Picking up my first car today

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Looking for a bit of reassurance as i'm a bit nervous today; I passed my driving test end of 2009 and only got 2 minors (yay me), before moving down to Reading the week after, and given I moved to the city centre and commuted into Bracknell I never bothered buying a car.

Since then i've driven VERY sporadically, i mean once or twice every 3-4 months, so my confidence is very low now its 7 years on. I've decided to take the plunge and buy myself a 59 plate Golf 1.4 S, < 12K miles for £7K, as I've moved out of the city now and need to be able to drive. I've driven 2-3 times the past week including test driving the golf and driving the missus' qashqai, however it all feels a bit of a blur sometimes - i.e. i think to myself, 'MSMPSL' (mirror signal...).

I toyed with the idea of doing refresher lessons, but i honestly think driving in my own car at night and getting some practice in is the best approach.

I think part of my problem is i've been a passenger so long that i'm now driving in a way to please other drivers, i.e. im worried about going too slow which impacts my comfort level in terms of corners, roundabouts, etc.

I dont know what i'm hoping to get out of this post - reassurance i guess - but has anyone had any similar experiences of not driving for an extended amount of time after passing your tests?
 
Get some refresher lessons, perhaps from an IAM instructor, you'll feel more confident and be a better driver as a result. There's no such thing as too much training. Passing the test is one thing, but the real learning comes through practice afterwards.
 
I would book a trip to India and drive there for a month. That will boost your confidence immensely!
 
And buying a 59 plate low mileage golf for 7k seems like a waste of money, get something that did more miles with proper service history and pay less if you're set on a golf.
 
Well how do you feel your driving ability is? I'm sure you'll regain full confidence after a few months of regular driving. Personally I didn't drive for 3 years, and had no problem whatsoever getting back in the driving seat. Although I must admit I was worrying myself like you were, but you will be fine considering you have been driving a few times a year.

koolpc said:
I would book a trip to India and drive there for a month. That will boost your confidence immensely!
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That could be taken as a sarcastic statement ;)
 
7k for a 2009 1.4 Golf :eek: you could have got a 1.6 2009 Focus for 4K!
As others have said get a couple of refresher lessons shouldn't be more than £40 for 2 lessons. I did this as I didn't buy a car for 12 months after I passed my test and had a few refresher lessons with a local instructor. Was worth it.
 
Dav4 said:
7k for a 2009 1.4 Golf :eek: you could have got a 1.6 2009 Focus for 4K!
As others have said get a couple of refresher lessons shouldn't be more than £40 for 2 lessons. I did this as I didn't buy a car for 12 months after I passed my test and had a few refresher lessons with a local instructor. Was worth it.
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Golfs seem to be ridiculously expensive? A quick search around Gumtree and I see people listing 12 year old mk5 golfs for 4k!
 
The Chemist said:
Golfs seem to be ridiculously expensive? A quick search around Gumtree and I see people listing 12 year old mk5 golfs for 4k!
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That's because unfortunately the majority of people are sheep that follow each other and believe what everyone else says that anything not German is rubbish and it has to be diesel because they are rocket ships with mega MPG's. Therefore the used car prices of anything German are ridiculous even if most of them are poverty spec.
 
The purchase price of the OP's golf isn't really what he wanted to discuss. Regardless, the "ridiculous price" (I don't necessarily disagree ) will be offset at resale time as low mileage commands a premium, like it or not

Best just get a few regular refresher lessons and spend as much time in the car as you can
 
I did pass plus immediately passing my test (also 2 minors btw :p) and would not rate it very highly, the insurance discounts have been poor and I did not learn much from it considering the cost.

IAM/RoSPA however I would recommend to anyone, young, old, experienced and the like as it totally changed my love for driving to a whole new level - and the insurance discounts for IAM aren't bad either (have yet to see RoSPA recognised sadly however it is a cheaper investment than IAM if you are just after the knowledge).

IAM ~£130 and RoSPa you can join a local group for around ~£30 (often free for under 25's) and then a £30 test fee at the end.

Its great fun, get in touch with your local group (Google for them) as they often have free taster days. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Oh and congrats on the first car, you picked a great brand :)
 
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When I first drove my car after it was out of action for 2 months, it was like I had forgotten how to drive on the way home, and I almost crashed once or twice... My physical car control was absolutely fine, but I was totally out of touch with how to drive on the road... I had only been driving for a year at the time so that might be why!

Get refresher lessons if you feel as nervous as I did!
 
Pass Plus or IAM instead of a driving instructor if you want some guidance. I found the pass plus to be useful, I had a really good instructor that got rid of all the bad habits my instructor taught me.
 
Acme said:
When I first drove my car after it was out of action for 2 months, it was like I had forgotten how to drive on the way home, and I almost crashed once or twice... My physical car control was absolutely fine, but I was totally out of touch with how to drive on the road... I had only been driving for a year at the time so that might be why!

Get refresher lessons if you feel as nervous as I did!
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I'm not sure you should ever be on the road then... that's ridiculous
 
Acme said:
When I first drove my car after it was out of action for 2 months, it was like I had forgotten how to drive on the way home, and I almost crashed once or twice... My physical car control was absolutely fine, but I was totally out of touch with how to drive on the road... I had only been driving for a year at the time so that might be why!

Get refresher lessons if you feel as nervous as I did!
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That sounds very OTT! I've only been driving for a few months and its not that hard, actually left UK for a week and drove on the left side with left hand drive problem..

So struggling to drive after driving for a year seems OTT haha.
 
I had lost confidence because the last time I drove the car I crashed it. Plus it was raining, and dark. :p
 
Are you still in Reading? What a horrible place to drive around! If you can master Reading you'll be fine in most places:) I live in Bracknell myself so know Reading well:)

I'd say go for a few confidence drives with an experienced driver as a passenger. You'll soon remember what to do and gradually you'll grow into driving again :)
 
Acme said:
When I first drove my car after it was out of action for 2 months, it was like I had forgotten how to drive on the way home, and I almost crashed once or twice... My physical car control was absolutely fine, but I was totally out of touch with how to drive on the road... I had only been driving for a year at the time so that might be why!

Get refresher lessons if you feel as nervous as I did!
Click to expand...

You are an odd one
 
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