Out of my depth here but mustn't a car for driving test have a spare wheel if it does not have run flats?

Would tyre weld do?

I would put the £45 optional space saver spare in if I go for the Chilli Pack, for just that eventuality.

Chris

mine doesn't have a spare, and neither did my C2 GT...

if you got a puncture on a test, the examiner wouldn't let you change it, he'd just walk back to the test centre.....

Yeah, if you start looking at spending an extra 5.5k, then interest over 3 years becomes a factor. cos interest at 3.5% PA means dropping £600 over 3 years! :eek:

I think a sensibly specced Mini Cooper D is the best choice for you Chris, but then you already new that.

Chilli Pack is a must imho, as is a stereo upgrade. Beyond that its just what do you fancy! The BMW servicing package is definitely worth the money too imho.

Good luck with it.

Keeping the Fabia would be a mistake imho. You'd essentially need to make the decision to keep it and run it to nearly 200k miles, where the value will be zero, and the potential for heavy repair bills also.

Yeah, if you start looking at spending an extra 5.5k, then interest over 3 years becomes a factor. cos interest at 3.5% PA means dropping £600 over 3 years! :eek:

Hi Ken

In doing the sums, I have looked at interest too. I allowed it in at 6.6% (the rate I negotiated this year).

It is a tricky set of circumstances. Crystallizing my thoughts to date:

Must have either a 2 or 3 year unlimited miles warranty.

Must be very good on fuel with urban cycle above 50mpg.

Must be diesel.

Must be ergonomically versatile for many driver shapes and sizes.

Must be generally good to drive.

That gets me down to a very short list. Next thing is that the car must be good in terms of visibility and ergonomics (to suit a wide range of driver sizes). This eliminates more from the short list.

Finally, the car needs to have customer appeal.

This eliminates some more.

When I bought the Fabia I knew it was an excellent car. All of my pupils like it and like driving it. There are no complaints, no one ever said they did not like it. When I was changing cars, one pupil left because he did not want to be seen in a Skoda. He never tried it and funnily enough, a few of his mates learned in it, told him how good it was and he asked to come back as a pupil (I told him to p!ss off). Ergonomically it has been excellent, at the fuel prices of the time, it was economically viable and it has been broadly reliable. The trouble is, only two people have ever approached me to have lessons in it because it is a Fabia vRS. To the general public at large, it is almost invisible. The new Fabia is even more invisible and not having a diesel vRS in the range takes out the good to drive bit to a large degree. Only the Greenline hits the 50mpg urban figure too.

What I am left with is a list of one.

Speaking to my customers, quite a few have mates who want lessons in a Mini. The driving school gets regular phone calls asking for lessons in Minis too. It is a fashion trinket thing, but customers is customers. Add this to the fact that all the other contenders fall by the wayside in some respect and I have no other options that tick all the boxes. On the downside, the price is outrageous. On the other hand, the resale value should offset much of that. Looking to Skoda as an example, a used high mile vRS is worth a few bob, but it will not lose as much value as a base model Fabia. Premium segment or range toppers generally hold value better.

The biggest factor, possibly more so than fuel economy, it that if it draws customers, I may go independent meaning I save big amounts (not far from three years worth of interest every month in fact) on franchise fees.

I am in the process of negotiating some prices at the moment. I think that I will see a little room for manoeuvre on price. It seems lead times have come down a lot in the last couple of months, so slowing market helps.

Chris

Wierd - almost everyone I know picked instructors on their rep, not on "can I learn in a kewel car?". Ok, there was one bloke I ignored because he had a Mini (real Mini, not a BMW MIDI), but I had a friend who owned one as an off-road toy, and I knew I didn't fit them properly.

Wierd - almost everyone I know picked instructors on their rep, not on "can I learn in a kewel car?". Ok, there was one bloke I ignored because he had a Mini (real Mini, not a BMW MIDI), but I had a friend who owned one as an off-road toy, and I knew I didn't fit them properly.

That is the way it sometimes works, however, in these vacuous times, the clit car is worth extra business. I pick up around 60% of my customers from recommendation, the remainder from the school. A prime example, I have a pupil who is progressing very well, is very pleased with his progress and enjoys his lessons. His sister started driving last week with another instructor, not because she did not want me for her lessons, but because the other guy has a Mini.

The school receives enquiries constantly and the majority of it's business is generated from the advertising it does.

Instructors using Minis that I have spoken to all say that they regularly have pupils approaching them in the street / car parks / outside colleges for lessons when before it almost never happened.

Recommendation is the best way to get customers, but in a pretty competitive and over subscribed marketplace, any advantage you can get makes a difference.

Chris

It's pathetic, but true. I know people who chose instructor based on the car they have or wouldn't go with one because of the car they had.

A nice touch with a mini is that even I can drive it and I have stupidly long legs and am over 6' tall. I had great difficulty finding a car I could fit in to learn to drive in and even when I did it was a hell of a squeeze.

It's pathetic, but true. I know people who chose instructor based on the car they have or wouldn't go with one because of the car they had.

A nice touch with a mini is that even I can drive it and I have stupidly long legs and am over 6' tall. I had great difficulty finding a car I could fit in to learn to drive in and even when I did it was a hell of a squeeze.

This has been one of the Fabia's strong points. I have had the daintiest of girls to the lankiest basketball player and they all fitted. I even taught the girl with the (officially) longest legs in England to drive:cool:

One of the things that the Fiat 500 has fallen down on is that the pedal to wheel proximity is a bit tight, so taller drivers, me included, find it a bit of a stretch to the steering wheel.

Chris