All opinions are mine and mine alone.

It’s one of those things that will make you break out in a sweat, and you’ll have sleepless nights about it. Other people who are much older (or younger!) pass this test, and by any accounts, they might not be as skilled as you. Or maybe you wish you were just as qualified as those others, as they passed the test already right? It’s obviously your driving test, a real rite of passage to become part of the mobile community. You might have to take a few attempts, but eventually, it will happen! You just need to visualize it! You just passed your driving test, and you are the happy owner of your very own driving license. 

So, what’s next?

Get a Runner

If you are lucky, you will have a mom, dad, or rich uncle donate you a car. You’ll take anything, anything with four wheels that goes forward when you press the gas. What you need is a little runner to get yourself around and, more importantly, increase your skill in driving. People will say that you only learn how to drive once you have passed your test, and people are not kidding. A little car gets you around quicker, enabling you to hone your driving skills while also being light on the running costs. You will want to avoid diesel cars as they are found to be more polluting, but most smaller cars will be petrol anyway.

The Dreaded Car Insurance

Before you can drive off, you will need to sort out your insurance. Car insurance can run up quite quickly, especially when you are in a category that is deemed high risk. This, in essence, are new drivers under a certain age. These prices will put you off at first, but there are ways to bring the cost of insurance down. First of all, shop around for insurance and don’t only rely on the aggregator sites.

Prices can vary greatly and not every insurer is listed on the comparison sites, so do look around and ask your friends and family who they are with. You also might want to consider going for liability only and not for fully comp insurance. Especially if your runner is not worth that much anyway, you might want to weigh up the coverage versus the actual economic value of your car. 

You can also opt for higher own risk, which basically means the amount you’re on the hook for when something happens. If you have the cash, a higher own risk will significantly reduce the premiums. Another way to reduce premiums is to accept a telematics box, which basically rewards safe driving behavior. Some people find these quite intrusive, but it’s a great way to reduce costs.

Off you go!

Next, to your car insurance, you will also have to pay road tax. But once you have this covered, you can get yourself to a place like Motormill and get yourself your first car! The hardest thing now is to come up with a name for your new best friend that will go on adventures with you.