What car dilemma...

Like most people, I hate getting a new car, with so many options out there its hard to make a decision.

Having qualified on the 3rd of January, I knew I wanted to get on the road and teach asap... So I paid £300 to the DVLA for my green badge (green is for fully qualified, red is for trainee driving instructors), next was what to do for a reliable and comfy car to teach in, whilst my Vauxhall Corsa was a lovely car, being 16 years old it didn’t have cruise control, speed limiters, reversing sensors etc, so I wanted an upgrade.

Lots of instructors join a franchise like TheAA, BSM etc... but I knew that wasn’t for me. Buying a car on finance isn’t really an option as many won’t cover driving school cars and warranty claims are often challenged.

There are several lease car companies to look at, with some attractive offers, but with limited mileage... And I know I cover in excess of 30,000 miles a year... However TheAA /BSM (TheAA own BSM) have some solo lease offers themselves – basically a fully insured car, services included... But no support for advertising/pupil supply, the costings is slightly higher than leasing, but less than Franchise work, so I have placed my order for a brand new Ford Focus. Whilst the Focus is on order, they have given me a lovely Ford Puma, which has the same engine, gearbox and very similar interior/controls to the Focus...so when I get my Focus, my pupils should transition over nicely to Focus.

Coming up next.... a look at the first few months of teaching, stories of the challenges, the funny moments and how I got on getting pupils...