The best way to pass your test 'cheaply' (Driving Schools in General)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Driving Schools in General
Date:	13/04/09 (191 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: can be trial and error to find a good one

Learning to drive is something that I took to quite late - at 25 years old I wasn't your average customer, and I was old enough and mature enough to know that BSM wasn't necessarily the best option for driving lessons.
No matter how easy it becomes, learning to drive is incredibly difficult, and can easily be some of the most stressful, nerve-wracking, embarrassing times of your life. Because of this, it's essential to choose a good driving school.

Personally, I would recommend trying an independent 'one man show' school - the type that is local only to your area, and has maybe just one instructor. My reasons for this are plenty:

1) This independent instructor is dependent on word of mouth to spread the good news about them in order for their business to survive. Therefore, they are more likely to have a vested interest in seeing you succeed and do it happily. National schools like BSM don't have this need, as they will always get customers no matter how many horror stories you hear.

2) You can get better value - my driving lessons from a local guy were £15, whereas BSM was £18 at the time. This might not sound like a lot, but if you average 30 lessons, that's another £100 extra for BSM. Also, with independents, you have the option of haggling. In today's credit crunch there's nothing wrong with saying "look, I know you want £100 for six lessons, but I will give you £100 right now if you'll give me seven". I employed a similar tactic with my guy, getting free lessons in return for English tutoring, which would never have happened with BSM. A word of caution though: never offer sexual services for driving lessons (I just put that bit in to see how many people are reading this closely).

3) You are helping local business - one up to the locals, one down to the nationals, you can support local people.

OK, so there you have it. Avoid BSM and other big firms, and check your local paper for independents. Also ask people you know (particularly in the 18-25 bracket) who they had and if they were any good.

In the end, I passed first time after 25 lessons, and didn't even pay for all of those - perfect!

Summary: do it