Blog

Not all garages sell part worn tyres, so do not automatically assume that your local garage will. There are advantages and disadvantages of buying part worns the biggest advantage being the cost. But with this in mind you do need to consider how much wear and use you will get out of the tyres before committing to part worns.

Part worn tyres can be sold with as little as 3 mm of tread on them meaning that they are already well over half worn. The legal limit in the UK for tyres is 1.6 mm but many garages often advise changing them between 2 and 3 mm to ensure optimum driving and safety.

DO a bit of research online or speak to friends about garages that they have used to buy part worns from. Do not be afraid to ask the garage for the precise tyre depth left on each part worn and if it is below 4 be very dubious about paying the full price.

With many cars systems now available online such as Tax, checking for MOT’s, if a vehicle is insured and HPI reporting, it is easier than ever to get background information on a car you are thinking about buying. The government website has links to many different portals that will give you information such as the last MOT date, advisories and failures along with mileage details. This allows you to easily check back on the mileage recorded at MOT against that on the car to check it has not been tampered with.

HPI is a report which will check for number plate changes, if the vehicle is recorded as stolen or on finance along with if it has ever been an insurance write off and again mileage. The cost for a HPI varies from £2-£15 depending on how much information you want to view and which company you use but is well worth the money.

Having a car accident can be an awful experience. Even if no one was injured during the car accident, the affect it can have can last weeks if not months afterwards. Many people reply on their car to get them to and from work or to take and pick the children / grandchildren etc. up from school. Suddenly finding yourself without a car can cause a nightmare.

Some insurance companies will offer you a courtesy car but often this is a group a car which is a small car such as a KA or Corsa. If you need a bigger car then you may be able to pay for an upgrade otherwise you will need to look at hiring a vehicle. This is an additional expense that you may not be able to claim back for. If your car is written off then usually the courtesy car is needed back the same or the following day leaving you very little time to source a new one. Always be sure to check the cover you have when taking out an insurance policy.

Some cars come with alloy wheels as standard, others usually offer it as an option from the factory. There are advantages and disadvantages of having alloy wheels over steel wheels and often people go for them purely for the look and style that they add to the car.

If you damage a steel wheel, you may actually find that it’s a good time to replace your steels with alloys. Alloys wheels can be picked up for as little as £50 for a set of four if you are willing to hunt round scrap yards for a day or two.

Make sure that you either swap any good tyres you have on your steels on to the new alloys or that they tyres that are on the alloys are not only well within the legal tread limit but also free from damage.

You may be required to inform your insurance company if you do decide to put alloys on your car as some insurers will count this as a modification.

If your main aim is to get behind the wheels of a brand new car model on the market without necessarily having to spend huge sums of money, Contract Cars leasing may be the best way to do it. There are several options to choose from. However there are a numbers of factors to take into account in order to make sure that you strike the best deal.

If you want more information on Contract Cars, this guide is just for you. It gives detailed information on the benefits as well as how it works. Take a look:

The Benefits of car Leasing

First, you don’t have to worry about a vehicle losing its values since you do not own it. Also, you do not have to worry about reselling it when you’re through with it. All you need to do is simply give back the keys when the contract expires.

In addition, you can as well guarantee you’ll drive the latest model vehicle every few years. Plus you won’t have to worry about the vehicle’s warranty that has expired. In some cases, you may be requested to pay a little extra for the car’s maintenance. This way, should any problem pop up; you will not have to worry about looking for cash to repair it. (more…)

There are a variety of driving courses that you ca attend. Some course may be offered to you instead of points or a fine, speed awareness courses for example. These courses are designed to teach drivers car safety and make them aware of the dangers involved in speeding.

Although may people resent having to go on one of these courses, they can prove extremely useful and have proven to lower speeding cases. The courses usually include a questions and answers section, a few facts and figures and a section designed to make you think about the consequences your speeding could have.

If you get points on your licence then you could find that your car insurance increases and that some insurers will not even offer you an insurance policy.

Other courses are also available such as advanced driver course which some employers request their staff go on. These course can be booked directly by a member of the public and can often lower your insurance premium.

Wheel trims are often put on cars that do not have alloys to hide the steel wheel behind which can look quite ugly otherwise. Wheel trims vary in price depending on what size and style you want. Almost all of them are made of plastic and are sized based on the wheel diameter.

Often a set of four will cost you £20-£30 but you can sometimes pick up a bargain if they are on sale or if you buy them second hand.

Most come with clips on that you then just push on to the wheel to secure them but do be careful as cheaper ones may require clips to be fitted separately. These clips do hold the trim on but not very securely meaning that a slight clip or going over a speed bump / pot hole and they could come off. The best way to secure them is to use cable ties, probably 3 or 4 on each trim.

Car oil is something that can be very expensive, especially if it is bought from the wrong place. If you have to buy oil from a motorway service station for example, you may be paying up to twenty pounds per litre compared to six or seven pounds elsewhere.

Often people have to buy oil from motorway stations or forecourts regardless of the price because they have completely ran out and cannot risk driving it any further. A simple check every few weeks or a month will give you enough time to know when it needs topping up allowing you time to shop around for the best price.

I recently had to buy some oil and found that surprisingly the cheapest place to get it was my local garage. They were charging nearly half as much for the oil as some of the main supermarkets and the quality was just as good.

I recently needed two new tyres on my Vauxhall Vectra. I didn’t want to spend too much on the tyres but at the same time didn’t want to buy some that wouldn’t last long and would need replacing in a few months’ time.

I visited a few local garages and compared prices online, and was quite shocked to find how much the prices vary from garage to garage. Online the cheapest budget tyres I could get were approximately £45-£50 each with is similar to one of the garages I spoke to in person, but when I looked in to part worns I found that they were about £30 per tyre. The issue with part worns is that they may only have 3 mm of tread on, and as most garage recommend you change your tyres at 2-3 mm, meant that you would not have long before they needed replacing. After a bit of shopping around I found one garage that would do Continentals (which is one of the top brands) for £40 each meaning that I could get better quality tyres for less than budget ones! It really does pay to do your research and not just go with the first garage.

Car fuel is often one of the biggest expenses to motorist. Fuel prices have changed drastically over the last 15 years. Previously you could get a litre of fuel for less than a pound, now you may be paying one pound thirty plus depending on where you go.In recent months we have even seen diesel prices less than petrol, this is the first time we have experienced this in the UK in over 14 years.

It really does pay to shop around for fuel as you can save yourself a few pence per litre, which all adds up if you are filling up the tank. Many of the supermarkets are now running promotions, such as, if you spend over £50 in store you get 2 pence off per litre.

With many of us having to use our cars on a daily basis, we need to make the most of being able to obtain cheaper fuel – so be on the look out for deals locally to you.