JCC Driving School

"Cheap" Driving Lessons

Of course you want a great deal on driving lessons, but make sure cheap driving lessons aren't cheap because they are worthless!

At Rio Driving School we hear the same comments time and time again -"I went with 'X' Driving School because they were quite cheap - but ended up spending a fortune and not making progress".

Have you seen those "Special Offers"? The ones offering 10 lessons for £99 or something ridiculous like that? Ask yourself a question - "How can the Instructor earn a living when one lesson is costing you £9.90?

Take from this:
* the cost of the fuel used by the instructor to get to you
* the cost of the fuel during your lesson
* car finance
* franchise fees
* tyres
* wear and tear (brakes, clutch etc)
* insurance
* road tax
* instructor's time

To make a living the instructor may have to do a number of things:

* 1 lesson = 45 minutes
Most people assume a driving lesson is one hour. A 45 minute lesson limits the amount you can accomplish. You will have to drive from your house to the location, then listen to a (often detailed) briefing. Will you be learning a new manoevre, doing dual carriageway work, practicing roundabouts? How much time will you have to practice and refine these skills before it is time to head back home?

* Lessons involve a lot of theory
(Or not practicing how to drive). In other words sitting at the kerbside with the engine switched off (to save fuel). The majority of your lesson should be spent actually driving.

* Piggy-backing
This refers to sharing the car with another pupil. While not illegal it is morally questionable. A driving instructor who does this reduces his "dead time" - the time spent travelling from one pupil to the next. This works by getting the novice driver to finish his lesson at the next pupil's house. This lesson then begins with the second driver taking the first home. This reduces the time available to learn new items.

* Extra lessons
Is the instructor holding you back from independent driving? A simple way to determine your test-readiness is simply listen. Does the instructor say much to you in the lesson? Is he/she still correcting mistakes? If the instructor remains quiet most of the time you may well already be test-ready.

*Minimum Bookings
Such as two lessons combined in one appointment. Again this reduces the instructor's "dead time". Other points to watch out for include "Buy 5 lessons and have them spread over x2 2.5 hour sessions. Having 2 hour lessons can be useful in some situations such as mock tests or developing concentration stamina, but in the early days 2 hours can be exhausting, and you may struggle to remember everything after an hour or so.

Far too many people choose a driving school because they are cheap - £15 or £20 per lesson. They can only do this by cutting corners (if you are not moving there is no fuel cost, no wear and tear, no tyre wear etc). A respectable gas engineer will charge at least £50 per hour, and people pay it because not having the gas system installed properly kills people. Why should driving be different - especially when more youngsters die in cars on the road than in gas-related incidents.

What you are taught should keep you and your passengers safe once you have passed the test and are driving alone. If you value your life then take quality driving tuition and pay that bit extra, but be taught correctly from lesson one.
R ight
I nstruction
O nly

Cheap lessons can work out more expensive in the long run:

60 cheap lessons at £22.00 = £1320.00
3 driving test attempts at £66.00 = £198.00
3 DVSA test fees at £62.00 = £186.00
Total: £1704.00

35 quality lessons at £30.00 = £1050.00
1 driving test at £75.00
1 DVSA test fee at £62.00
Total: £1187.00
Saving you £517.00, or possibly more!

And 35 lessons take less time, so you will be safely on the road in less time!

Lesson Prices:

At JCC A 1.5 hour lesson works out at £44.00, equivalent to £29.33 per hour

A two hour lesson costs £58.00, equivalent to £29.00 per hour.

You can save money by block booking lessons. For manual lessons, a 10 hour block booking is just £280.00

The use of the vehicle for the Practical Driving Test is £75.00. This includes transport to and from the Test Centre.

The "Pass Plus" training course usually costs £180.00, but visit my "Pass Plus" page for current discounts and more details of the course components.

For members of a "Blue Light" profession (Police, Fire, NHS Services) or the armed forces, or an immediate family member of one of these professions, we offer a further discount of £2.00 per hour tuition. Proof of eligibility must be provided in order to obtain this discount.

Other discounts may be available - contact us on 07773123443 for more details.

If you live outside our main catchment areas we may have to raise our price slightly to cover the increased distance and time getting to you. We cover the following areas:

Featherstone
Essington
Cheslyn Hay
Great Wyrley
Shareshill
Pendeford
Wolverhampton
Codsall
Coven

If you live outside these areas please contact us to discuss pricing.

Payments:

All payments must be made either at the start of the lesson or before the lesson.

I accept the following methods of payment:
* Cash
* Bank Transfer
* Chip and Pin / Contactless for Debit and Credit Cards and Electronic Payment Apps including:

- Visa
- Visa Electron
- Maestro
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Samsung Pay
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- Diners Club

Unfortunately we cannot accept payment by cheque.

Please note - payment must be made at the Start of the lesson, or in advance.

Prices correct at 14 March 2021

November 2021 - Unlike many Driving Schools we have not raised lesson prices as a result of recent fuel cost increases. We do not charge extra for evening or weekend lessons.