The choice of a car, how you obtain one, the model, make, engine size are all things that could at the end of the day affect your profit margin in the business of being a driving instructor.
Buy or Lease driving school car
Your individual circumstances will probably determine which route you take in this matter, do you already have a family car that you need to keep, do you have the money to buy a car for your driving tuition business, even if you have the lump sum money required to purchase a vehicle, should you be buying rather than leasing driving school car? You might want to contact your accountant and see what advice he gives you. Your decision should be made more from a business point of view, rather than anything else, especially when you know that it is going to be a while for your driving school to get established with pupils.
Personally I chose to lease my driving school car, because it was a second car in the house, and I could off set all the cost including insurance (I didn't have a second no claims discount to use) against tax, and I didn't have a lump sum to buy a car anyway.
What Model/Make and Engine Size for Instructor Car?
Your car needs to be reliable, as anytime the car is in the garage, you are not earning money. Personally from my experience, I will never use a Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Fiesta as a driving school car, I've had both, and they've not proved reliable. The Corsa was a 1999 model, and suffered from clutch and exhaust problems! The Ford Fiesta was a 2006 model, and had issues with the bonnet lid not shutting, Car seats tilting mechanism problems and gear box issues. For these reasons, I will never use a Vauxhall or Ford Model car for either personal or driving car purposes.
If you are looking for a car, then bear these matters in mind. The larger the engine size, the more will be your fuel running costs, especially with learners revving the car, and the lots of milleage that you will cover while teaching learners to drive with the car. A friend of mine once complained that he could not bear a small engine sized car because they were too sluggish moving off at traffic lights, and he liked to have some power! As I mentioned earlier, think about the business, is it worth a little inconvienience to get your drivng school up and running?
I hope I've been able to help you with some information that would make your job as an instructor choosing a driving school car much easier.
While you will always have to offer AA driving lessons in a Ford Focus, Red driving school have a half franchise option where you can choose the car you want and just have a branded roof sign, so that might be an option for newly qualified ADIs who don't want to go independent.
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The new BSM school cars.
