Author: Declan

Giving your car the once over

Written by Declan
From time to time, it is very important to give your car a once over. On a daily or weekly basis you should be checking the fluid levels, tyre condition and tyre pressure but ideally once month or so you should have a really good look around the car. Look for any damage to parts body or mechanical that you had not noticed. If it has damaged the paintwork, then you may need to get it fixed to avoid rusting. Also, check that it has not done any mechanical damage, for example, if there is a kerbed alloy wheel. Take a look under the car, it is very easy to miss corroded brackets causing your exhaust to hang low or heat shields that are barely hanging on. Often if you...
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When repairs outweigh value

Written by Declan
If you own an older car then there may come a time when the cost of the repairs outweigh the value of the car. If this is the case then you have to make the choice as to if you want to risk spending the money on it and hope that it will last you for another few years or whether you cut your losses and start again. If you can only afford to buy another cheap car, less than £1500 then you may find that the types of vehicles that you can buy within your budget will need work doing anyway, or may not last very long. This is often a cycle that may people get into and it can be hard to get out of it. If possibly...
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Preparing your car for sale

Written by Declan
If you have a second hand car that you wish to sell then there are a few things that you should do before advertising it to try and ensure that you get the most money for it. It surprises me how many people put up pictures of a vehicle they have for sale that has not been cleaned. It maybe that some people will see beyond the surface dirt but for others, this could be enough to put them off immediately without even bothering to read through the rest of your advert. Before you picture your car give it a good once over clean and polish ideally, and do not forget the interior. For as little as a pound you can buy a product called back to black that is...
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Hire car for free?

Written by Declan
If you have a car accident that isn’t your fault, did you know that you may be entitled to a hire car for at no cost. Many insurance companies will only offer you a courtesy car which is usually a very small car but if you have an upgraded policy then you may be entitled to a like for like car. If you have not chosen this option there are still ways in which you can get a like for like car without having to fork out on renting one. An accident management company will be able to arrange to get your car repaired and also supply you with a like for like car if you are involved in an accident that isn’t your fault. If the other person has...
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Keeping MOT costs down

Written by Declan
MOT’s can be scary for many car owners as they may not know what work is required until they have the MOT done. From the initially £40 approx. for the MOT test, the final bill can often go up by hundreds on cars requiring quite a bit of work to get it to pass. There are a few things that you can do to try and keep your MOT costs as low as possible. Firstly try and find a garage that you trust. Although the MOT test is very strict, unfortunately there are same garages that will take advantage of a test and quote for work that does not really need doing. When carrying out some recent online research I was surprised to find that many garages offer a MOT...
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