Learning to Drive.

[squirrel_hunter]

Well its been on my mind for sometime, I'm thinking of learning to drive... A car! So I'm after a bit of advice on a couple of related matters.

I've never driven a car, I don't know what pedal does what. No really, not got a clue. I've only ever piloted bikes, so how difficult is it to drive a car if you only have experience of two wheels? Anybody else gone from bike to car, if so how did you find it? Plus what does it cost to get a license, Dave down the pub can do me one for £40 but I don't really think thats how it should work?

Next thing is what car? I want a car for the weekends, doing a bit of shopping and taking friends out type of thing. And occasionally taking it to work if its snowing. I'm not really that bothered what it is, it just needs to be cheap to buy (think along the lines that the value of the car depends on the amount of fuel in the tank) and insure (a couple of hundred tops, I'm 25 and am fed up of paying insurance), and preferably reliable; but as with the bikes I will be doing all the servicing and stuff.

As an idea I looked at a MK1 Toyota MR2 £200 to buy £3700 to insure. I tried a VW Beetle (a proper one) but the web sites I was looking at wouldn't even quote. Finally I thought about a party wagon, something to chuck the bike in the back of to get to camp sites which would then double as me bed. So I tried a Bedford Rascal, but apart from not being able to get an SV in the back its £4000 to insure - its a Rascal FFS real high performance.

So I throw the gauntlet down, dare the org pick it up?

[BBadger]

not difficult to drive ....but passing the test ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

on a bike you have hands and feet doing everything, you dont have to move
a car is completely different
indicators, 3 mirrors ( what are they realy looking at ) and 3 peadles when you only have 2 feet ....didnt think that one through did they

best bet is to get something cheap thats nice and runs find yourself a car park or industrial estate, then learn the basics of driving, lessons can always be taken later

licences .. same way you got your bike one i think a full bike counts as a learner car aswell
but you may want to check that out from DVLA

on the car idea ..original MR2 stay away unless youve got big arms as no power stearing
otherwise great little cars got some go in them.
id probly find something horriable and cheap also abit more modern to kill if you have any misshaps while leanring


and that conclueds my overly long answer

[Xan173]

Best bet is to go for something undesirable, for less than a grand.
For example the hideous Daewoo Nexia which is basically a copy of the Astra.
I see there's one on autotrader in Swindon for £795, is got 42k on the clock and 9 months MOT, and 1 previous owner.

For that money a low miler with some ticket left won't see you far wrong. It's a used dealer so lord only knows what he paid for it.

http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/92242/freefind_stock.htm

[gettin2dizzy]

Driving a car is a piece of **** after a bike. Getting used to the width is somewhat amusing :lol: Just be prepared for.... insurance quotes. If you thought bikes were bad; guess again!

As for what car? Don't go for anything quick/fun. I went out in a 225bhp Audi TT last weekend and it felt as slow as can be - compared to a bloody SV! Just get something cheap to buy/run/insure/tax. Cars are for Ikea trips, bikes are for fun.

[fizzwheel]

I agree with Xan, something small, cheap and undesirable is what you want.

My first car was a ratty old mini that was older than I was. I loved that car and it taught me so much about driving and car control. Also it was cheap to run and I could do work on it myself which also kept the running costs down. So that might be an option as well ?

Stay away from anything flash or fancy.

As for the actual driving, you'll be fine, you wont have to learn "road sense" as you'll have that already. So all you'll have to do is learn how to pass the test and the mechanics of driving.

Anyway the only pedal you need to worry about is the one on your right anyway :D

[gettin2dizzy]

After reading the whole thread ;) ...

£3700 isn't surprising, but no one in their right mind would pay it. No NCB on a 1.8tdci focus was £700 for me to give you a ballpark figure. That's at 22 in a ****ty area of Cardiff. It don't half shift too :thumbsup:

[ooger]

Car insurance is a b**** - especially your first policy.

You can get named as a driver on another persons policy if they have more experience/less risk, but its not a good idea, though its usually cheaper.

If you get named driver insurance you usually dont amass NCB, but some insurers do honour it.

Shop around, and be prepared for a disappointing slow, laggy, tardy car. On the plus side, luggage is easy.

Driving is rubbish :)

[Biker_Billy]

Eh Up Squirrel...hows things?

Good luck with the test and all that.

Plenty of cars around that are decent enough for upto 500 quid - like alex says, something not too desirable, and there are bargains to be had.

All I can add really is that whilst I'm not normally an advocate of French cars, one of my first cars was an M reg citroen AX - 1 litre. Not exactly fast, but I put 100k on it in about 4 years or so, and it never let me down. Servicing parts were as cheap as chips, and easy to do yourself....

Theres a chap down here selling a nice enough VW polo - L reg I think, 400 quid - somehting like that I wouldnt be too afraid of putting my money into...

Shame you didnt post this thread a couple of months ago - my uncle just upgraded - 1988 VW polo, 38k on the clock, owned from new, garaged every night (seriously) - was absolutely mint - let it go for £250 - I nearly bought it, just cos it was such a damned good deal - mind you, I dont really need anymore cars! Suppose I'm trying to say that such cars do exist, and can be found if you look for them, just 'cos its a old, doesn't mean it wont do the job.

Good luck, and let me know if I can help - I'll take you out in the Audi at our little soiree in a few weeks if you want to get a feel for driving...

Billy.

[embee]

If someone genuinely wants a cheap reliable runabout and isn't fussed by image, I generally recommend a jelly mould 1.0L Nissan Micra, maybe something round "S" reg as a good cost/age compromise. They are decent enough, pretty reliable and durable, and mechanically preferable (IMO) to the likes of Polos or Fiestas, and good examples can be got for sensible money.

I'd suggest aiming for something with at least an airbag or 2, could save your life.

A Yaris is a much better car, but even the very first examples (T reg?) hold decent values if not bashed/crashed.

[Woz]

I'm a driving instructor so if you need any advice, drop me a PM. :smt023

[Razor]

takes more skill to ride a bike than drive a car so you should be ok

[stuntpilot]

Did about 6 years on bikes before starting on driving lessons, and then only to shut me mum up!

Summary - overall it's easy - you'll take to clutch and steering pretty quickly. Gears might give you a moment - as you've got more faffing to do than on a bike.

Reversing and parking took a little while to get my head round, but general control, accelerating, braking, road positioning and awareness were all there already.

The main issues I had were - I couldn't see anything - it's got corners and bits you can't see, along with pillars and stuff. You can't smell or hear things - I felt so much more in control on a bike. I still miss the more direct involvement of a bike when in a car.

Oh and my god it was boring... press the loud pedal and it got louder - and apparently that was all!

Most entertaining moment was aiming for a gap that my bike would have fitted thru nicely... err hang on I'm 4x wider.... perhaps stopping is a better idea! :D

Seem to remember (looooooooong time ago), I only did about 4 or 5 lessons and some drives with friends.

[Rhiwbina_Squirrel]

Having passed my car test about three weeks ago most of this is pretty fresh in my mind :D:cool:

Driving a car is easy. Really, there's not much to it. I learned to ride a bike before I learned to drive and I found it fine. You might find that the car feels very slow after riding a bike - this can be annoying and also mean you spend most of the time speeding to try and compensate (not that I do, obviously:rolleyes:).

The price for lessons changes between counties. In Cardiff, 10 lessons costs about 140 quid and then the test is 60 on top of that. Depending on your skill, you could quite easily pass your test for around 200 quid.

As for cars just go for something cheap. Insurance is never going to be cheap though. Most councils now are offering the pass plus scheme as a massively reduced price which might get you a little discount on your insurance quote.

Alex

[Jabba]

As for the actual driving, you'll be fine, you wont have to learn "road sense" as you'll have that already.
Can I nominate this as "Quote of the Week"? :smt081

I'm sure you'll find it easy enough but, as others have said, prepare yourself for a shock on the insurance front. Cars are more expensive than bikes in my experience.

Good luck :D

[ThEGr33k]

Im going to have to do my car licence soon too I think. :) Hope I can get it done ok... I always get nervous with tests like these though so I will have to try and keep calm, I think thats the biggest issue ill have... Its the problem I had with the bike test.

[startrek.steve]

They say bikers make the best car drivers... I guess we're more aware of the road surface & other idiots!!

Having said that, my instructor was always bollocking me, cos I screamed through the gearbox, & never slowed down for the corners!
(12 lessons & passed 1st time!)
Steve

[454697819]

not difficult to drive ....but passing the test ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

on a bike you have hands and feet doing everything, you dont have to move
a car is completely different
indicators, 3 mirrors ( what are they realy looking at ) and 3 peadles when you only have 2 feet ....didnt think that one through did they

best bet is to get something cheap thats nice and runs find yourself a car park or industrial estate, then learn the basics of driving, lessons can always be taken later

licences .. same way you got your bike one i think a full bike counts as a learner car aswell
but you may want to check that out from DVLA

on the car idea ..original MR2 stay away unless youve got big arms as no power stearing
otherwise great little cars got some go in them.
id probly find something horriable and cheap also abit more modern to kill if you have any misshaps while leanring


and that conclueds my overly long answer

they did... the built automatics, which is what my kitten did, learnt in an auto... bloody marvellous idea... gives me an excuse to buy a 2.5l jag next year some time.. wooo hoo..!

[squirrel_hunter]

Cheers guys reassured me a bit that its going to be possible, though sadly not as cheep as I would want. I'll start digging around for some insurance quotes, but I'll remember to be seated.

Billy if I haven't started by then and you want to risk giving me a go in your car (remember what my old bike looked like) then sure I'll take you out for a quick spin.

Woz - payment in kind?

Theres another guy at work the same age as me in the same situation all be it not with any transport to his name so I might let him do the leg work with finding an instructor and all that.

As for the car, thanks for the leads, I'm off to eBay for a look. However I'm still after ideas as to me an undesirable car is pretty much all of them...

[Woz]

Woz - payment in kind?


No need. My advice is always of the free variety :)

[northwind]

I'm in the same position... Though I've been in that same position for 3 years :) Finally did my theory test at least, that's step one.

Insurance-wise, I ended up looking at undesirable hot hatches. Really I want a Mk1 or Mk2 Golf or a 205 GTI, or maybe a corrado, but I found a good balance between a car I actually want, can afford and can insure was the Pug 206 dturbo... Decent wee cars by all accounts. But I might end up buying some festering old astra or somesuch.

[Woz]

For a first car, get something dirt cheap (couple of hundred quid at most) that you don't mind insuring Third Party only. If you crash it or it gets nicked or blows up, no worries, just buy another. Stick with it until you get a year or two's no claims then get something a bit nicer.

[northwind]

Oh yeah... It's worth checking to see if your bike insurance does cars, some will use your bike no-claims or discount you for insuring both.

[mike_avfc]

enjoy the test - they will take you on the magic roundabout ! tip: always stay in the left lane when heading towards it unless they tell you otherwise, failed first time on that heading towards the MR