Driving School

[NigelCull]

Hi all,

Just to say look out in the Brighton area for my all silver One being used as a driving school car, from December 20th.

As I do around 40,000 miles a year teaching, I'll keep posting progress reports on how the car keeps together.

Cheers.

[oldnell]

That should be a good test of how things like the clutch hold up!

[DEye]

Have you modified it for passenger side controls ?

( Factory build Right AND Left hand drive

[chughes163]

I wish i could learn on a new mini. I live in the oxford area and am learning in a 1.25 fiesta zetec at the moment which is nice...but as im buying a mini, a mini is the ultimate car.

Know of any good instructors in my area by any chance? - just stopped learning with the AA as it was costing me a lot of money for not very much - i.e. would sit in the drive talking for 45 mins about basic stuff

let me know if u do

cheers

[dcfkan]

Welcome to MINI2

DK

[NigelCull]

Hi CHughes,
Funnily enough I've just left the AA Driving school to go on my own. Afraid I have no contacts up in that area. If your instructor sits talking for 45 minutes, ditch him! You're paying to drive, not listen to him pontificating.Also make sure your instructor has a green ADI licence on his windscreen, not a pink one, which means he's a trainee and not yet qualified.

Yes, the Min's being fitted up with the dual controls (£440 thank you very much). I've ordered air con (essential for demisting windows on wet days),Salt pack, TLC and sports seats. No alloys as the buggers keep whacking the n/s/f wheel every time they park! And the CD player for me...

[chughes163]

People up your area are lucky to have an instructor like you....my guy is a Level 6 (and didnt he go on about it........) - also, everytime i went out with him it felt like i was on my test! First lesson he talked for 1 hour...(managed to get onto the subject of seats and how you could get seats made for you by certain manufacturers...bla bla bla)- then £44 please!

He had some quite petty rules i.e.:

1.)Do not put your thumbs over the wheel, put them behind as it avoids them being injured if you go over a pot hole...

2.)slow down to 5 mph for every turning (even on 40mph roads)

So definitely ditched him for good...

Are AA instructors really any better than private ones? judging by what i have seen so far, i am not so certain!


(PLEASE NOTE :- If you are my instructor reading this, sorry, but the details would have come out one day - and i aint paying you that money for my cancelled lesson!)

[oldnell]

As far as I know, the AA's driving school is just a franchise. Instructors sign up and use the AA's booking systems, an AA school car and let the AA take their cut.

I don't know if there's any AA specific training, but I doubt that if there is it amounts to much more than a brief check.

My instructor from about 1995 switched from being a one-man-band to the AA scheme part way through my tuition. I don't think he had to go through much to become an AA instructor.

I found BSM to be good, but make sure you get an experienced instructor rather than a trainee.

[chughes163]

yea, my sister went with CIA and she got a trainee - she had 12 hours with him just driving round tesco's car park as he wasnt trained to a high enough standard to take her on the road (or maybe he was just too affraid of her driving!)

[daiboi]

i recently passed my test, and my first instructor cancelled about 5 out of 10 lessons. when i had my test (the one i failed ) i told him the date of my test and he wrote it down and stuff, and i phoned him the night before my test and he said he had a lesson booked and that he couldnt take me. Bear in mind that he cancelled one of MY lessons because he had to take someone to have their
test.

in the end i phoned up a bunch of people i know and luckily the local youth club have a dual control car which they use to give people driving lessons for FREE, and he said he would take me. i failed in the end but managed to get around 30 free lessons in a brand new corsa which had like 50 miles on the clock when i started.

i managed to pass in the end and just drove the mini for the first time on friday, and have managed to clock over 200 miles this weekend (havent had much time to drive ) DEFINATELY WORTH THE WAIT!

[dcfkan]

Quote:

Originally posted by daiboi
i managed to pass in the end and just drove the mini for the first time on friday, and have managed to clock over 200 miles this weekend (havent had much time to drive ) DEFINATELY WORTH THE WAIT!

Are you planning to run the car in so that your dad will be able to thrash it about when he comes home?

Looking forward to meet you at Chilterns Run btw

DK

[daiboi]

Quote:

Originally posted by dcfkan

Are you planning to run the car in so that your dad will be able to thrash it about when he comes home?

Looking forward to meet you at Chilterns Run btw

DK

hes a slow driver anyway hes in texas atm i think so might be close to 1 k miles by the time he gets back (2-3 days :P )

[NigelCull]

I hear appalling stories every week about the disrespect that, thankfully few, instructors show their pupils.
If anyone has any queries about driving tests or instructors because they feel they're being fobbed off,please contact me : nigel@lsbc.fsnet.co.uk and I'll try and help.
(My Mini arrived today at the dealer - being prepped right now for collection on saturday....!!!)

[chughes163]

Thanks a lot Nigel. Its useful having someone like yourself to talk to about instructors. My guy was charging me £44 for 2 hours and am now changing to a guy who is £40 however he is supposed to be excellent according to my friends....and hes private. I also found the ford focus 5dr to be a big car to learn in...the guy im starting with has a Seat Arosa 1.4 sport which seems much better. Will keep you up to date with how it goes


thanks again