When buying second hand cars you always have the worry as to if they are going to have any problems or if they have been looked after. Many people say reliability is one of the top things on their list when it comes to choosing a car but yet many of us simply do not do the research. All cars are individual so two cars that are the same make and model can develop different problems over time but some manufactures are known for their reliability whereas other are the opposite. German and Japanese cars often rank high when it comes to reliability. This is sometimes because rather than bringing out new technology all the time, they often spend time and money improving the original ones, meaning they get to...

A recent survey showed that Fords Focus is one of the top 5 most sold cars in the UK in 2016. If you look around on a journey you will often see many driving around along with Volkswagen Golfs and Fords smaller, Fiesta. These cars have always been good sellers and probably will for years to come. The Focus is priced in the mid range meaning it is not the cheapest family sized car but also nowhere near the most expensive. Most mechanics will have experience in working on them and parts are relatively cheap compared to BWM, Mercedes and Audi etc. Although all cars are individual and can develop faults at any time, the Focus is quite reliable and it also well known for its safety which is often...

Costs are generally going to go up, let’s face it. IPT (That’s insurance premium tax) rises 2%, which sticks an extra 2% on your renewal next year. Low road tax incentives for new vehicles are dropping out more and more, and the government has removed many tax breaks available to employees via workplace salary sacrifice schemes, which had allowed employees to obtain new vehicles via a company car mechanism. Fuel duty remained frozen again, which does at least not increase prices at the pump, but prices are sensitive to any weakness in the pound. In the current volatile market, expect pump prices to rise over the year anyway. However, it’s good news if you want to buy an ultra-low emission vehicle. There’s a lot of new investment into the charging...

With winter fast approaching, now is the time many people start to experience problems with their cars. It may be that your car has been running fine all through the summer months but as soon as the cold mornings start to hit, you find that it splutters for a while when you first start it or even worse it won’t start at all. Often these issues are relatively simple to rectify, it may be that your battery is on its way out and struggling to keep its power. Or possibly that there is an issue with the automatic choke on the vehicle. A quick visit to the garage for an all over health check should pick up on problems that may be happening in the morning when trying to start...

If you are having to sell a second hand car then you will probably be familiar with the hassle that comes with it. Selling a second hand car privately can be quite stressful. Firstly you need to consider what price you are going to try and sell your car for. Realistically there is no point thinking what you paid for the car, you need to find out what they are currently selling for. Looking at places like Auto Trader or even Facebook car sales pages will give you a rough idea. Be sure not to just pick the highest priced car and advertise yours at that price, as just because someone is selling one at that price it doesn’t mean they will get that price for it. Do give your...