GB driving licence

[Turboshaft]

Hi folks,

I am a student from Romania and I'm looking to get a GB driving license. I need some tips on the fees of different schools and i really want to know what owning a car in uk involves (what taxes do i have to pay, insurance and suchlike).

I have a romanian license for 3 years, but i don't think that it will help me at all, even if it's an EU one.

Cheers.

I'm sorry if I've posted this in the wrong section , i browsed the whole forum and i found the general chat to be the most suitable for this.

 

[Skullion]

Hi and Welcome. Now I'm not 100% Sure of this but here goes my theory!

You may use your Romanian Licence here Under Aboard Insurance if you are only here in the UK for so many months, if living here you'll need to apply for a UK Licence I think.

However, A Test's for this will cost you a total of £73 if you pass first time and supply your own car for doing the test in. If you need to use a Learners Car then you'd be about £95 also if you pass first time.

Driving School charge at an hourly rate of roughly £23.5 a Hour ..... was £17 when I first starting lessons lol

After that when you have a car, You have to Tax it which depends on the engine size, I'm £190 a Year for a 2.0 litre. MOT is needed every year unless you get a brand new car which is about £40 without any faults with the car.

Insurance is hard to say, it all depends on your car and your lifestyle examply work etc

A Student owning a car is hard, as they cost alot of money at the end of the day. If it breaks it needs to be repaired which could cost highly and maintance of your car.

 

[pgarner]

if you retain the romainian license then you can drive over here - as said i think you can only do it for so long.
when you apply for a uk licence KEEP your other one, as you will only be on a provisional which requires someone else with a full licence beside you if you dont.

full test requires a theroy test so get reading the highway code as soon as you can

 

[Turboshaft]

I know that i can use my romanian license, but if i want to own a car the insurance will be too expensive unless i get an uk license.

So you're saying that i can take the test without taking any driving lessons? That would be cool , but i think i need some proper RHD training ^^.

Oh , and that is this MOT ?

 

[lutonmatt]

dont know what the law is as it will be a eu license dont know how long you can drive on them for
but you will be able to get insured using it

and the mot is a test on the car every year were it has to meet min road safety standards

 

[Turboshaft]

again , i don't want to insure a car while possessing a foreign license because it is too expensive.

thanks for the info on mot. do they also test for emissions and such ?

 

[Skullion]

Yes they test for Emissions

 

[dpsubaru]

Turboshaft: the insurance company will ask you in any case if you are a permament resident of the uk and so if you say you arent, which is the case, then suspect they will load the premium in any case. perhaps its worth checking this aspect out first of all otherwise you may find that the insurance is sky high in any case.

 

[fezzafii]

A lot of insurers simply will not insure you unless you are a resident of the UK, i.e. Pay UK tax on your wages from employment / hold a UK passport etc (you do not need either, they are examples of UK residency).

As far as your test is concerned, i'd recommend a couple of lessons to get you used to RHD driving and the differences in our road laws.

Cheers,

 

[Turboshaft]

Thank you very much guys , i'll now do some research on what being a resident in uk implies. Anyway , since i live here most of the year,i pay bills (no wages though ,i'm a student xD ) and i will soon get a national insurance number i hope that i'll pass as a resident.

 

[el gee]

just another little point... if you do want to have a few lessons, a lot of driving schools (especially the big companys) offer student discount. i did my lessons with bsm and at the time it was £18 per lesson with my student card.

 

[Skullion]

Disgree with BSM, use Local people to teach you.

I started with BSM, and did lessons for 6 months and felt like I wasn't getting any further forward. Went with a Lady with one car and only had lessons with her 4 months and she wanted me to sit my test. And I learnt so much more from her than bsm taught me.

 

[el gee]

i think it depends how forward you are with your instructor. i passed my test less than 4 months after my 17th birthday.

 

[turbonutter69]

Disgree with BSM, use Local people to teach you.

I started with BSM, and did lessons for 6 months and felt like I wasn't getting any further forward. Went with a Lady with one car and only had lessons with her 4 months and she wanted me to sit my test. And I learnt so much more from her than bsm taught me.

I disagree. I went with BSM and passed within 2 months.

 

[pgarner]

agreed my wee sis is learning with a BSM instructor. before the recession kicked in he was self employed, as had alot of other instructors in the area, and had been for a long time with a high pass rate.

its not really the company itself but their drivers

 

[turbonutter69]

Yeah totally agree PG I got on really well with my instructor.