to buy or not to buy?

Innesita · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:15

in like a month i'll start to take some driving lessons. my boyfriend says that he can teach me how to drive as he's had his driving license for a few years.anyway, he added he wont let me drive his car and said that the best option to do all that is to buy a car for me...well...to be honest i dont know if it is a good solution because i cant buy a crap car which obviously could break down anytime.even if would like to buy better one the insurance will be rather high so that i wont be able to pay it as i'm gonna start uni again and will have to work part time only...he says he's gonna help me out financially but i dont really want him to do it.what shall i do?

((

Siliconslave · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:24

its a difficult one that, you can get very very cheap cars that will go on for ages, but you really need to know what your looking for, and have a bit of luck... But personally i never saw there being a need for a car at uni, it totally depends on where you are, and your preferences i know fox loves having his car there.

you need to start looking into how much you could realistically aford, how much it would be to get lessons in an instructor's car. Which you will proberbly want to do anyway, while your bf can drive very well i'm sure theres a big difference between being able to drive and being able to teach someone to pass their test. Then you need to decide if you really need a car atall....

thebrasso · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:26

If it were me I'd have a few lessons and see how quick you pick things up.

Whilst I agree with a lot on here who learnt to control a car before having lessons, it is often best to be taught from the outset how to pass a driving test.

Check out www.2pass.co.uk lots of good advice on there.

roboffer · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:26

Id recommend not buying a car and taking driving lessons with a qualified instructor, then buying a car when youve passed. Once you have some experience under your belt then Id think about driving your boyfirends car (As long as it isnt extremely powerful) with him in it, to gain further experience.

Whats the reason for him not letting you drive it?

The early stages in learning to drive are very important, and youd be more likely to pick up bad habits without a a professional driving instructor.

Doonhamer · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:35

I agree, save your money and put it towards lessons from a qualified instructor who will have a suitable car for you to learn in. Allowing a family member/spouse/etc to teach you how to drive can lead to you picking up bad habits and perhaps a big fall out!

Innesita · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:39

roboffer said:
Id recommend not buying a car and taking driving lessons with a qualified instructor, then buying a car when youve passed. Once you have some experience under your belt then Id think about driving your boyfirends car (As long as it isnt extremely powerful) with him in it, to gain further experience.

Whats the reason for him not letting you drive it?

The early stages in learning to drive are very important, and youd be more likely to pick up bad habits without a a professional driving instructor.

well he bought a new car last year (08/05)...i think it is peugeot 306 cabriolet or something like that(96' ).he let me drive once but it was pretty scary experience for him.as for my quite fluent rally driving (2nd time in my life) he is afraid of that i might finally crash the car

oh well...but i suppose as u wrote that he can teach me stuff instructors might not like, driving habits.of course he wants me to take some lessons with instructors anyway

Innesita · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:40

Doonhamer said:
I agree, save your money and put it towards lessons from a qualified instructor who will have a suitable car for you to learn in. Allowing a family member/spouse/etc to teach you how to drive can lead to you picking up bad habits and perhaps a big fall out!

the thing is that my family is far away so to be honest they cant teach me how to drive

by the way - i am not english...

Gilly · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:41

I wouldn't bother. Learn how to pass your test in an instructors car. Learn how to drive in your own after that.

Innesita · 31 Jan 2006 at 11:41

thebrasso said:
If it were me I'd have a few lessons and see how quick you pick things up.

Whilst I agree with a lot on here who learnt to control a car before having lessons, it is often best to be taught from the outset how to pass a driving test.

Check out www.2pass.co.uk lots of good advice on there.

thank you

[TW]Fox · 31 Jan 2006 at 12:04

Find somebody who actually trusts you to teach you to drive, ie a driving instructor.

Malachy · 31 Jan 2006 at 12:43

bah i see my girlfriend is not just sneaking into my house and my life but also my internet forums while i am at work! Hi honey rofl.
pfft i trust her just..... not in my car!!!!!, she can drive pulls away fine and has decent car control, as for cars she keeps going on about meganes/golfs/ all normal girly cars i tell her she should get something like a k11 micra 1.0 or 1.3 mainly due to insurance (she only works part time) i personally dont mind buying her a car and i guess i will pay upto about £1000 myself + what she can add to that so say £1500. i also thought of the daihatsu mira's that someone on this forum is always talking about to me they look like great fun!
I am perfectly happy to teach her to drive and having driven for over 5 years i feel i am experianced enough, if not i am sure my father would be happy to aswell, as you said yourself fox why pay someone £30 per hour just to gain road experiance? when i am happy to teach her the basic then to have lessons after to get her to 'test' standard. Anyways back on topic what cars would be good for this sort of budget and low on insurance '20yr old female in OX postcode'

mr tommo · 31 Jan 2006 at 13:15

I was driving round in my own car for 2 weeks before my first lesson. Got in lots of miles with uncle and dad. Driving to places like manchester and wales at the weekend on b roads. I then had my first lesson, the instructor booked my test straight away because of my abilit and confidence, i took 12 hours of lessons before my test date and passed with 1 minor. I don't think i could have passed so quickly without having my own car to drive around in when i wasnt having lessons but then i love driving so this obviously helped!. IMO getting a car while learning is a great help if you can afford, if not then its not vital.

Innesita · 31 Jan 2006 at 14:15

Malachy said:
bah i see my girlfriend is not just sneaking into my house and my life but also my internet forums while i am at work! Hi honey rofl.
pfft i trust her just..... not in my car!!!!!, she can drive pulls away fine and has decent car control, as for cars she keeps going on about meganes/golfs/ all normal girly cars i tell her she should get something like a k11 micra 1.0 or 1.3 mainly due to insurance (she only works part time) i personally dont mind buying her a car and i guess i will pay upto about £1000 myself + what she can add to that so say £1500. i also thought of the daihatsu mira's that someone on this forum is always talking about to me they look like great fun!
I am perfectly happy to teach her to drive and having driven for over 5 years i feel i am experianced enough, if not i am sure my father would be happy to aswell, as you said yourself fox why pay someone £30 per hour just to gain road experiance? when i am happy to teach her the basic then to have lessons after to get her to 'test' standard. Anyways back on topic what cars would be good for this sort of budget and low on insurance '20yr old female in OX postcode'

heh sorry about that , couldnt resist, forgive me

Gilly · 31 Jan 2006 at 15:43

£30 an hour???

Christ, where are you shopping round for instructors? Central London?

Innesita · 31 Jan 2006 at 15:59

Gilly said:
£30 an hour???

Christ, where are you shopping round for instructors? Central London?

naah he put here wrong price, it is something like 23£ as far as i remember

Nazbit · 31 Jan 2006 at 16:19

Gilly said:
I wouldn't bother. Learn how to pass your test in an instructors car. Learn how to drive in your own after that.

Thats your answer.

Your boy friend might not mean to, but he will push his driving style on you, an instructor is trained in how to teach you to drive, he is not, im not saying hes a bad driver ofcourse, but you will learn a lot more from a qualified instructor.

Take a lesson or two in an instructors car and then see what you think, that will give you a better idea of who you want to teach you and if you want a car or not.