r/NewDriversUK

Hi, I’m 31m just passed my test and looking for a first car with budget 6k+
I’ve seen both cars at around same price but need some advice
Suzuki baleno 2018- 67k miles £6100
Mazda 3 2015-97k miles £6500

I’m not sure if I’m doing too much by looking at Mazda 3, I just love the car but Baleno looks really cheap to run too. Please advise, thank you.

Can’t stop crying after I made such a big mistake today. Went to the cinema which has a multi-storey for the first time after I’ve passed. The cinema gives you four hour free parking as it validates the ticket. Watched the movie and came back out, put my ticket in the machine and went back to my car….

What I didn’t realise and why I probably should have looked at the signs, is that once you put the ticket in the machine you only have 20 mins to leave.. maybe this is common sense but I had no idea. I thought as I had “four hours free” with the cinema, I could just sit in my car and text my friends for a bit.. oh how I was wrong. I was taking my leisurely time, even face times my mum 🤣

Then I drive down to the barriers to let myself out, put my ticket in the barrier and it says “exceeded time limit”. Now I am so confused because I know I haven’t spend four hours here so I keep on trying. I try press the call button but nothing happens. Literally start bursting into tears and full blown panick attack at this point because a line has formed up behind me and people are beeping (bear in mind I also have P plates on!). So people are beeping at me but because there are cars queues behind I physically have no where to go. There was also an entire other barrier this whole time people could have gone through but they decided to wait behind me.

Now I’m like crying, complete blubbering mess, and cars behind finally get the idea they will need to move back so I can reverse. Now I’m panicking because I have to reverse in this really tight space next to these cars watching me trying not to hit them or the parked cars. Thankfully, a really lovely couple saw me and stepped in to help and they were literally angels! They managed to track down a parking attendant and he let me through.

But I’m just feeling really shaken up by the whole thing and am still crying now as I write this! I know it’s a learning moment and I will definitely check the signs from now on, but it was just so so so stressful so needed to vent it out!!!!!

I have been taking lessons probably hundreds and hundreds of hours since before covid, but I don't feel any closer to passing. I feel like every instructor I've had is taking me for a ride (literally), and each lesson we're covering the same stuff like traffic lights, junctions, emerging, meeting traffic. I have not even done roundabouts or dual carriageways yet. To those of you who have passed, how did you ensure you progressed forward with the "syllabus"? It feels like I'm going to have to start turning up to each lesson and tell the instructor exactly what I want to do. I thought that they were supposed to be teaching me, not me telling them what to teach me so that I can actually make progress.The thing is as well, I am pretty good at everything that we have already covered and I do not feel like I'm being challenged with anything different. Does anyone have any tips for this situation so that I can actually make progress and pass this damn test?? It feels like my instructors are just rinsing me for money.

Looking to buy my first car, found this perfect little Kia Rio. Low mileage, clean MOT, full service history, dealership has amazing reviews, insurance quoted low, all very good things. The only issue, I live on a bumpy country road, would only be a couple minutes each drive but would this totally ruin the car as I’ve read it’s low to the ground with a stiff suspension. I absolutely adore it and was devastated to think it may not survive the track I live on.

For those who bought a manual car for around £2k–£3k, what did you end up getting, and how many miles were on it? Have you had to spend much on repairs? If so, what needed fixing, and how has the car been since you bought it? I’m just trying to get an idea of what to expect

I went and test drove a used car from a trade seller the other day and was happy with it but, as the car needed a part to fix an issue with the air-conditioning, I didn't pay for the it there and then (just paid a deposit)

They told me they expect the part to be delivered and fitted on Thursday but they didn't sound very sure it would definitly happen that day

So I'm left wondering what I should do about setting up the insurance and tax on the car. I know I can't tax it until the purchase is complete and it's insured and I understand I can do this on my phone when I pick it up. However, there seems to be some warnings that it can take a while (up to 24h) for the online database to register that the car is insured so I'm unsure whether I should just setup the insurance now, even though I dont own the car yet, so there's time for the database to update.

My concern is the annual insurance is a reasonable lump sum to stump up and if something falls through with the sale I might struggle to get this back quickly (the insurer allows cancellation within 14 days for £25 fee but no idea how long it takes them to refund it). The alternative is I dont setup the insurance yet and do it on the day I complete the sale but then what happens if I cant pay the tax in the system, would I just have to leave the car there and go back again another day?

Anyone have any suggestions?

Picking it up on the 25th as that's when I can pay it outright.

2008 Golf, bought it for £1.5k, he was open about it failing last year and having work done to pass, I've seen the advisories but I've been told by others its nothing major and can be sorted. The MOT is due in December, and I want to make sure it is passable.

Is it worth booking it in at a garage for an inspection/check after I pick it up just to be on the safe side?

Hi guys,

I'm hoping to pass in October. I'm looking for a car with really good boot space as my top priority. Other things I'd want preferably are good milage, good miles per gallon, decent insurance. I'm a 30 year old woman. What kind of insurance price should I expect to budget for?

I know nothing about cars. Are there any good online resources where I can begin to learn what I need to know before I buy?

Looking at second hand, max budget around £15k. Auto transmission.

I decided to do pass plus because it’s cheap, more experience, a slim chance of ever so slightly lower insurance (I’ll take what I can get atp) so I have my 6 hours coming up in two blocks of 3 hrs across two days. I want to go into the local city to do some city driving and get acquainted with the roads and the main car park but I’m stuck with what else to do. I’m confident on motorways and rural roads but I don’t know what I should use the other hours for. Any ideas?

Hello, im planning to bring my car to uni but my insurance skyrockets from about £2200 a year at my home to £3800 a year paid monthly in my 2nd year uni home. This is all with a blackbox. Adding an experienced named driver does nothing. Im sure having my car around would be handy and i want to take it with me, but i dont know if itll be worth it financially. Any advice as to what i should do, or if i can lower it at all.

I did my test ready for when I re-enter the job market, so atm I'm a full time carer for my ASD son who is an extreme homebody! I drive much less now than when I took my lessons.

How about you?

I'm 17 and want to pay for insurance monthly, I found a quote for £200 per month as I'm buying a cheap car and insuring that. I found a black box policy w/ carrot insurance and when going to pay I can't change the bank details to anyone other than the policyholder. Policyholder also has to be the main driver so I can't get my parents to open the policy.

I'm stuck rn as I'll be getting the car soon so I need to get insurance fast, but since I'm 17 and monthly payments are basically a loan, I can't legally pay for it. I wouldn't mind that if I was allowed to have my parent make a loan and I'd transfer money to pay it off.

Any suggestions?

i passed my test last month so have been free on the roads for a few weeks. the more i drive the more i hate it, and i think a huge part of that is that everyone else seems to be terrible at driving.

just today, someone slammed on and stopped dead in front of me on a slip road rather than slowing to merge, causing me to have to swerve round them and undertake. when i got back to my town, i then got stuck behind someone who was driving very unpredictably - straddling multiple lanes in some areas and stopping to look at road signs. then there’s the issue of nobody using their indicators or positioning correctly so its almost impossible to read them.

i dont recall facing this so often in my lessons. the issue is im constantly on edge driving around so i just dont want to do it. i feel like i worked so hard to get my license and id actually rather just take public transport or walk.

is this normal ?! i do live in devon so hoping its just an influx of tourists that arent familiar with our roads over summer. 🙃

Hi everyone,

I was stopped by the police today for using a handheld mobile phone while driving. I fully accept that I made a mistake and I genuinely regret it. I’m not trying to dispute the offence or avoid the consequences.

I’ve held my full UK driving licence for less than two years, so I understand that the usual 6 points would result in my licence being revoked under the New Drivers Act. I’m prepared to accept the £200/6 points and the revocation, and then retake my theory and practical tests.

What is confusing me is that the police officer told me at the roadside that I would receive a letter from the court. He did not say that I would receive a Fixed Penalty Notice.

I would much rather accept the standard penalty without going to court if that is an option. I have no intention of pleading not guilty or challenging what happened.

Has anyone had a similar experience, particularly for a mobile phone offence? If the officer specifically said that a court letter would arrive, does that mean the case is definitely being referred to court, or could I still receive a Fixed Penalty Notice / Single Justice Procedure Notice instead?

Also, I have heard conflicting information about DBS checks. Some people say that if a mobile phone offence is dealt with in court and results in a conviction, it will appear on a DBS check, while others say that this type of motoring offence is normally non-recordable and does not automatically appear. Does anyone have actual experience of a CU80/mobile phone conviction through court and whether it appeared on their Basic, Standard or Enhanced DBS?

Thanks — I’m pretty stressed about the situation and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has actually been through something similar.

Passed my test a couple weeks ago. I honestly cannot believe how many fully grown men shout scream and swear at a girl on her own in the car when they can also see you have P plates on!

First time was when a bus was coming from the right at a roundabout and wasn’t indicating. Because it needs to take a kinda central position for being so big and rectangle I couldn’t quite tell where he was going, he proceeded off without any indicator on and I then entered into the round about once I was sure what exit he was taking. I was there for approx 10 seconds longer and I guy was actually calling me a w***er in the window and beeping at me with a long droning beep.

Then today, going up a tight side street with cars parked on pavement on both sides that I’ve never driven on before in an area I don’t know, still getting used to how wide my car is etc, a van parked on one side with wide wing mirrors and a 4x4 with wing mirrors that don’t tuck in on the other side so dropped to first and was checking my mirrors etc to make sure I could clear it and proceeding a bit slower to get through and the guy behind me is beep beep beeping at me after zooming up the street to catch up with me, got to the side of me eventually as I pulled in to let him past and he started screaming and swearing at me saying you could get a bus through that (you couldn’t) and he didn’t care if I was a new driver I was an effn c*w etc.

Seems to only happen when I’m on my own or women only in the car, never when my husband is with me. Cannot believe how absolutely boiling with anger people get at new drivers being cautious when they first pass and that people think it is so acceptable to talk to people like that!

Hey all, I posted a while ago about putting P plates on considering I don’t have much road experience even though I am a good driver. My partner is a blues driver and he thinks I am a decent driver and cautious and thoughtful, but he also thinks I exhibit qualities of a new driver such as delayed reaction time, or not looking far far ahead etc. I didn’t want to take people on the road by surprise if sometimes my reaction to something is delayed, or slightly bad lane discipline in unmarked roundabouts or where road markings are faint or if I stall on hills or under pressure etc. After three weeks, I’ve taken it off at least for familiar roads such as work, gym etc. Now I am afraid that I’ll inevitably make a novice mistake which might have been avoided if other roads could see the P and give me some more time to process things perhaps.

Would be very much interested in your opinions on this!

I've driven an automatic before and I personally find it weirdly too easy. I'm scared if I drive automatics I won't concentrate enough, because on a manual I feel like I have to plan ahead a lot more because I have to keep shifting gears so my concentration is a lot more than if I'm driving an automatic. Automatic kind of feels like I'm playing a videogame. I haven't driven automatics a lot though (I had insurance for a few weeks on one) so I'm curious what other people's experiences have been?