Thanks for all the advice so far guys ! I would like to give her some additional practice but am not the most patient of people so I will be bearing in mind what's been said above about keeping calm. You're quite right there is no point in shouting. Good point about power steering - hadn't thought of that, just took it for granted. Although my wife hasn't 'driven' more than a few circuits round an empty private car park, she does seem to have very good spacial awareness and as a cyclist she does have a reasonable knowledge of the 'rules'. On the point of insurance would it be better for me to buy then insure the car in my name with her as the named driver or let her insure it in her name and, hopefuly, start to accrue some sort of NCD ? We live in Orpington, which despite being called part of Kent, is actually in the London Borough of Bromley.
Sorry to be a pain about the choice of car but is £1000 reasonable for a small hatchback (say 10 years old) with PAS and if so can anyone recommend anything ? Thanks again - what would we do without all you BR's ?
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Spacial ????? Sorry, must be a new word which means the same as spatial !! Only have the most basic editing facilities and no spell check etc. on this p*ss p**r digital TV based system - that's my excuse anyway. Mind you, I don't get any spam and no viruses either !!
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Re Insurance, as the second car will be your wife's car which she will mostly drive you have to tell the insurance company this. If you insure the car in your name and name her as a driver but she drives the car most, your insurance will be invalid. The insurance companies have got wise to this one!
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Assuming you are of a similar age and the driving will be restricted to just the two of you, then from a financial point of view it will be unlikely to make a difference in whose name you insure it and who is the additional driver.
Assuming that this is your second car, then I would recommend that you earn the NCD in her name and therefore she should be the policyholder. This does give you a certain flexibility in the future.
Be careful of the business use conditions, the treatment of spouse and business use varies. For example, if you put the car in her name, and then one day you use it to go to work, then it may be an issue. Fair to say that it would be unusual, but check. Even more so if you would use it actually for business, travelling between offices, etc. etc.
And of course, vice versa for her.
It is not really neccessary, but you will find life infinitely easier if you register the car in whichever name the insurance will be in.
In the future as you buy/replace/whatever cars, then bear this point in mind. Especially given the actual usage of the vehicles.
With two car policies there is usually a discount. Sadly the companies which offer these discounts normally are more expensive in the first place. Also, simply because your insurer is cheapest for you, do not assume that it will neccessarily be so for your wife and her car.
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Thanks for the help - we are not the same ages - I've been driving since 1982 and she was born in 1976 (now that's a clue isn't it !). My intention was to buy the car for her, register it in her name and then she would pay for the insuring bit. Does this make any difference to your advice Mark ? Some time ago I rang around trying to get some idea of quotes for her and none of the companies I rang would provide a quote or even a ball park estimate without the regn. number of the actual car which of course we didn't have (chicken & egg scenario !) so I've got no idea what her insurance may cost.
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If you try getting quotes online you can usually just enter the make and model of the car without entering a registration. This should give you an idea of how much insurance will cost. I think Fiat Pandas are meant to be reasonably cheap to insure, at least that's what I read in some sort of motoring supplement in the newspaper ;-)
Did I leave my lights on?
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Wander round your local supermarket and note down the number of a few suitable motors - it's only a quote after all!!
Richard
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Ladies appear to have no difference between 1.1 and 1.3 ( Less Than ) engines so I suggest a 1.3 Polo Coupe. A strong reliable car at K or L plate plenty about and quite a few in really good nick. Goto www. NorwichUniondirect.co.uk and get a quote. 1/. as her as the owner/L plate driver and one as owner qualified driver.
You may well find that using a driving school and the occasional L Plate hire car at £11/hour will be the cheapest then when your wife passes her test and taken Pass Plus an extra £100 or so she may get a good deal £350 to £450.
This solution will also preserve your marriage !!
Regards
Peter
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Buy the good lady a copy of Roadcraft and get her to study it day and night until she knows it backwards.
DVD
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My wife taught me to drive aged twenty-eight after we'd moved to a rural area which made driving essential. As a kid I'd done some driving off road, but nothing for over a decade. We went on some waste ground for me to get the hang of steering and gears then after that I just drove whenever I could for about two months, including (once we were happy that it was ok) sharing the driving on long trips up the A1, swapping for the "M" bits. She was absolutely marvellous about it, and has since explained that once she could see I could control the car she thought it was best to let me "experience driving" rather than instructing. We had no really scary moments, and it eventually took just two lessons before the instructor was happy I could pass, but...
I took my first test in his new car, and failed. This was largely because I was unfamiliar with the car, and with added nerves was just too cautious. When I took it again as soon as I could afterwards, in our car, I passed with no marks against me. So if you go down the "drive as much as possible" route, it's probably better for her to take the test in the car she's most familiar with. I would also say that at the time I was a 150 mile a week cyclist, so my general road awareness was probably pretty good.
This was in the mid-1990s, by the way, not long after the theory test was introduced.
Chris
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Yes - I had forgotten Pass Plus.
Tom will confirm - I think that it gets you 1 year's NCD (or rather her).
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Up to 30% off if you do pass plus, as Trevor says equivalent to about one years no claims. Also worth considering a car that is not attractive to thieves, such as a Skoda. That should keep the premiums down a bit.
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Depends...
Do you have a car also ? If you do, it is almost inevitable that the other car will be rated on her, irrespective of who is the main user.
It also depends on their approach to introductory discounts. For a policy in her name you are going to suffer from the lack of a licence for a min. of 12 months and her age. - I was in almost exactly the same position with my wife.
The premium will be rated on her whatever. However, you need to check which way will get you the lowest premium since differing discoutns will be offered.
Please ignore what the discount actually is, only the bottom line matters. I only mention discounts so that you understand why they will be different. As I keep trying to tell everybody, 30% discount on $50 is better than a 60% on $300.
As I say, be careful of business use by either of you. Its easier if the majority of business use is done by the policyholder rather than spouse. This is not to say that it is insurmountable, or even a problem with some insurers, but it does make life simpler and widen the choice of potential insurers.
Anybody who is asking you for a reg. no. is at best an admin clerk using a computerised quotation system. If they haven't got the wherewithall to work out how to do it without a registration number, then they are likely to add much value to your quotation.
Probably your best bet is to find a Bennetts, or equivalent, and walk in and ask them for differing quotes. They will do it over the phone, but its a fairly quick process and better face to face.
A word of caution, they will not mind trying different quotes for different ways of arranging the insurance. However, if you start asking for quotes for various cars they will realise you haven't actually bought the car and may decide to regard you as a tyre-kicker and put correspondingly less effort in to your quotation.
Just a pick a car typical of what you might buy. It will give you a close enough idea.
As I say, there are many brokers, but in my experience Bennetts have frequently got special deals with various syndicates and various situations. If you make sure you speak to a senior/experienced person, then you should be able to have quite a sensible discussion with them and they will work out the various scenarios for you.
Early saturday morning or sat. lunch is normally quietest or mid-morning in the week. IIRC.
BTW, you are not going to like the cost.
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More good advice - thanks all !
Mark, yes I do have a car - a Volvo (surprise, surprise !) 940 SE Turbo. I enquired 'casually' about getting my wife put on my insurance but '> More Than' were '< less than' happy about it and virtualy hung up on me !! Business use isn't an issue at present either. Like the idea of trying a broker - gave up on them years ago - and do agree that I should narrow the choice of car down. Thus far Fiesta, Micra, Polo and Nova have been suggested anyone got any other thoughts on a cheap, reliable hatchback ?
Finally, whilst I've mellowed over the years like a fine Claret, my young wife is still a bit 'fiery' so since someone mentioned saving our marriage, can any give me any advice on keeping her sweet ? It's like this you see, ................
Thanks guys.
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"can any give me any advice on keeping her sweet"
A Ferrari?
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I can recommend the Peugeot 205 as a cheap and economical hatchback. Also the sweetest-handling car I've driven.
P.
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"can any [smart @rse] give me any advice on keeping her sweet"
SWMBO(?) won't be impressed if she knows how much time you spend on HJ's site. Trust me.
Something you can store away for a few miles up the road:
When she complains, as she almost surely will, after a few lessons, that she is getting worse not improving - you can appear protective and knowledgable by reassuring her that this is just an impression resulting from her progress which has made her more aware of her mistakes.
N'est-ce pas Tom?
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Spot on, LeZebre. The more progress a learner makes, the worse they think they are doing. The bad ones are never aware of all the mistakes they are making and keep pushing to be put in for their test.
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