Finally took the plunge and decided to learn

AdMMM

I've never had any reason to drive. When I lived in Waterford I lived a 5 minute walk to school, a 15 minute walk to college and then a 10 minute walk to work. Now that I've moved to Dublin, I've decided that while public transport is very well connected, I'd like the convenience of being able to drive and reclaim some of my commuting time every day!

Even though I'm living in Dublin, would I be better off to learn to drive and do my test in Waterford, where I've lived for the past 23 years? I think that while I may have only been a passenger, I would have been taking in everything that was going on around me and know how traffic behaves on roads at certain times etc.

As for getting a car, my father seems to think I should be spending ~€5k on my first car. Going on what I'm seeing online though, the market seems to be flooded with cars from 02-05 that can be had for between €2k and €3k. He also thinks I should get something with resale value however I'm thinking that my first car will be a car that I'll drive until it drives no more and then be scrapped, also while it would obviously be a worst case scenerio, if I was to have a shunt or scrape, I'd rather it happen to a cheap runabout. Is there a merit to his thinking? He's been suggesting the likes of a SEAT Ibiza with low mileage whereas I've been thinking of an Opel Corsa or Toyota Yaris that has just recently been NCT'd.

I have to say I'm looking forward to it all. I've always wished that I was able to drive but given how close I was to everything, I just couldn't justify the cost. Now that I have a job and would be able to save time every day by driving, I think I'd be a fool not to try pick it up.

Alanstrainor

Buying a car of that age for resale value really isn't a great way to go about things. Even so, small economical cars for the sub 5k price range are very much in demand at the minute and command high prices since the demand is high. I'd be looking at 02/03 fiesta with the 1.25 engine. And get the best spec/condition you can find.

NCT is important, and also get anything checked out by a mechanic.

woodchuck

I'd agree that a cheap 'runaround' is the way to go! Learning to drive is stressful enough on it's own, without adding extra worry about damaging a more expensive car. I wouldn't spend more than 2k if I was you. For that price you should be able to find something with reasonably low mileage and recently NCTed (if there's something in particular you're keen to buy I'd still get a mechanic to check it out first though).

As for Waterford vs Dublin, where is the most convenient for you to get lessons and do practice inbetween (bearing in mind that legally you'll need a licensed driver with you)? Even if you learn in one place you can always decide to do the test elsewhere and get familiar with the area in the run up to it.

AdMMM

Thanks to both of you.

I think I'll definitely look into a cheap and cheerful model of some sort. I work a 9-5 job and with it coming into Winter shortly, the only time I could get daylight lessons would be over the weekend.

As for insurance, I've been doing up some mock quotes and the prices I've been quoted on third-party on modestly sized engines seem prohibitively expensive on provisional licenses. Would the route I'd have to go down be to have a parent "own" the car and then be insured as a named driver on that until I qualify for my full license? I understand that as a named driver I wouldn't be building any type of no claims bonus but the plan is to be rid of my provisional license as soon as possible so I don't think this will be an issue.

ProudDUB

OP, if you live and work in Dublin, I'd learn up here if I were you. Driving in Dublin and Waterford are two very different beasts. Why not learn in the place that you are actually going to be living and driving in? If Waterford is familiar to you, you can easily get just as familiar with the area around your Dublin location too, either on the lessons themselves or in your practice driving sessions.

Where ever you choose to learn, you'll need to get practice sessions in too & you will need to be accompanied by another qualified driver on them. The availability of that person(s) should factor into your decision too.

Would the route I'd have to go down be to have a parent "own" the car and then be insured as a named driver on that until I qualify for my full license? I understand that as a named driver I wouldn't be building any type of no claims bonus but the plan is to be rid of my provisional license as soon as possible so I don't think this will be an issue.

Be careful there. That smacks of insurance fraud. If you fiddle the ownership deets on the car just to save some money on premium costs, your could find yourself in hot water with the insurance company. If you are then in an accident and make a claim, you and your father could get into trouble for lying about who owned the car. If the insurance company are told that your dad owns the car, and is registered at his address, but they later prove that you own it (bank records of you of paying off a car loan for example or a bit of basic research on where you live and work) and are 100% using it in Dublin, you could both get prosecuted for insurance fraud. Your dad could get dropped by his current company & you could both find it hard to get insurance cover ever again. I know that sounds like a doomsday scenario, but I really, really would not suggest trying to be cute with the insurance company just to save a few bob in the short term.

AdMMM

ProudDUB wrote: »

OP, if you live and work in Dublin, I'd learn up here if I were you. Driving in Dublin and Waterford are two very different beasts. Why not learn in the place that you are actually going to be living and driving in? If Waterford is familiar to you, you can easily get just as familiar with the area around your Dublin location too, either on the lessons themselves or in your practice driving sessions.

Where ever you choose to learn, you'll need to get practice sessions in too & you will need to be accompanied by another qualified driver on them. The availability of that person(s) should factor into your decision too.



Be careful there. That smacks of insurance fraud. If you fiddle the ownership deets on the car just to save some money on premium costs, your could find yourself in hot water with the insurance company. If you are then in an accident and make a claim, you and your father could get into trouble for lying about who owned the car. If the insurance company are told that your dad owns the car, and is registered at his address, but they later prove that you own it (bank records of you of paying off a car loan for example or a bit of basic research on where you live and work) and are 100% using it in Dublin, you could both get prosecuted for insurance fraud. Your dad could get dropped by his current company & you could both find it hard to get insurance cover ever again. I know that sounds like a doomsday scenario, but I really, really would not suggest trying to be cute with the insurance company just to save a few bob in the short term.

I think I'll just bite the bullet on insurance. From reading a few threads I see that ringing up the Insurance companies directly is better than getting an online quote? Assuming I pass my test first time which would be halfway through my policy, do the Insurance company refund you a percentage of your premium to recognise that you're now a fully qualified driver?

The more I think about it, the more I think learning to drive in Waterford would be better. I'm sharing a house in Dublin and everyone is pretty busy most of the time but I'm back in Waterford every weekend and would have no problem finding a family member to bring me around or accompany me.

Thanks everyone for your replies.