We’ve all seen plenty of advice on driving more safely, but there’s one aspect of driving not a lot of people think about – parking. In fact, an increasingly significant number of insurance claims are related to damage incurred by an often unknown third party in a car park, leaving you out of pocket and sometimes losing your no claims bonus. Many people think it’s just ‘one of those things’, but there are some simple steps to reduce your risk, so here’s some advice! Here we’re going to look specifically at parking in supermarket car parks – one of the most common places where cars get damaged. The key point is to think about the space that you choose. First of all, avoid the spaces closest to the entrance. This...

You may have recently bought a second-hand car and been given a warranty with it from the garage or a third party. This warranty is often for 3, 6 or 12 months often depending on the age, mileage and price of the vehicle. During this time you may have peace of mind that if anything major goes wrong with the vehicle you will be covered to have it fixed. When the warranty is due to come to an end often the company that provided it will contact you to see if you wish to extend it. Prices vary massively depending on the age, mileage, make and model of the vehicle and also what is covered under the warranty. Some warranties will only cover major components such as turbos etc. If...

If you ever watch professional valeteers cleaning your car you will see that they try and keep the wet process away from the dry.  You should also try and do this by hosing the car down in one place and cleaning it and then moving into to another place to dry and polish. If you are cleaning the inside of the car then it is best to start here.  Start by removing all the items from the vehicle, next you need to clean the dashboard and windows.  Make sure that you use the correct products to do this so that you do not make the steering wheel slippery and the windows smeary.  The final step is to hoover out the vehicle.  You may wish to clean the seats but be...

In the UK damage is often likely to occur when your vehicle is parked in a car park. This may happen when you are parking it due to tight spaces, barriers and raised curbs or it may happen when you leave it. Some people sometimes decide to park across two spaces in a car park but this is not only illegal but often causes issues for other drivers. If you do this you may end up getting a rather hefty fine. When parking, try to find a space that is plenty big enough for your vehicle to allow the doors to open as much as needed. Even if you are not going to be using your passenger door, make sure that there is still room to open it as the person...

If you buy a used car and have not got any record of the service history then you may need to do some investigation work to find out if and when it has been serviced. If the car you are buying or have bought is ten years old for example, the chances are it will have had at least a few services. You may want to have a look to see if you can find any receipts for the vehicle as this could show a service or at least give you an indication of who may have done one if the receipts are mostly from the same garage. You can also have a look online through previous MOT’s and find out garages that have carried out repairs. If it is...