I’m shopping around for the best price i can get for a cat C licence around Newcastle upon tyne .Been on a few web sites but none of them seem to give any pricing details .I am self employed so will need to fund this myself .
Anybody got any ideas of cost and which training company to go for
Cheers Martyh
Not that many give prices so all you can do is call or email them
Ask for an all inclusive price including initial driver cpc if you need that too
Go for as many assessments as you can afford before deciding
Cost = about a grand for a 5 day course inc test plus 250 for initial dcpc = all approx
What do you need a cat C licence for anyway? If its not something you really really really need I’d suggest you keep your wallet tightly shut, driver training is a waste of time & money these days…
ROG:
Not that many give prices so all you can do is call or email themAsk for an all inclusive price including initial driver cpc if you need that too
Go for as many assessments as you can afford before deciding
Cost = about a grand for a 5 day course inc test plus 250 for initial dcpc = all approx
chers ROG ,i have fired off a few emails to local training companies so will wait and see .I am already sorted for dcpc via the company ,starting that next month
Pimpdaddy:
What do you need a cat C licence for anyway? If its not something you really really really need I’d suggest you keep your wallet tightly shut, driver training is a waste of time & money these days…
so i can drive bigger stuff than a 7.5 t making myself more employable
Make sure you ask what their first time pass rates are, and what they charge for any follow up training! Can they provide genuine references and and are they a broker. Some companies lure you in with lower initial prices and then sting you on follow costs.
PierredeC:
Make sure you ask what their first time pass rates are, and what they charge for any follow up training! Can they provide genuine references and and are they a broker. Some companies lure you in with lower initial prices and then sting you on follow costs.
If they were a broker they would want money before going to see them !!
Prices in the north east will range from £750 to £1200, cheap is not always the best in the long run!! You need to weigh up 2to1 training versus 1to1 & also what vehicle you will be taught in. Best advice is to go along in person & see what you get for your money.
Martyh. Don’t blame you at all for shopping around for the best price. But the problem with this job is that you will rarely be able to compare like with like.
It depends if you’re looking for the best price or the best value.
Only book when you’ve been to see the trainer and the vehicles and facilities. The only exception to this should be rock solid recommendation. This advice will keep you out of the grasp of the brokers.
Some trainers now have their own test centres. On top of that, there’s a handfull of centres in the UK that are accredited by the Driving Standards Agency. If you go to one of these, expect to pay a reasonably high price. Or go to the fella running a beaten up old truck out of the Rose and Crown car park who has never been trained to instruct - let alone be qualified to do the job. No reversing area and no back up completes the picture. But that one will be cheap - apparently.
It also worries me when trainers wont put their prices clearly on the website. We are certainly not the cheapest but our prices are clearly displayed on our website as we have nothing to hide.
If you go for price alone, with respect, you deserve what you get. Please, have a good look.
All the best with whatever you decide, Pete 
Does that include free retests for snowy days? 
Pete makes some very good points.
Cheap is usually riddled with problems.
Value for money is a better comparison.
Best of luck to the OP
After watching that Rip Off Britain programme tonight, I advise you thoroughly check out the trainers prior to parting with any money too.
They reckoned over 30 people had paid between £1200 and £1800 each in advance for training, and when it came to the actual training the website ceased trading, i.e. a clever shiney website scam.
Personally I couldn’t believe people would pay that amount of money up front, but it would seem they did.
Some questions to ask:
Will they do an assessment. (An extra days training is a LOT cheaper than failing and doing a refresher course and extra DSA test fee)
If 2-1 instruction do they match abilities, or could you end up on your day one with other bloke doing test, so getting most of the driving and hanging around while he does test? (happened to me)
Do they guarantee same vehicle and instructor for duration of course (some stories posted on here are incredible, one chap had 3 instructors and 4 vehicles I think!)
Do they have an off road area to practise the reverse (which by the way is the easy part of the test, and you will think this too by time you get there!)
Is it a reasonable quality vehicle with a fairly simple gearbox (e.g. straight six with splitter)
And finally, best of luck!
th2013:
Is it a reasonable quality vehicle with a fairly simple gearbox (e.g. straight six with splitter)
Would that be the best idea or to learn with a 4 over 4 or slapover ?
My advise from personal expirances would be invest as much time and money and effort in going on as many assement drives with all diffrent trainers as you can. Have At least 4 diffrent assments. The more you have the better perspective you have on who’s good and who’s bad and who you felt you got on with best too witch counts for a lot.
1 Make sure there not a broker, 2 have a good chat on the phone with them first have all the right questions written down on the all costs of the training how thay do the training ect. If thay seem alrite after that only then go to the expense and time to book an assement.
I made notes on all the assments I went on what I liked about them and what the lorry was like, also the area that I would be training in.
Don’t let having to traval along way put you off going with a good trainer. The trainers local to me were bad and it cost me dearly in time as well as money. The new trainers I’m going to book with are a good 70 mile drive away and ill be paying to stay in a travel lodge on top of the training cost but I don’t mind and I’d drive double that distants if I had to as I know there quality trainer.
Above all take all the time you can in finding a good trainer. Don’t rush like I did. Looking back That was my biggest mistake. It tok me 3 months in the end to find a good trainer as all the assments I booked were all weeks apart so after 4 assments a couple of months had go by. And alot of driving far and away on my days off . But the time and effort has been well worth it.
Had I not rushed the first time round and taken my time done things like I have advised above I would almost certainly have already passed months ago.
Well that’s my 2 cents of advise from personal expirants. im planning now to train with Jld in Banbury near Oxford. Thay seemed to me a very good and professional set up with beautiful new merc lorrys witch are a real pleasure to drive beleave me. I also think what thay charge is good value considering how good there pass rate is and the quality for there lorrys. I asked on here about them too just to double cheak and only had great feed back on them witch confirmed what I already knew.
I think there is a lot of skanking gose on with lorry training. The trouble is the trainee has to pay the hole bill up front unlike driving lessons in a car where you pay as you go and after afew lesions you can change trainers if you think the trainers no good. But with lorry trainers once you’ve payed yr money you have no choice but to see it out and the training company can muck you about for the hole training period thereafter if thay want to, trimming down the hours that yr driving every day seems to be the favrate trick thay use. Lets face it the less time the lorrys being driven the less its costing them so the more thay profit from the money thay changed you. It relly is a case of once you’ve handed your money over ur at there mercy.
Good luck.
I have seen their YouTube videos and was quite impressed by the instructors clarity.
I realise its not Artic training you are doing but…
jrt:
My advise from personal expirances would be invest as much time and money and effort in going on as many assement drives with all diffrent trainers as you can.
1 Make sure there not a broker,
Assessments and brokers do not go together because a broker will want money for the course up front before the trainee gets to know the name of training school they will be going to for the actual training
My advice that I tell everyone who phones me is come for a free assessment this gives them the opportunity to meet me, have a drive of there potential training vehicle and see if they are happy with what I have to offer.
TRY B4 YOU BUY!
Regards
Paul
ooops 
posted in wrong thread - see post below
Lol. I was going to post these too
But shouldn’t they be in the Total Driver Training topic
Cheers guys some excellent advice here .Apologies for the late reply but been away down south .I will be looking for the best trainer which will give me the best value ,i don’t see the point in scrimping on something that i want to make my source of income ,doesn’t make sense to me so i will take my time before choosing .I have to get some money together first as well so plenty of time for research .