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Average cost of Spanish Driving Licence EU692

Source: FACUA - Sun 27th Sep 2015
Average cost of Spanish Driving Licence EU692

Getting a B driving licence at the first attempt costs an average of 692 Euros, according to FACUA's analysis.

Preparing to pass the driving test for the first time taking 20 lessons costs in Spain an average of 692,33 Euros, according to a comparative research made by FACUA-Consumers in Action (you can see the chart in Spanish here).

The average price of the 286 driving schools asked from 30 cities of the whole country from July to August 2015 shows a slight lowering of prices of a 2.2% when compared to the same period in 2014.

Granada is the cheapest city to get the B licence at the first attempt; it costs an average of 452.46 Euros. It is followed by A Coruña, 499.78 Euros and Badajoz, 511.20 Euros.

This year, Murcia is the most expensive city with an average cost of 933.12 Euros, followed by Lleida, 903.29 Euros and Bilbao, 880.26 Euros.

The differences between Murcia, the city with the most expensive average price, and Granada, the cheapest, reach 480.66 Euros, no less than 106.2%.

When comparing prices of driving schools on the same town, users can find differences from 4.6% in Murcia (42.30 Euros) to 98.5% in Santander (405.92 Euros).

Student A

FACUA's research found out that to pass the B driving test costs an average of 692.33 Euros. To reach that conclusion it was considered a user (Student A) who receives theory lessons for a month, 20 driving practical lessons lasting 45 minutes each and passes both tests -theory and practical- at the first attempt.

The cheapest driving school for Student A out of the 286 driving school which offered their prices on the phone for the research is in Granada, where it costs 325 Euros. The most expensive driving school is one in Cuenca, 1,225 Euros. The difference between both schools is of 900 Euros (276.9%).

Student B

The research uses a second case. It is about a user (called Student B) who receives theory lessons for a month, passes the theory test at the first attempt but doesn't pass the practical test on the two tries included on the official full rates and passes it on the third try. This includes taking 15 more driving practical lessons than Student A, which makes it a total of 35. And in addition, he has to pay the official fees again (the official fees are only for three test attempts, whether theory or practical).

For this Student B, the average cost for getting the B permit is 1,293.86 Euros, according to the data collected in 30 cities. This represents 601.53 Euros (86.8%) more than if gets the licence at the first attempt.

The cheapest city for Student B is A Coruña, with an average price of 949.63 Euros, and the most expensive is Barcelona, where it costs an average of 1,616.52 Euros. The difference goes up to 666.89 Euros (70.2%).

Following A Coruña, the second cheapest city is Badajoz, where it costs 953.76 Euros, and the third one, Granada, 986.29 Euros. Following Barcelona, the most expensive city for Student B are Lleida, 1,572.32 Euros, and Bilbao, 1,565.85 Euros.

The cheapest driving school for Student B is in Badajoz, where the user has to pay 717.30 Euros to get the licence. On the opposite is Lleida, where the most expensive driving school is, where it costs 2,008.30 Euros, 180% more (the difference is 1,291 Euros).

Suggestions for hiring a driving school

FACUA suggests all people thinking about getting a B driving licence to compare prices of several driving schools using always the same standards; this is, including theory lessons, the materials used and the same number of practical lessons.

The association advises users to specifically ask if the prices given include VAT, Traffic Agency taxes and operation expenses.

Also, it is important to know how long the driving lessons included on the driving school deals last, given that in some cases the length of the practical lessons is different when purchased out of a deal. It is also relevant to check if the driving practicing lessons are actually on the road, since some driving schools include simulator practice or closed circuit lessons, a very important issue that the consumer must know.

On the other hand, FACUA reminds users to check if driving schools make students take two practical lessons together every time or if the lesson prices change depending on the time of the day when they are taken.

In addition, there are some schools that include in their deals a fixed number of practical lessons, even if they are not totally necessary for the student to pass the driving test.

FACUA advices users to check theory lessons' timetables and instructors' availability to solve doubts, because some driving schools combine face to face and online tutorials or tutorial videos with an access password to log in through a website or App (for mobile phones).

In addition, most driving schools charge a fixed amount every time the student takes the driving test -theory or practical-, regardless of the Traffic Agency taxes.

FACUA also recommends checking how much students have to pay if they have to repay the official full rates (in the case of not passing the test on the three opportunities included on the rates), because this, in addition to the operation charges, can considerably change from one driving school to another.

Several of the driving schools included on the research are not very clear when giving the information to users and there are even many companies who refuse to give prices on the phone. This makes it very difficult to the user to compare. In fact, only 286 out of the 776 driving schools reached by FACUA have given their fares on the phone.

The association has found new practices for client attraction by the driving schools. Some of them offer gifts such as tablets to gain more clients to take digital lessons to prepare the theory test. FACUA recommends users to check if these gifts make it more expensive to get the licence in these schools.

The 45 minute practical lesson costs an average of 25.03 Euros

The most common length for practical lessons in Spanish driving schools is 45 minutes. The country's average cost for them is 25.03 Euros for individual lessons.

The lowest average is in A Coruña, with 13.94 Euros per lesson and the most expensive average is in Barcelona, with 31.21 Euros. From one to the other there's a difference of 17.27 Euros, specifically 123.9%, for a similar lesson.

The association warns that some schools offer deals with a discount, including an enrolment fee and a given number of practical lessons, but in some cases these lessons have a different length from individually hired lessons.

FACUA also recommends users to make it clear if they will receive the money back when purchasing a deal and not using all of the practical lessons included. Many driving schools offer deals to make the final price cheaper, but this is why it is important to check if there's the possibility of getting a refund of the non used lessons in case there's any.

Most schools charge the presence of the instructor on the practical test with the same price of a standard practical lesson, but some other schools have a special rate for this service.

Theory lessons

Most of the schools offer online theory lessons. This option is the most common nowadays, rather than face to face lessons, but some schools combine both options. FACUA recommends users to check the availability of instructors to solve their doubts when receiving these lessons.

FACUA also advises users to ask for the opening times to prepare the theory test, and if there's a qualified instructor during that time to solve doubts or if these instructors are only available for a few specific hours.

The way of charging the theory lessons change from one school to another. Most schools include the theory lessons on the enrolment fee, but some of them charge these lessons per month or any other given period of time, and then, some others have a full closed price without any limit of time. Some centres have intensive courses, for the same or different price. This is a very common option for most driving schools recently, and in some cases it's the only possibility to get face to face theory lessons.

Traffic Agency taxes

In Spain, the driving school is the centre where the user gets prepared to pass the tests made by the Traffic Agency. In order to be able to do so, a tax must be paid. This tax entitles the user to repeat one of the two tests (theory or practical, up to three examination sessions) and it is of 90.30 Euros in 2015.

The usual thing is to pay this amount to the driving school, and they deliver it fully to the Agency. This is why some of the schools charge an amount for the operation, which sometimes is only applied if it has to be paid twice.

Instructional materials

Most of the driving schools include the instructional materials and mock tests needed to prepare for the theory test when users pay the enrolment fees. Some centres give the option of not paying for them when users already have materials or can reach a lending system. FACUA insists on users asking for the specific cost of these materials regarding the enrolment fee.

In addition, almost every driving school give a password to access a website where there are some mock tests to practice. In most cases, the password also gives access to an online manual.

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