**passed my driving test!**

[topgeartom]

OK people, its the 2nd attempt tommorrow. Lets hope this time there are no fucking ambulances or old ladies to fuck it up!

[Shinigami]

Good luck, stay calm.

[TransAm]

Good luck Tom 8)

[Ghostbat]

Good luck Tom! You'll make it this time. Just stay calm!

[Skaala]

break a leg Tom 8)

[stmoritzer]

Good luck, stay 8)

[adamwich]

Good luck Tom!

BTW. I was supposed to have my driving test yesterday, but it was cancelled because of bad weather :(
Now I have to wait yet another week before I can get my drivers licence. :twisted:

[Pehtren]

break a leg Tom 8)
:mrgreen:

nice driveing :)

[No.1]

good luck mate

I'm sure you're ready for anything that will get thrown at you after the debacles last time :D

[dutchmasterflex]

Good luck! Make sure you look EVERYWHERE. Make sure you're always checking your mirrors.. oh yea, try not to speed :)

[TransAm]

Good luck Tom!

BTW. I was supposed to have my driving test yesterday, but it was cancelled because of bad weather :(
Now I have to wait yet another week before I can get my drivers licence. :twisted:

Smog? :wink: :lol:

Straight to hell for that one, sorry dude!

[blinkmeat]

drink a pint or two beforehand

[gucom]

when you get seated in the car just before the exam starts, get comfy, take a dee pbreath, and you'll be fine :) it worked for me and i was about 100% sure i was gonna fail...plus im an idiot :wink:

ow and dont panic if something doesnt go 100% perfectly, no1 can do a perfect drive...just focus on what's happening next, dont think about any possible mistakes you might have made...

[ARMAN]

Good luck Tom! Just stay calm and you will pass it(fingers crossed) :wink:

[DeMoN]

I wonder if you have to exagerate everything as in US. Stopping completelly for couple of seconds, driving with both hands on steering wheel... etc etc.

[stradale]

Good luck, Tom! Take it easy and make sure the examinor sees you looking in all the right directions. Don't look from the corner of your eyes, turn your head.

[gucom]

I wonder if you have to exagerate everything as in US. Stopping completelly for couple of seconds, driving with both hands on steering wheel... etc etc.
well keeping both hands on the wheel is very much appreciated here (holland), the couple of seconds stop isnt really nescessary...but from what i've seen on tv etc. getting your drivers' license in the US is an absolute joke...

Good luck, Tom! Take it easy and make sure the examinor sees you looking in all the right directions. Don't look from the corner of your eyes, turn your head
that's good advice :)

[ZfrkS62]

take a phone book and some pedal extensions just in case :D and remember, little old ladies are nothing but speed bumps with legs :mrgreen: Good luck 8)

[gis]

Good luck Tom,im sure you will do fine this time :D

[Mattk]

I failed first time too. Quite stupid, really. Basically, be alert, look around at pedestrian crossings and intersections. Drive about 5km/h below the speed limit, exaggerate the act of checking your blind spot, but otherwise, drive as if its not a test.

[Zot09]

I completely agree with Mattk. Over due a lot of things, look around a lot but not so much that it doesn't look like you aren't paying attention ahead of you. Drive very slow(this is the only point that I lost while taking my drivers test). And most of all don't be nervous; be comfortable and think of it as a game. Best of luck!

[topgeartom]

Cheesr guys, really, thanks for all you support. My test is at 10:44 and i have a 1hr lesson beforehand, so ill let you all know how ive done at about midday hopefully. Cheers again people! :)

[saadie]

good luck tom ..... 8)

[AlienDB7]

Good luck Tom, relax and you'll be fine!

[LotusGT1]

Give them hell Tom :)

[Pehtren]

i think he is drinking, or he is drunk right now :lol:

[gucom]

his exam is prolly still going or has just ended...time difference remember? :wink:

[taygunho]

Good luck topgeartom.

[topgeartom]

FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Ghostbat]

Congrats man!

[MIHALS]

YESSSSS, WELCOME TO DRIVERS CLUB MATE!!!

Now you're propper JW member :D now just get some wheels for yourself!!! :good:

:drinking: :clap: :bday: :popcorn: :scatter: :scrambleup: :turn-l: :flasingsmile: :smilecolors: :onfire: :hello: :roflmao:

[ARMAN]

Congrats Tom :P http://www.uploadhouse.com/images/614788686excited.gif

[saadie]

congrats midget man .... dont forget to stick cushions to your bum http://www.uploadhouse.com/images/614788686excited.gif:roflmao:

[dingo]

Congrats mate, you've just entered a whole new world! There is nothing more fun than going out for a nice drive on quiet roads - go for it! :D

* actually there might be something which is more fun.

[1zippo1]

Congratulations Tom!!

Enjoy it and try to avoid the threes :P

Oh and something else: try to have patience with other road users.

[Pehtren]

:mrgreen:

congrats :smilecolors:

[LotusGT1]

Congrats.

[Daggernite]

Nice one tom, you must be pretty pleased. Congrats :D

[stmoritzer]

Well done!

[TransAm]

We're all talking to ourselves, Tom will be making a nuisance of himself down the local McDonalds doing burnouts!

Congrats Tom 8)

[dutchmasterflex]

Now go and buy a MG Midget to have some fun in those sweet british B-roads :P :wink:

http://vea.qc.ca/vea/v/midget75.jpg

You're car awaits you! Congrats! I still think I enjoy driving as much as I did when I first got my licnese at 16. boy time flys..

[No.1]

:good:

Congrats mate.

I can rember how good it felt after i passed at the start of last summer - driving on your own is a great feeling!

What are you doing about a car? Any plans to buy your own set of wheels?

[topgeartom]

I think im gonna go for a 1.4 clio. Hardly a rocketship i know, but not bad for a 1st car, as all my friends are driving 1.1's. My cheapest insurance quote so far is £1780

[Minacious]

Good job, little buddy. Now get your ass to Southern California and I'll arrange a test drive in a 360 as a reward. :D

[RC45]

I think im gonna go for a 1.4 clio. Hardly a rocketship i know, but not bad for a 1st car, as all my friends are driving 1.1's. My cheapest insurance quote so far is £1780

That's 1780 a year?

Will you get a MM (Mobile Midget) bumper sticker now? ;)

[adamwich]

Congratulations Tom! :multi:

[No.1]

I think im gonna go for a 1.4 clio. Hardly a rocketship i know, but not bad for a 1st car, as all my friends are driving 1.1's. My cheapest insurance quote so far is £1780

That's 1780 a year?



I'm sure that that is probably what you are going to be paying.

I'm in a 1.4 corsa, and that cost over £1700 for 12 months, Fully-comp.

Its a shame that girls get lower quotes, but it's not something we can change.

PS - online quotes are shit. I'd be suprised in Norwich Union didn't quote you better over the phone. You can also bounce companies against one another, such as X has offered me this, can you beat that? etc...

[TransAm]

I think im gonna go for a 1.4 clio. Hardly a rocketship i know, but not bad for a 1st car, as all my friends are driving 1.1's. My cheapest insurance quote so far is £1780

:shock:

So you won't want to know I was paying 312 a year TPFT at your age (MG Metro Turbo). If it is any consolation though I lose my NCB this year so when I come back I start from scratch. Usual story with UK insurance - they wanna know about any accidents/tickets Ive had in the US but wont give me any credit for the 3 years accident free.

I notice thenumber1 is fully comp. What happened to going Third Party until you have built up some NCB then going fully comp?


Edit: Here's a tip. If a close relative works for a big company (BAE being an example of one that does this) then they might have a employee car lease scheme.

Lease a brand new car at 17? Madness? Listen on...

If you lease a new corsa for 250 a month, lets say, your insurance is usually included as part of the lease deal, so, take off 120 a month which is what you are all paying on your cars, then new car = 130 a month, effectively. You build up your NCB, the lease payment is the same whether you are 17 or 70, so effectively the younger you are the better deal you are getting, as fully comp insurance is included.

For this reason alone the Arval PHH lease deal at work has always been a great deal for young lads who want to get into something quite quick. 160hp VVC MG ZRs at age 18 is common, for those that can afford the 350 a month to lease the car.

If any of you lads can be arsed, run a quote through for a VVC MG, let me know what you get quoted, I bet it is MORE than 350 a month!

@ RC: most insurance quotes in the UK are for 12 months, not 6.

[gucom]

congrats m8 :D and that's indeed a nice first car, im thinking of getting myself one too (that is, when i paid back all of my debts). how did you do? did you pass it easily or barely?

[Shinigami]

Good job soldier *thumbs up*

[No.1]

I notice thenumber1 is fully comp. What happened to going Third Party until you have built up some NCB then going fully comp?


Edit: Here's a tip. If a close relative works for a big company (BAE being an example of one that does this) then they might have a employee car lease scheme.

Lease a brand new car at 17? Madness? Listen on...

If you lease a new corsa for 250 a month, lets say, your insurance is usually included as part of the lease deal, so, take off 120 a month which is what you are all paying on your cars, then new car = 130 a month, effectively. You build up your NCB, the lease payment is the same whether you are 17 or 70, so effectively the younger you are the better deal you are getting, as fully comp insurance is included.

For this reason alone the Arval PHH lease deal at work has always been a great deal for young lads who want to get into something quite quick. 160hp VVC MG ZRs at age 18 is common, for those that can afford the 350 a month to lease the car.

If any of you lads can be arsed, run a quote through for a VVC MG, let me know what you get quoted, I bet it is MORE than 350 a month!

@ RC: most insurance quotes in the UK are for 12 months, not 6.

I didn't say i was fully comp, but thats what i was quoted at best.

I'm under my mums policy - so i pushed her insurance up from £250 to £750 as a named driver.

I'm gonna wait until i can afford my own car/insurance before getting my own policy.

Nice lease idea TransAm, but totally not suitable for me. I mean i could blow my savings and get a VW GTi Mk V new, but then i wouldn't have anything to drink at uni next year :P

BTW Tom - have you done Pass Plus? I didn't as it only has an impact on your own policy, so there would have been no reductions on insurance in my case. :bah: I've done plenty of "advanced driving" of my own in the past 7 months :twisted:

[ZfrkS62]

way to go tom! If your parents want something you can't get in much trouble in, i'm selling a minivan :wink:

[DeMoN]

congrats JW midget!

[topgeartom]

Cheers guys for all the kind messages.

Trying to answer some of the questions. Yes the cheapest quote was £1780 - thats for 12months. Its with me as the first driver, and my dad as a named driver. I havent tried ringing anyone up yet, ive done it all online. Norwich union was really competiive and gave me the best quotes on nearly every search, however i just tried Adrian Flux and that brought back the £1780. I'm really considering pass pluss, as that can reduce my quote with adrian flux by up to 25%. Theoretically, a pass plus certificate should bring down the quote to as little as £1400. Whilst its still double the value of the car im looking at, its definately better than the £6000 i got quoted to be onn the family's 5-series :twisted:

The leasing is an ineresting idea, but my meagre supermarket wage couldnt stretch to it just yet i dont think. I have about £700 saved up, so my plan is to use that to buy a car, and then pay the insurance and fuel and everything with my £240 a month wage. tHE £1780 insurance works out at about £150 per month, so i think its do-able.

@thenumber1 - who did you get the 1700 quote from on fully comp? all my quotes are TPFT

[No.1]

^^^

TPFT shouldn't cost you that much!!!

Get on the phone to Norwich Union who gave me the best quote. The phone system allows you to actually talk to someone, as opposed to talking to a caluculator. Give them example quotes, and ones that you may have heard from your mates. (Basically bullshit them down). However, a few of my mates got turned down with cars worth ~ £15k and as a 17yo male they weren't going to insure them.

Most of my mates are paying ~ £1800 on a 1.1 - 1.4 hatch. Thats fully comp with them as policy holder, 12months.

Named drivers (over 25) on your insurance will make no difference as long as they have pretty clean records. My sister has her insurance with N Union at £900 now (after 3 years NCB + 1 year NCB bonus that they give you). Both of my parents are insured on it, yet she is still the biggest liabilty - as you will be on yours.

Your £150 per month insurance will leave £90 for fuel - that's plenty, but make sure you buy a good car - fixing it will cripple your spends.

Finally, the unreliabilty of the internet quoters has been proved. My mate got a TPFT on a 98 Corsa 1.4, worth £1500 - the quote was £6500. No way is that realistic. I think that was confused.com.

Good luck mate!

[dingo]

£1780 for a Clio - holy mother of shit!!!!! :shock:

That is about 4 times as much as I am paying for my WRX insurance, and thats considered a "high risk" car. I know I'm older but its still staggering what you have to pay.

I'd just go without insurance, no way I'd be paying that much. :P

[No.1]

I'd just go without insurance, no way I'd be paying that much. :P

Third party is the minimum legal requirement in the UK :wink:

Clarkson once said that at the peak of it's popularity, his insurance company want £20, 000 to insure his Escort RS Cosworth :roll:

[TransAm]

I'd just go without insurance, no way I'd be paying that much. :P

Third party is the minimum legal requirement in the UK :wink:



Yeah but I bet the fine is less than 1700 quid for no insurance :wink:

I wouldn't advocate this though. When we were 17 one of my mates got caught on his RD125 no tax disc, no current MOT certificate, no insurance. After I finished uni (age 22) he was still driving crap cars because of the impact on his insurance of that mistake! He struggled to insure a Peugeot 104 for the first 4 years. Google Peugeot 104 and that should be enough to convince you! :shock:

In TX they estimate 1 in 5 drivers is uninsured, probably a higher proportion amongst motorcycles as sportbike insurance can be stupid money at 18-25. A lot of people here seem to 'take the risk' (literally) of having no insurance.

Edit: As for the lease car deal, yeah it is great if you are an apprentice with a 15k income but for anyone thinking of Uni, probably not a good idea at all.

[topgeartom]

Well bizzarly, it seems the more you enter the exact same details on the adrian flux website the cheaper it becomes. On my 3rd attempt with the exact same insurer, just lowering the "whats your best quote so far" has now brought it down to £1715 TPFT. I imagine as fully comp it is about £200-300 more ontop. Strangely putting my dad on as a second named driver makes it about £70 cheaper.

Like i say, im hoping to do the pass plus course, which can bring down the insurance by 25% - technically i could be down as low as £1300

On a side note, ive just rung up about a lovely 1.4 rt clio that was on autotrader - a special edition in black. 3dr with all the electrics and power steering, the bastard thing has gone already though. Bugger.

[topgeartom]

If i wanted to insure an impreza at my age id have to smell my leg and the vast majority of my vital organs.

[ZfrkS62]

id have to smell my leg and the vast majority of my vital organs.

Do you think you're that flexible? :lol: :lol:

[topgeartom]

LMAO ive only just relaised what i put. I thought zfrk was talking shit when i read his post!

Whoops

For those of you who are extremely sparse up north (much like myself) it should obviously read 'sell'

[Mattk]

Oh, that makes more sense now. At least you have a car. I'm stuck driving my parents' car. Don't earn enough to maintain a car of my own.

[TNT]

congrats Tom stage one complete now you just need your first speeding ticket :lol: :onfire:

[Mattk]

I get just one ticket and I lose my licence. Not sure about him, though.

[topgeartom]

I get just one ticket and I lose my licence. Not sure about him, though.

2 speeding tickets and i loose everything. - Thats for the first few years of driving, after that it goes to 3 and your out

[Mattk]

So it's safe to say that it's best we don't take SWT's advice. :P

[topgeartom]

Absolutely, i dont plan on getting a ticket, although i wont promise to sticking to the speed limits like glue either!