10 driving lessons for £99, a pricing strategy that seems like a bargain for cash-starved learner drivers in a hurry to pass their driving test. However, do these pay upfront, intensive driving courses actually represent good value for money? Let’s find out…
£99 for an intensive driving course sounds like a good deal, and gives learner drivers the impression that 10 hours behind the wheel – based on those lessons being one hour each – is all they need before booking a practical driving test.
The reality is, a UK learner driver will average nearly 70 hours of driving before taking their test. This means 10 hours of driving lessons is nowhere near enough to be considered a safe and competent motorist.
The £99 pricing strategy is a way to lure learner motorists into booking lessons. It’s likely that a driving instructor will then recommend more lessons, after the first 10, to bring learner drivers up to the required standard. Are the next 10 lessons likely to be £99…? You guessed it, they’re not.
Intensive Driving Courses Can Be Costly
The standard of tuition you receive from intensive driving courses offered my driving schools has often been called into question. It has been widely reported that learners are tutored by semi-qualified instructors during these bargain lessons, and in order to train them, they need more learner motorists, hence the deals.
The problem is, 70% of these semi-qualified instructors will go on to fail the Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) exams because they can’t teach, which means it’s likely to take a learner driver longer to get anywhere near ready for a driving test. This results in more lessons and more money!
The biggest problem with intensive driving courses is that you have to pay upfront. If you end up with a tutor you don’t like, chances are you’d want to take lessons with another instructor. You can leave, but they will either hold on to any deposit you’ve paid or worse, refuse a refund.
The reason driving schools push these offers is not to give learner drivers a bargain, but to train semi-qualified instructors. This is not unlawful, but you should be aware that driving schools are hiding this behind seemingly good deals for driving lessons. You’re being used as a guinea pig.
When on the hunt for a driving instructor, be on the lookout for those that are ADI approved. It’s better to pay more for quality tuition than pay more for substandard teaching.
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