A service is often between £100 and £250 for a car (and even more for a major service) and therefore many people with old cars tend not to bother so much with getting a service done. During a service the garage will change the oil and oil filters and this can really help keep the engine working as it should. The oil is there to lubricate certain moving parts in the engine and to take away some of the heat. Over time the oil in your car breaks down and becomes less efficient and can mean that the components of the engine do not work as well as they should be. If this happens it can lead to big problems and engine failure. Many garages now offer interim services or...

It is illegal to drive a car in the UK without a valid MOT certificate unless you are driving the vehicle to or from an MOT test station or to or from a garage where it is booked in to have work carried out that caused the vehicle to fail the previous MOT. There is a national vehicle database which stores information such as MOT’s, insurance tax meaning that the police and DVLA have quick and easy access to this information when needed. The DVLA do checks every month to see if a car has a valid MOT certificate and any that don’t are instantly sent to the ANPR of the police vehicle. If a vehicle with no MOT drives past or is spotted in a car fitted with an...

When you own a car there are certain maintenance that should be done on it in in order to keep it running as it should. Even with regular services there are no guarantees that it will not develop a problem but you are decreasing the risk of certain things going wrong. A service will not only replace parts that may be wearing out but will also cover oil changes etc that may also improve the performance and economy of the vehicle. If you have your car serviced at a main dealer you will often pay between £200-£300 and possibly even more if it is a major service, where the cambelt is changed etc. At an independent garage it will probably be closer to £100. You can also carry out a...

When buying a second hand car there are many services online that you can use to establish the history of the vehicle. Most of us are familiar with the HPI report system where you can find out if a car has had a number plate change, been subject to a write off, been recorded as stolen or has outstanding finance of it, but did you also know you can look up old MOT’s online. Once you have the make and reg number of the vehicle, you can go on to the MOT government website and recover a list of the current and previous MOT’s. The report will show you the mileage at the time, the date and expiry date of the MOT, if the car passed or failed (if it...

When buying a car it is easy to get carried away with deals and offers making the purchase price low or the monthly repayments well within your budget, but you do have to also consider the running costs of the car and in particular the insurance. Tax, repairs and fuel economy are also important considerations you should take in to account as when spread over the year, these can easily add another £50 to £100 a month on to your purchase price. Insurance is one of the biggest expensive you will have towards the car after purchasing it and depending on your circumstances, you may be in for a shock to find out exactly how much it will set you back. Cars are put in to groups for insurance purposes...