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Fleet management is a tough task for any business. It has many pitfalls for the inexperienced fleet manager and requires lot of attention to detail. If you need to begin managing a fleet of vehicles, here is a quick guide to begin:

• Store all details safely. You will need to know when MOTs are due, any maintenance issues that might need attending to, when services are due, total mileage etc. Keep a database with all of this information on it.
• Monitor driving. Make sure you know who is driving which vehicle and what they are doing with it. Consider installing telematics boxes.
• Make sure staff know what to do. Give them their fuel cards and emergency numbers and make sure they have received a full briefing in case of emergencies.
• Make fleet management a full time task. It’s not something you can dip in and out of. It should be somebody’s role.

Online car sales platforms are now more popular than ever before. It is a great option if you have a car that you want to sell quickly and efficiently, without any of the hassle of selling the car yourself. Here are some of the things to think about:

• Money. If you sell your car online, you probably won’t get as much money for it. The main benefit is the convenience. If money is your main consideration, this option might not be for you.
• Speed. You will be able to make the sales quickly and won’t have to worry about advertising your vehicle or going through all of the legal paperwork yourself.
• Convenience. You can get a valuation straight away simply by putting your registration number into the system. The simplicity is what makes an online car sale appealing.

Selling your car online isn’t right for everyone. Check out all the options before making a decision.

For people who just need to use a car occasionally, renting can be a very good option. It will give you the freedom to use a vehicle of your choice as and when you require it. The price has to be right though and sometimes, renting can work out to be very expensive.

If you rent cars for your personal use, shop around. Don’t necessarily go with the same company each time and trust that they will give you a good price. This may not be the case at all and you might be able to find much better car deals on the internet or with a different rental provider.

For businesses that rent cars regularly, it is very much worthwhile looking into outsourcing rental administration to a fleet management company. This can actually save a great deal of money, as the fleet managers will rent cars on a large scale and will have a lot of buying power, getting you the lowest price for your desired vehicle.

When you rent a car, you will usually be able to have it for a certain length of time without incurring additional costs. This means that car rental is actually a really flexible way for drivers to gain access to vehicles, which can be very useful depending on a person’s job and/ or lifestyle.

If you are going to rent a car, think about how long you will realistically need it for. If you are renting it for a holiday, consider only doing so for part of the holiday as it will be very expensive in a lot of areas.

That being said, public transport can sometimes be deceptively expensive. It may be both easier and cheaper to simply rent a car for yourself over a period of time. Weigh up the costs and make lists of the differences in price. It could make a great deal of difference to you, helping you get to work and see friends and family much more easily by driving there.

Choosing the right tyres is important, especially if you are driving in harsh weather conditions. You need to ensure that you are choosing the right tyres for your particular vehicle, as well as making sure you are getting good quality products that meet with any necessary regulations. Here are some of the things you should think about when choosing the right tyres:

Choosing the right size

You can find your car’s tyre size in its handbook. This will give you the following details:

• Section width
• Aspect ratio
• Rim diameter
• Load rating
• Speed rating

This will allow you to find the right tyre size for your vehicle. Alternatively, some websites will allow you to enter your vehicle make and model to identify the correct tyres.

Selecting the best quality 

Of course, budget has to come into your decision. Not everybody will be able to afford the most premium tyres on the market, but you should consider choosing the highest quality tyres you can. This will help you to avoid damage and use your tyres for as long as possible (though you may want to check your handbook to see how often the manufacturer suggests you change your tyres). Compare prices with different suppliers – they could differ a surprising amount.

Consider having seasonal tyres 

If you are worried about having extra grip on your tyres during the winter, consider using specific tyres for the colder months of the year. Many experts think that it’s definitely worth it:

The bitter cold is setting in – here are our tips for your winter tyres: https://t.co/wCxSus5CfX pic.twitter.com/UgZ2QbtJ3w

— Autocar (@autocar) November 13, 2016

If you’re worried about the space, many tyre sellers will be able to store them for you throughout the summer months. It’s important that you don’t use your winter tyres during the summer, as they will wear out more quickly.

Owning a car is expensive and with fuel, tax, MOT’s and services many of us are reluctant to spend out money on the car unless we really have to. Leaving a intermittent fault can be disastrous as often it can be a warning of a part starting to fail and it may be that when it finally does fail it cause a lot more damage than if it had been replaced when the fault was only occurring some of the time.

If your car has recently developed an intermittent fault then it is worth taking it down to your local garage to get it hooked up to a diagnostic machine. Cars are built with an on board computer type system which will often record any faults that have occurred on the car. These faults are stored as codes and will often tell a mechanic where the issue may lie. By reading the faults on the computer you may be able to catch a problem before it develops in to something more serious, saving you money in the long run.

When it comes to tyres you are often presented with a number of makes to choose from ranging vastly in price. New tyres often start from around £30 for budget tyres (depending on the size) upwards of £150 per tyre. You may also be able to get part worn tyres for your vehicle which can start at around £15-£20 each.

When deciding what tyres to fit to your car you need to consider a few points. Firstly how much do you drive the car and in what circumstances or conditions. If for example you do a lot of motorway driving and high miles then you will want tyres that are going to last so part worns, for example, may not be suitable. If you drive the car or van a lot in the winter months then you should consider either a winter tyre for this period or a good quality all round tyre.

If you need to drive a long distance, you may not feel that your car is suitable. It may be that you are not confident in it “making” the journey ok, mechanically, or you may need a bigger car if yours is quite small, to carry luggage. Sometimes people simply do not want to put the mileage on their own car.

If this is the case then you will need to look in to hiring a car. If you are planning on just using the car to get to the location then you will need to find a hire company that will allow you to leave the car at a dealership in the area you are going to. Places like Enterprise will often do this as they have branches all over the UK.

You will of course have to put fuel in the car and always be wary about excesses. Excesses can be a huge amount and before you turn down an excess waiver just double check the prices as often for as little as a few pound a day, it is well worth taking out the waiver.

If you are looking for a cheap run around then you may see there are lots of vehicles advertised for sale with no MOT. An MOT test can cost as little as £20 but you may find that the car needs a lot of work doing on it in order for it to pass.

Often people advertise cars with no MOT stating that it should pass with no work, or it may only need a new tyre etc. to pass. Be very wary relying on this as often if they are that confident it would pass with very little work needed then they would put an MOT on as they will be able to sell it for more money with 12 months MOT.

If you buy the car knowing it has no MOT and then it fails on a number of things you will usually not be able to return the car and may have lost your money.

When Jeremy Clarkson was sacked from Top Gear, the UK knew that the show would never be the same again. Quickly afterwards, co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond also left the show forcing BBC bosses to find three new presenters.

Earlier on this year it was announced that former Friends star, Matt Le Blanc and Chris Evans would be hosting the new Top Gear along with racing driver Sabine Schmitz, YouTube star Chris Harris, F1 pundit Eddie Jordan and motoring journalist Rory Reid.

When the first episode of the famous car show hit our screens, it reached over 4.3 million views by the subsequent week only nearly half of that amount turned back it. Chris Evans was criticised over the lack of ratings and many people have doubted as to if the show will ever be as popular as it once was again, but only time will tell.