THE NEED
The need for a family car grew painstakingly with the arrival of Megan and Melody especially for working parents like ourselves. Daily routines of sending and fetching Megan to and back from the childcare became increasingly difficult as work nowadays dun seem to be any easier than before.
Besides that, our ‘worldclass’ public transport isn’t helping at all… Waking up earlier to avoid the massive crowd would meant waking up at 5am and getting to leave the house by 6am… I know a lot of people are doing that, but its getting extremely difficult for us, as working parents whom hands on everything by ourselves.
Owning a car may exceed our expenses, but that can come later. First and foremost, get a car license.
THE SCHOOL
Lotsa debate on whether to be a school learner or a private learner. But to cut the story short, I went for the school option. Not much of a weighing the cons and pros, not even the cost, just lazy to ask around which private instructor is good… Sad to say, I’m the last rare breed of my cohorts who dun have a car license, hence either their instructors retired or hang over IC… So, the most logical choice of school to me, Bukit Batok Driving Center.
THE COST
Never really tabulated the cost, but only know that there is a enrolment fee of $89.88 initially. Thereafter, deposited $200, $1000, $500 and $500 on different dates, to my BBDC account.
The breakdown of the cost would be:
(A) Administration Cost
| Description | Cost |
| Enrolment Fee + 1 Year Membership Fee | $89.88 |
| Membership Renewal for additional 8 months ($7.49 x 6mths + $8.03 x 2 mths) | $61.00 |
(B) Theory Lesson Cost
| Description | Cost |
| Basic Theory Lessons x 2 | $34.24 |
| Basic Theory Practice x 2 | $6.42 |
| Basic Theory Evaluation x 1 | $3.21 |
| Final Theory Lessons x 2 | $34.24 |
| Final Theory Practice x 2 | $4.28 |
| Final Theory Evaluation x 1 | $5.35 |
| Driving Simulator x 1 | $11.77 |
(C) Practical Lesson Cost
| Description | Cost |
| 19 x Practical Lessons to Complete Course - Practical Training: $59.92 - Fixed Instructor Group: $10.70 | $1341.78 |
| 3 x Revision Lessons - Practical Training: $59.92 | $179.76 |
(D) Test Cost
| Description | Cost |
| Basic Theory Test x 1 | $6.00 |
| Final Theory Test x 1 | $6.00 |
| Practical Test x 1 | $183.71 |
(E) Other Cost
| Description | Cost |
| Photo (For Course Enrolment) | $7.00 |
| Photo (For Driving License Application) | $7.00 |
| Provisional Driving License - 6 months renewal: $25.00 | $50.00 |
| Driving License Application | $50.00 |
And the total cost is… $2,081.64/-
THE TIME
The whole course took me 591 days from the date I enrolled on 9th Jan 2010 and finally passing the practical test and applying for my driving license on 24th Aug 2011.
Sounds like a long time, but not quite so, as there are some gaps. After passing my Basic Theory Test on 24th Feb 2010, my practical training only started on 16th May 2011, 15 months later as I couldn’t find time to continue.
Hence in actual fact, minus the 15 months gap…
| 9th Jan 2010 | Enrolment |
| 24th Feb 2010 | Passed Basic Theory Test |
| 16th May 2011 | Start Practical Lesson Stage 1 |
| 27th Jun 2011 | Completed Practical Lesson Stage 5 |
| 19th Jul 2011 | Passed Final Theory Test |
| 25th Aug 2011 | Passed Practical Test |
Besides the 15 months gap, most of the delays came from waiting for test dates for Basic/Final/Practical Tests.
THE EXPERIENCE
In a nutshell, I had a good learning experience with BBDC. Afterall, I’m really glad to be able to pass the tests with only 1 try… Especially the Practical Test that has to fall on a heavy rainy day… Enuff said, am really glad its all over…
