant to go out practicing at the weekend in my boyfriends car but I've come home in such a state I think he's going to suggest we don't practice at the weekend.

Definitely still go out in the weekend if you're able. If you get flustered you're more likely to make a mistake and then you get more flustered and it turns into a viscous cycle. Next time, ask if you can pull over. Have a drink of water take some deep breaths and remind yourself that you are a good driver. You've got this

 

[Savannah_xx]

Argghh!!

Any tips on how to recover from a bad lesson? Aside from the obvious of just get behind the wheel again

I set off from work today rather than home and got flustered doing that as it's city centre and from there it was just silly mistake after silly mistake with me getting more and more flustered over time to the point where I was basically holding back tears for the latter half of my lesson. I'm normally good at keeping my cool when I make small errors but I just couldn't today. I'm trying hard to see positives in what I did but I just feel so annoyed at myself. I'm not giving up but just wondering how other people recovered from a bad lesson and got their confidence back before the next?

I was meant to go out practicing at the weekend in my boyfriends car but I've come home in such a state I think he's going to suggest we don't practice at the weekend.

Aww, we all have/had bad lessons where everything seemed to go wrong. It's all part of the learning process. Just keep going, sure you'll be better in the next lesson. I think you should go at the weekend, more practice= become more confident etc

 

[loobyscoobydoo]

Thanks everyone! I was in a right state after my lesson and let it all get to me. I'm feeling a lot better about it now and can just chalk it up to a bad day.

I'm going to take my time with things on Mondays lesson and remember to breathe hopefully that will help but thank you for your words of advice, I really appreciate it

 

[silkytoes]

I think I posted on the last thread about my lessons but I have FINALLY passed my test! It took 10 years (including a massive 7 year gap between my 3rd and 4th tests), 5 instructors and 4 tests.

My advice to anyone struggling is to absolutely not give up. I found it really useful taking the gap because I needed to get my own confidence and mental health sorted to stop me falling apart in the test. And don't tell yourself 'i can't do this', I think that was my main block was that I was convinced I'd never pass.

Remember to breathe and clear your head to focus on only your driving. If you make a mistake, it's really important just to let it go instead of letting things snowball - it might turn out to be okay in a test or only a minor fault but if you let it snowball then you're bound to fail.

 

[noseybirdxo]

I think I posted on the last thread about my lessons but I have FINALLY passed my test! It took 10 years (including a massive 7 year gap between my 3rd and 4th tests), 5 instructors and 4 tests.

My advice to anyone struggling is to absolutely not give up. I found it really useful taking the gap because I needed to get my own confidence and mental health sorted to stop me falling apart in the test. And don't tell yourself 'i can't do this', I think that was my main block was that I was convinced I'd never pass.

Remember to breathe and clear your head to focus on only your driving. If you make a mistake, it's really important just to let it go instead of letting things snowball - it might turn out to be okay in a test or only a minor fault but if you let it snowball then you're bound to fail.

Amazing news, congratulations 🤍🤍🤍🤍

 

[Brianbadonde]

My daughter passed her test 1st time on Thursday with just 2 faults. So pleased for her and the fact she’ll now be independent especially as we live in a village. She thought she’d failed but carried on regardless and hadn’t! Wahooo. Any tips from new drivers on how to encourage her to go out in her own now as I think she’s feeling a bit scared? We went to town this morning so I was with her but she was even nervous at not having her l plates on anymore

 

[noseybirdxo]

My daughter passed her test 1st time on Thursday with just 2 faults. So pleased for her and the fact she’ll now be independent especially as we live in a village. She thought she’d failed but carried on regardless and hadn’t! Wahooo. Any tips from new drivers on how to encourage her to go out in her own now as I think she’s feeling a bit scared? We went to town this morning so I was with her but she was even nervous at not having her l plates on anymore

Congrats to your daughter 🤍 Get her some P plates, I’ve been using them when I’ve been driving my boyfriends car - they’re a good comfort for me. She’ll find her own confidence with it though eventually, you can always offer to go with her and you may find she stops needing you there! x

 

[silkytoes]

My daughter passed her test 1st time on Thursday with just 2 faults. So pleased for her and the fact she’ll now be independent especially as we live in a village. She thought she’d failed but carried on regardless and hadn’t! Wahooo. Any tips from new drivers on how to encourage her to go out in her own now as I think she’s feeling a bit scared? We went to town this morning so I was with her but she was even nervous at not having her l plates on anymore

Congratulations to her!

This is the advice I need as well really although I do think it's just practice. I've been driving a few weeks now and it took a while to get over not having the L Plates but I'm still panicking when I'm completely alone. I was meant to drive myself somewhere today but it was 50 miles one way including motorway and the opposite direction to everywhere else I've driven so far. I've chickened out so will be getting the train. I did drive myself ~20 miles in the other direction last weekend and back completely alone.

So many people go straight into driving every day so build up confidence quickly but I'm struggling because I work from home so I'm not getting much chance to practice!

 

[BettyCrockerr]

Congratulations to her!

This is the advice I need as well really although I do think it's just practice. I've been driving a few weeks now and it took a while to get over not having the L Plates but I'm still panicking when I'm completely alone. I was meant to drive myself somewhere today but it was 50 miles one way including motorway and the opposite direction to everywhere else I've driven so far. I've chickened out so will be getting the train. I did drive myself ~20 miles in the other direction last weekend and back completely alone.

So many people go straight into driving every day so build up confidence quickly but I'm struggling because I work from home so I'm not getting much chance to practice!

Get a sat nav
Force yourself to go out every day in the car and go somewhere different each time
Take a different route home or go via a new place if you do go on a routine journey

Just get in the car and drive. The more you over think it the more of an issue it’s going to become. Don’t let it become a huge hurdle to overcome when it isn’t one - just get out every day for a drive and plan out trips in the car so that you have a new route to try each time.

 

[Brianbadonde]

Thanks for the replies! Her instructor advised against p plates as she found they can be a massive hindrance as other drivers can treat you as poorly as they do a learner. So will see how she goes first.
luckily she took the decision tonight to drive on her own to her boyfriends (other side of the village) was worried about finding somewhere to park, but she’s done it and in the dark too! So hopefully little by little she’ll grow with confidence on her own.. Good luck to everyone on their Learning/new driver journeys

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

Thanks for the replies! Her instructor advised against p plates as she found they can be a massive hindrance as other drivers can treat you as poorly as they do a learner. So will see how she goes first.
luckily she took the decision tonight to drive on her own to her boyfriends (other side of the village) was worried about finding somewhere to park, but she’s done it and in the dark too! So hopefully little by little she’ll grow with confidence on her own.. Good luck to everyone on their Learning/new driver journeys

I didn’t get P plates either because I didn’t want to make myself a sitting target. Some idiots see L and P plates and they just get enraged and start acting like arrogant arseholes. I did fine without them.

 

[noseybirdxo]

I didn’t get P plates either because I didn’t want to make myself a sitting target. Some idiots see L and P plates and they just get enraged and start acting like arrogant arseholes. I did fine without them.

I’ve only been using them as my boyfriends clutch is very different to what I’ve learnt in, (and he feels more comfortable me having them on his car ) I’m fortunate where I live is a popular teaching route so you get a lot of patience anyway

 

[Lollypad]

I didn’t get P plates either because I didn’t want to make myself a sitting target. Some idiots see L and P plates and they just get enraged and start acting like arrogant arseholes. I did fine without them.

I didn’t get P plates for the same reason, I didn’t like the idea of stalling and drivers thinking “shouldn’t have passed if she can’t drive” …I’d rather just be sworn at like the other drivers who make mistakes occasionally
I actually really enjoy being out on my own, because I’m forced to make my own decisions and build my confidence up. Although I do like having my husband in the car because I can ask if he’d have done anything differently - did I wait too long to overtake a cyclist or did I do it safely, etc.