That 'Learn to drive' Resolution?

4 March, 2010 | Category: Social | Author: Helen

Every year people make new years resolutions - some silly ones and some useful ones, some that would realistically be impossible to keep and some (like learning to drive) quite realistic.

Learning to drive is nearly always in the 'Top 10' each year, with 10's of 1000's of people undertaking driving lessons. This year however, the numbers of new pupils starting lessons is down on previous years. This (I assume) is more down to the expense of training and driving test etc as opposed to it not being seen as a valuable asset to anyone's skills repertoire!

Like nearly any product or service that is of real life value, driving lessons are a costly undertaking. Even so, the cost should, in the long term, be greatly outweighed by the benefits such as the time saved in not having to wait for the bus to arrive and simply driving yourself home with the shopping in the boot rather than your hands.

With fewer people wanting to learn to drive at the moment, there are some deals to be caught out there, either by getting out your Yellow Pages, by hunting online or by using a comparison service like the one below.

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New Cars

11 May, 2010 | Category: Automotive | Author: Timbo

When I got my first new car it was such a novelty. It followed years of driving quite average cars and a few buckets! But was it really worth it? Would I buy one again? Have I any suggestions? Read on..

The smell of a new car - I love it. There is just something about that aroma, that speaks volumes. It says 'I'm new! '. So much so that over the years there have been air fresheners produced to emulate the smell so that people can rejuvenate the aroma as well as the condition of the car. I often wonder if car manufacturers would easily be able to eradicate this smell if they wanted to, or maybe even do things to increase it as there is such a novelty attached to it.

But are new cars really worth it? Well I for one am very pleased that I was able to buy a new car. The novelty of having one was great. The problem with new cars are numerous.

Reasonably often, new cars have small issues. By the time you buy a second hand car a lot of the initial problems have already been ironed out. Also, for the first few thousand miles, new car engines have to be treated with kid gloves, not highly revved etc. During the breaking in period, new cars also have lower fuel economy. Additionally, even though it is great to have an absolutely spotless car, the stress involved in keeping it that way is also there, you notice every stone chip and mark and even bird droppings become an issue!

Apart from those few things is the cost. The moment that you drive off the forecourt, your car can lose literally thousands of pounds. For a 15,000 pound car, the first year could therefore cost you 5,000, whereas the second year could then cost you 2,000 pounds. Therefore you would be financially better off buying a 1 year old car as opposed to a new one.

All of the above taken into consideration, I would probably buy a new car again if I came into loads and loads of money, but, failing that, I am glad that I have done it in the past but would be unlikely to do it again.

One solution however could be going for a test drive in a new car each and every weekend! Now there is an idea.

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