BSM - Driving school of choice.

Advantages: Service, Instructors (mine had an 81% pass rate), Cars
Disadvantages: Sometimes difficult to book - they're popular

...I say guys, look who's top of the Most Read Author's Chart!! Not bad for a churner eh? Back to the issue. BSM is totally geared for the ultimate driving school experience. None of the other schools come close to matching the facilities and service it offers. Throughout my 5 month stay with BSM (culminating in a first time pass), I received first-class service from the Centre itself, a completely clear sense of how I was doing, 2 fantastic instructors who clearly wanted me to pass, unlike many independents who really just want to get you to buy as many lessons as possible, punctuality, and I only took up a few of the many services BSM offer to make you pass as quickly as possible. My instructors were alwasy on time, extremely helpful, not so pushy as to make me feel under pressure, but just enough to keep me going at the pace I wanted...

Dawson 08.05.2001 · Read review
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Review of BSM

Driving lessons with BSM

Advantages: Good Instructors
Disadvantages: The price of driving lessons

...I decided to start driving lessons after my aunt gave me a BSM gift certificate for my birthday. I didnt actually get round to using it untill 2 years later but they still accepted it, even though I was 3 days over the expired date. I started by having a go in the driving simulator before booking some lessons. The driving simulator was good for practicing clutch control and Im glad I had a go at that first. My Instructor was very friendly and seemed good at his job. The only downside I found was the expense. At the time they only did 2 hour lessons so I was paying £45.50 per week on driving lessons. As I only had a part time job while I was at college this got expensive. I also did not like the fact that the car I was using was changed the day before my test and the clutch felt alot different. I would say BSM are good but...

C-John 19.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of BSM

The good, The Bad...The BSM driving lessons...

Advantages: Good pass rate. Lovely cars.
Disadvantages: Time wasting. Disagree that we would drive across town to begin the lesson.

...In the summer of 2004 I decided it was time to begin my driving lessons. After much deliberating about whether an independent driving school would be better value than a large company I decide to opt for the latter and go with BSM. At £21 a lesson, it was bleeding me dry but all driving lessons are expensive, whoever you go with...there's no avoiding it. Now, I wasn't very well educated on driving, or cars, in fact on my first lesson when asked what the three pedals were for I replied 'Brake, gas and...reverse'. I was useless. But the thing is, I'm a fast learner so after my first driving lesson (where no driving was involved) I felt ready to sit in the drivers seat and start to learn how to operate this machine. On my second lesson, I did get a chance to sit in the drivers seat but we didnt move more than 5 inches the entire...

A.Green87 17.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of BSM

Driving School for Dummies - like me

Advantages: Well I passed! Instructors very helpful with loads of patience - what every learner needs
Disadvantages: Using a Ford Focus to teach lessons.

...choice I had to make was whether to go with a driving school or with a private instructor. I opted for the driving school, even though it was the more expensive, mainly because the local instructors were using Nissan Micras at the time and even though I?m only 5 foot 10 I found the leg-room too cramped in my friends car. This left a choice between the AA and the BSM. The main difference between the two at the time was that the AA used Ford Fiestas and BSM used Vauxhall Corsas. I chose the AA even though my Mum owned a Corsa. Both of the driving schools charged 18 pound for an hour lesson at the time but if you booked 12 lessons at a time the AA charged only 16 pounds instead of 16.40. This isn?t much of a saving but they did offer free Membership of the AA when you bought the initial starter pack. The starter pack offered 12 hours...

scruff 09.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of AA Driving School

Get your driving license with BSM!

Advantages: 10 driving lessons for £220 + 1st lesson for free! Professional tuition & no time wasting!
Disadvantages: Every Driving Instructor will want to get MORE £££ out of you no matter what Motoring Company you use

...annoying thing was that he would have 10-15min loo stops during my driving lessons and he would finish my lessons prior the time in order to pick up another student. So I guess I end up loosing quite a lot of time and money as well. One day I went online searching for well known motoring schools and found BSM. I called them up and told them about my experience and current situation. They customer service was very good and they were very kind and patient with me. In less than a weeks time I got new instructor from BSM - a woman!! She tought me so much more in 1h time than the previous instructor - I was amazed!! My new driving instructor was very knowing and professional eventhough she was quite young and has been teaching how to drive for only 2 years! She was very polite and fun to talk to! I really liked her informal and friendly...

yours_ilze 15.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of BSM, London

AA Driving School. The breakdown

Advantages: Friendly, Helpful, Good deals
Disadvantages: none so far

...Hi everyone, I have just booked up my first 12 driving lessons with the AA via the phone. I had been surfing the internet for some time looking at various driving schools, where thay operated, how much they cost etc etc I finally decided that I was going to learn with the AA as in my area if you pay for 12 hours tuition in advance you get £2 off each lesson which adds up over time giving me a saving of £24 further to this they offer you a free years breakdown cover and £100 holiday voucher. This works out as being £18 per hour, however this may vary depending on the area you live in. you can find out on their website. You learn in a Ford Focus 1.6litre with dual controlls (obviously!!) which means that the insructor can brake for you if you enter a hazard and are not prepared to do so yourself! Wednesday afternoon I...

JADELOUISESILVA 28.02.2003 (27.05.2003) · Read review
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Review of AA Driving School

bsm are the best

Advantages: great teachers
Disadvantages: none

...Its been some years since i passed my test back in 2001. I took driving lessons for months with another compant and was told i was ready for my test, on the day of the test they changed the car on me from a little metro to a large rover that i couldnt manuver to save my life. Needless to say i failed my test. Unwillling to waste any more of my money with this company as i had already had 42 lessons with them at £15 a lesson i decided to change to bsm who i knew at the time charged £22 per lesson but they gave me a discount as i was a student so i only paid £18 per lesson. On my first lesson with them steve my driving instructor asked me if i could drive a car and i said yes, he left me to it and less than 10 minutes into the lesson he asked me to pull over. He had been evaluating my driving and asked me if i had been taught by my...

danniell 23.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of BSM

Bad experience with BSM Driving Instructor

Advantages: The car I learned in was nice
Disadvantages: Driving Instructor made me feel very awkward and uncomfortable

...I have had 70 hours tuition with a BSM instructor - 2 hours each lesson, doing 2 or three lessons a week. Granted, before I started I had never been near a car so I was very green. I have taken the test twice now and still not passed. My problem is that I feel my instructor is unstable. Without encouragement, he starts conversations while I am driving and just rattles on about his personal life - which I am not in the least bit interested in! I get the impression that he is very lonely and has no family but with his constant talking I lose concentration and make silly mistakes. Half of the time I doubt he's even watching my driving as he is so caught up in what he's telling me. I have told him in the past that I cannot listen to his stories while I'm driving because it puts me off - but he acts a bit offended and next lesson he...

disappointed1 04.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of BSM

Learning to Drive a Car

Advantages: Get a full licence, independence
Disadvantages: Costs a lot of money to learn to drive and run a car

...round a corner and a turn in the road (3-point turn). Once my instructor showed me how to do these I did at least one manoeuvre per lesson. Once he thought I was ready, he told me I could book my test. I would not recommend booking your test before your instructor tells you you're ready, as the chances are you would fail. If your instructor is genuine he or she will tell you as soon as you are ready so you have more chance of passing first time. As my test date got nearer my instructor started asking me maintenance questions in preparation for my test. ~ Car ~ My instructor's car is a Ford Fiesta and it is dual control. I think this is a major advantage of learning to drive with a school rather than with a family member. I don't think I would have had enough confidence to drive a car with single controls when I first started...

bluejules 23.12.2006 · Read review
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Review of Independent Driving Schools

A Pleasure to Drive With...

Advantages: Regular new car, pleasant instuctor, £100 Holiday Voucher
Disadvantages: Years free membership starts as soon as you join.

...BACKGROUND BUMPH! I put off learning to drive for as long as I could manage because of nightmare experiences as a youngster. I crashed a quad bike injuring myself, and the course tyre wall and was banned and put on the “Worse Driver Ever” list at a local go-kart track. However I reached the point where I was desperate for independence and thought been free to go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted was the key. I dragged out the Yellow Pages and searched through the driving schools in my area. A few of my friends had been with independent schools and had more than a few horror stories to tell about their experience and none of them had passed first time…so I decided to give one the national driving schools a try. THE AA AS AN ORGANISATION... The main reason I chose the AA over BSM was the price. At full...

Scatz500 29.08.2001 (21.09.2001) · Read review
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Review of AA Driving School