If you have been counting down the days until your seventeenth birthday so that you can start learning to drive, you probably have quite a few things on your mind. The whole learning to drive saga has become a bit of a money pit these days, and many young people put it off because they lack funds. That said, there are many ways, if you choose wisely, the journey to a full driving license needn’t be such a rough ride for your bank balance…

Block book

Buying in bulk is a well accepted commercial concept, known to reduce costs. Once you have found a proven driving instructor that has good recommendations from other people, consider block booking lessons. Oxford residents should think about contacting paulsdrivingschooloxford.co.uk where learner drivers can benefit from top road skill tuition. At paulsdrivingschooloxford.co.uk block booking lessons results in reduced costs, saving you money overall. Different drivers require varying numbers of lessons before they feel confident to try for their test. Generally, a minimum of twenty lessons is required to make sure a learner driver has attained the necessary level of competence. With this number of lessons, any block booking reduction is bound to add up to a figure worth having.

The importance of finding the best driving instructor for your needs should not be under-estimated. An experienced, skilled driving instructor is far more likely to get you through your pass first time, in fact paulsdrivingschooloxford.co.uk has been doing exactly this, without fail, for the last five years.

After the pass

After you have passed your driving test with flying colours, you will be thinking about what to do next. At this point, your bank account is going to be receiving some serious abuse. Two major spending sprees are imminent, and only one of them is on a new car.

You can’t discuss which type of car young, inexperienced drivers should purchase, without addressing the issue of car insurance.  Insurance for young inexperienced drivers is notoriously expensive, although things have changed a little in recent years. Following the clamp down on fraudulent car insurance claims, costs have dropped a little and greater  competition has also sparked better deals. However, youth and inexperience will always play against you when seeking car insurance, so try to make wise, considered choices.

The car you drive will influence insurance premiums. You may covet a hot hatch with wide wheels and the acceleration of a rocket, but unless you want to pay insurance that is eye-wateringly high, you are better off making more restrained choices. Go for a car with a small engine (under 1000cc), that isn’t flash, has had no modifications and that has good immobilizer, tracker and security arrangements (properly accredited). Some young drivers choose to drive small vans, as the premiums are lower – if a two seater with lots of room in the back sounds like your idea of driving heaven, check out prices for van models. A van might not have the character you were hoping for, but in many ways it’s a practical choice.

You will pay less if the car is kept in a garage or driveway, more if it is to be parked on the road. When it comes to car insurance it really does pay to shop around. Using comparison websites can turn up some good deals, however not all insurers feature on these sites, so be tenacious and you could hunt down better, cheaper solutions.

Some young drivers get cheaper insurance premiums by having a dashcam fitted to film everything that goes on in and around the car as it moves around. You can also attract reductions by using policies that have GPS tracking as part of the package. Either using phone apps or GPS transmitters attached to the car, your driving is monitored by the insurance company. They will know where you are at any given time and also the speed you are driving. If you have an accident, this can also be flagged up by data which indicates unusual acceleration or deceleration patterns. In such cases, the insurance company may be the first person on the phone to you to find out if you are okay and to give advice – something you may appreciate at a stressful time.

It may seem like a long, difficult journey from taking your first driving lessons to actually getting out on the road, independently in your own car – but by following these tips you have more chance of success, and actually having money left over at the end for a tank of fuel…