Monthly Archives: January 2019

Car Insurance

10 General tips when buying Car insurance

Here’s a few general tips when buying car insurance. 1. Don’t lie Don’t even be economical with the truth. It might result in a cheaper insurance quote now, but if you ever need to make a claim and they discover that your 1.6 litre car actually has a 2.0 litre engine, your insurance will be voided and that’ll be all she wrote. It’s a lot more difficult to lie about the car now though as most insurance companies require the VIN before they’ll quote you. Even so, lying about occupation, address – any of the other influencing factors could ultimately end up very badly, because if you lie well enough, you’ll be slapped with a fraud charge as well as having to pay for your accident and resulting claim. That Would Be Bad. 2. Beware of the deductible. Your deductible has a huge bearing on how much you pay for your car insurance. It’s the amount below which the insurance company won’t pay out. For example a £250 deductible means that any claim below that value is your responsibility. For any claim higher than that value, you pay the deductible and the insurance company pays the rest. A higher deductible means more out-of-pocket expense in the event of a claim but cheaper insurance. Conversely a lower deductible means less out-of-pocket expense in the event of a claim but more expensive insurance. This is because the lower deductible is putting more cost responsibility on the insurance company. So weigh up your options and if you think you can afford to cover a £500 claim out of your own cash, put that in as the deductible and your premium will plummet. 3. Don’t hammer the phones or web for quotes. Sure you want to compare car insurance quotes but each time you phone a company up or apply through their website to get a quote, they will ding your credit report with a query. Too many queries and your credit score goes down. As little as this should matter to the cost of your insurance, if your credit score goes down, your car insurance goes up. To compare quotes without affecting your credit rating, you can use a car insurance comparison website as these compare quotes from a panel of insurance companies in a single search. 4. Just because you’re renewing doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest. Check your premium with a couple of other companies each time you come to renew. Don’t assume your current premium is still the cheapest. More often than not, the same company will gently increase existing customer’s premiums to cover the cost of discounted offers for first-time-buyers. Call your insurer and you might be able to talk about moving to a different company; often you’ll be put through to a customer retention specialist who will have access to better deals than the first-tier phone operators. From there you might have a bargaining chip. Be careful though – if they call your bluff, you might price yourself out of the market. 5. Do you live in the same place – for insurance purposes I mean? Ask about address re-regioning, re-zoning or re-allocation. Companies often re-allocate their risk boundaries and consequently their customer’s addresses. They typically won’t tell you if the premium has changed unless you ask. Of course this could also mean your car insurance has gone up, not down. 6. Multiple policies gives multiple discounts Most insurance companies will give you additional discounts if you have more than one policy with them. For example if you have your home and car insured with them, both will be discounted by some amount. You need to do some homework here because if you find cheaper car insurance quotes elsewhere and move to another company, any discount you were getting on your home insurance will vanish and that premium will go up. Did you save enough with the new car insurance company to cover the increased premium for your house at the old one? 7. When multiple policies DON’T give multiple discounts Insurance is a strange business. I used to have my house, car and bike insurance all with one company. When we got a second car, they wanted nearly double the premium for it. I shopped around and ended up with a web insurance company. Figuring they had a good deal, I asked about my motorbike and for that they were three times more expensive than the old lot. Long story short – car and house are with the new company. Bike is still with the old company. I’ve no idea why there are such discrepancies but it always pays to shop around. 8. Modified car doesn’t necessarily mean high premiums Typically, if you modify anything on your car, most insurance companies will jack the rate up. At the time of writing there was at least one insurer in the UK who had seen the light. Adrian Flux Insurance were quoted in Max Power magazine in 2008 as giving slightly lower premiums to people with heavily modified cars. Their rationale? If you’ve poured money into your ride to customise it, there’s a good chance you’re going to take more care of it than Joe Average with his crappy Vauxhall Astra / Geo Metro (delete depending on country). In July 2009 they confirmed this with statistics showing that modified car drivers are 20% less likely to be in an accident. 9. Alarms and physical locks In England, discounts are still given on car insurance if you have a Thatcham-approved alarm fitted. This is an alarm system tested by the Thatcham labs to determine its effectiveness. The problem is that most people are oblivious to car alarms going off now. At most, they’re a deterrant. The truth of the matter is that if you have a desirable car, an organised gang can have it on a boat out of the country before you even know it’s gone. This happens a lot to high end Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Range Rovers and[…..]

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General / Misc Advice

A Guide to Motorcycling Essentials during the winter

  For many motorcyclists, winter signals the end of the riding season. Some send their beloved bikes into hibernation, having thoroughly coated them in grease, tarpaulin and the bitter sweet tears of farewell, whilst others just leave them to rust on the roadside like sorry heaps of hopelessness. As we’re all aware, motorcyclists are already at risk on the road. Although they take up the smallest modicum of traffic, they are involved in the most road traffic accidents. This is particularly the case when winter descends and, as Lord Eddard Stark keeps reminding us, winter is coming. Therefore, come the New Year, don’t be the dude who forgets to renew his motorbike insurance who doesn’t dress appropriately for the change in season and who ends ups eating asphalt on black ice. But, what is the best way to keep warm and focused on the road? After all, it’s incredibly difficult to concentrate if you aren’t properly prepared. Winter brings the frozen visor, obscuring the view with every exhalation. A lack of thermal gloves (and underwear) will lead to numb fingers (and bums), as will exposed midriffs – or any unprotected flesh for that matter (that little gap between your glove and sleeve? That gap will freeze over after ten minutes on the road, true story). Dressing for the winter months needs to be conducted with military precision and in all seriousness, the human body tires a lot quicker when it’s cold, which could lead to slower reaction times and a poor judgement of hazards. So for those who are determined to stay on the road this season, here’s our comprehensive guide to the best winter gear available, to ensure that you stay safe and warm whatever the weather. The Leather All-in-One It might be the most expensive item of clothing you ever invest in (£500-£1000 or thereabouts), but it’ll also be the most beneficial.  Waterproof (in some cases), aerodynamic and wind resistant, the leather one-piece is a no-brainer for winter bikers, not to mention the fact it’ll improve with age and eventually hug the contours of your buttocks like a loyal lover. The Anti-fog Visor An anti-fog visor can be fitted into your current helmet, acting as a self-clearing screen that ensures you never have to put up with impaired visibility again. The plastic visor is optical in quality, meaning the crystal clear transparency will make you forget you’re even wearing a helmet. Not only that, but Pinlock visors are available in clear, yellow and light or dark tints, meaning you can match your specs to your leathers. Dreamy. Still not convinced of their anti-fog abilities? We held one over a freshly brewed cup of tea and guess what? Not one mark – even the condensation was quickly cleared up by a super absorbent insert.  Demystifying! The Balaklava Long stigmatised as the key garment in a robber’s wardrobe, the humble Balaklava is an extremely effective face warmer. Yes, it might look at little silly at first, but you’re putting a helmet over it for god’s sake! And in truth, there’s nothing quite as painful as frozen little ears (and in my opinion, nothing quite as cool as a beard balaklava). The Hi Viz Dress like an authoritative lolly pop lady and be seen on the road. This is one of the most important aspects of any biking ensemble, come sunshine or snow. Poor visibility is a major factor in motorcycle accidents, so don’t deck yourself out in black like the headless horseman, or you may end up sharing some nasty similarities with the aforementioned villain. There’s plenty of hi viz gear online and some of it is pretty inexpensive, so shop around and think neon. The Thermal Undies Get your long johns out and thank the day you made such a wise investment. Seriously, if you team thermal underwear (from top to bottom) with a leather all-in-one, you will be as snug as a bug in a rug. Plus, you can save money on the central heating by wearing them in bed! The Hot Grip That’s right, self-heating handle bars. Halleluiah, there is a god! These beauties will your keep your hands warm throughout winter, plus they’re water proof (they’d be pretty useless if not) and have great grip control. Although this might seem excessive when you can just wear a good pair of gloves, these warm little handles of hope will become a great comfort during long, wet winter journeys. Call Us Now Chat Live Now Clients

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Saving Money

20 Ways motorists waste money!

Cars make us irrational. We call them our babies and lovingly wash them every Saturday — or we turn up the radio to drown out the sound of a dragging muffler. Either mindset will cost you money, sometimes a lot of it. Walking the line between obsession and neglect means you never spend a penny without a good reason — and good reasons can include spending money on something that’s not broken. Here, then, are 20 ways you waste money on your car. 1. Premium fuel instead of regular. Buy the cheapest fuel that doesn’t make your car engine knock. All octane does is prevent knock; a grade higher than the maker of your car recommends is not a “treat.” 2. 3,000-mile oil changes. Manufacturers typically suggest 5,000 miles, 7,500 miles or even longer intervals between oil changes (many car markers now include oil-life monitors that tell you when the oil is dirty — sometimes as long as 15,000 miles.) There may be two recommendations for oil-change intervals: one for normal driving and one for hard use. If you live in a cold climate, take mostly very short trips, tow a trailer or have a high-revving, high-performance engine, use the more aggressive schedule. If you seldom drive your car, go by the calendar rather than your odometer. 3. Taking false economies. Better to replace a timing belt on the manufacturer’s schedule than to have it break somewhere. Better to pop for snow tyres than to ride that low-profile rubber right into a tree. 4. Using the dealer’s maintenance schedule instead of the factory’s. Of course he thinks you should have a major tune-up every 30,000 miles. Most of the tasks that we generally think of under the heading of “tune-up” are now handled electronically. Stick to the manufacturer’s schedule unless your car is not running well. If your engine doesn’t “miss” – skip a beat or make other odd noises — don’t change the spark plugs or wires until the manufacturer says so. 5. Using a dealer for major services. Independent shops almost always will do the same work much cheaper. Call around, owner’s manual in hand, to find out, mindful that the quality of the work is more of a question mark. Some dealers may tell you using outside garages violates the car’s warranty. This is a lie. 6. Using a dealer for oil changes. Dealers sometimes run dirt-cheap specials, but otherwise you’ll usually find changes cheaper elsewhere. If you’re using an independent shop for the first time, you might inconspicuously mark your old oil filter to make sure it has indeed been changed. And don’t let them talk you into new wiper blades, new air filters or high-priced synthetic oil, unless your car is one of the few high-performance machines built for it. 7. Not replacing your air filter and wiper blades yourself. Buy them on sale at a discount auto-parts store rather than having a local garage or dealer replace them. Replacement is simple for either part, a 5-minute job. A good schedule for new air filters is every other oil change in a dusty climate; elsewhere at least once every 20,000 miles. Treat yourself to new wipers (it’s easiest to buy the whole blade, not the refill) once a year. 8. Going to any old repair shop. Estimates must include a provision that no extra work will be done without your approval. Drive your car to make sure the problem is fixed before you pay. Pay with a credit card in case there’s a dispute later. Be courteous and pay attention. A good mechanic is hard to find. 9. Changing your antifreeze every winter. Change it only when a hydrometer suggests it will no longer withstand temperatures 30 degrees below the coldest your area sees in winter. Your dealer or oil-change shop should be happy to check it for free. Every two years is about right. But you also should keep your cooling system happy by running the air conditioner every few weeks in winter to keep it lubricated, checking for puddles underneath the car and replacing belts and hoses before they dry and crack. 10. Replacing tyres when you should be replacing shocks. If your tyres are wearing unevenly or peculiarly, your car may be out of alignment or your shocks or struts worn out. 11. Letting a brake squeal turn into a brake job. Squeal doesn’t necessarily mean you need new rotors or pads; mostly, it’s just annoying. Your first check — you can probably see your front brakes through the wheels on your car — is to look at the thickness of the pads. Pads thicker than a quarter-inch are probably fine. If your brakes emit a constant, high-pitched whine and the pads are thinner than a quarter-inch, replace them. If your car shimmies or you feel grinding through the pedal, then your brake rotors need to be turned or replaced. 12. Not complaining when your warranty claim is rejected. Manufacturers often will repair known defects outside the warranty period (sometimes called a secret warranty). It helps if you’ve done your homework and haven’t been a jerk. 13. Not keeping records. A logbook of every repair done to your car can help you decide if something’s seriously out of whack. Didn’t I just buy new brake pads? With a log and an envelope stuffed with receipts, you’ll know who did the work and when, and whether or not there’s a warranty on the repair. And a service logbook helps at resale time, too. 14. Buying an extended warranty. Most manufacturers allow you to wait until just before the regular warranty expires to decide. By then you should know whether your car is troublesome enough to require the extended warranty. Most of them aren’t worth the price. 15. Assuming the problem is major. If your car is overheating but you don’t see a busted hose or lots of steam, it might be the £15 thermostat, not your radiator. Or it may be that[…..]

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Buying & Owning a Car

New Car vs Used Car 

The first thing you need to ask yourself when you set out to replace  / buy your first car is whether you actually need to buy a new one. • Depreciation is the single biggest cost in running a car. Even if you only buy a one-year-old model, you’ll be missing out on some seriously large losses as the biggest drop comes in the first 12 months. • Look at the sums, and you might be able to buy a better equipped, more powerful version of the model you want by opting for a used model. You might even be able to upgrade a whole class thanks to big second-hand savings. • Our reliability and owner-satisfaction reports can show you which models are proving robust and which are proving disappointing. Pick one of the best, and there’s no reason to think you’ll be left stranded by the roadside just because you bought second-hand. • Even if the car you’re looking at is more than three years old, it doesn’t mean it can’t be protected by a warranty. Most approved-used schemes will provide 12 months of cover, and you can always take out your own policy with an independent provider for a few hundred pounds. • If you’ve got the budget and you’re determined to buy new, haggle hard. Use the What Car? Target Price to find out the kind of discounts that you should be able to get on any new car, and you’ll offset some of those nasty depreciation losses. • A new car will also obviously come with the full balance of the manufacturer’s warranty, which repairs many faults free of charge. This will usually give you three years’ peace of mind but it can be as long as seven if you opt for a Kia. • Special offers such as interest-free finance are most commonly attached to new cars, so this might be enough to convince you not to go down the used route. • A new car will be to your exact specification, and you can’t put a price on sitting in your own new car for the first time. Good luck everyone! Call Us Now Chat Live Now Clients

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Practical & Theory Tests

Perfect Preparation for your practical test!

It is natural – and potentially even helpful – to experience a certain amount of nerves as you approach the test. The examiner is expecting this and will make some allowance for it, although it will not excuse dangerous or serious mistakes. The best way to beat nerves is to be confident in your own ability. As such, the first thing you need to ensure is that you are actually ready to take the test. Insufficient preparation is the other principal cause of failure and it will have a bearing on your confidence going into the test. Your driving instructor is best placed to judge whether or not you are ready to take the practical test. Don’t go against their advice, even if you suspect they merely wish to retain your custom. In the vast majority of cases this will not be true, and you will probably save money in the long run by waiting until you are deemed to have a realistic prospect of passing. When you have developed sufficient confidence in your driving ability, make a test appointment early in the day. This will ensure you have less time to get worked up. Don’t pay any attention, however, to myths about daily pass quotas or people only passing on a Monday etc. These are entirely untrue. Try to make sure the test date does not clash with other stressful events such as school exams or wedding preparations, and don’t let your friends know when you’ve got your test as this will only create additional pressure. Turn to parents or other family members for support. In the week before the test Get as much practice as possible. Book extra lessons with your driving instructor. In your final sessions, ask the instructor to concentrate on the manoeuvres you find most tricky. Complete at least one ‘mock test’ in which your instructor ensures that conditions are as realistic as possible, providing a full debrief at the end of the session. Don’t listen to the advice of your friends / family. They doubtless mean well, but their instructions may be confusing, misguided or otherwise unhelpful. Remember that your driving instructor has years of experience as well as a professional training. Ignore driving test horror stories. There are hundreds of them doing the rounds. A couple may even be true. On the day before the test Don’t drink any large amounts of alcohol Get a good night’s sleep Get all the required documents together so that you are not rushing around looking for them just before you leave for the driving test centre. Make sure you know how to get to the driving test centre. Do a practice run if necessary. Plan what time you are going to get up, eat, leave home etc the following day. On the day of the test Think positively from the moment you wake up. Tell yourself that you are going to get through the day calmly. Eat light meals at your normal mealtimes and ensure you get your regular fluid intake. Even if your test is early in the morning, it is important to have a good breakfast in order to boost your concentration levels. Try not to over eat, however, as this may make you uncomfortable or lethargic. Wear clothes that make you feel as comfortable as possible. Try not to think too much about the test until it is time to leave. Take the telephone off the hook or switch your mobile phone off and pre-occupy yourself with something else. Don’t take pills to calm your nerves. They are likely to slow your reactions and negatively affect your performance. Do not drink any alcohol Leave for the test centre in plenty of time, allowing for the possibility of heavy traffic etc. You need to be there at least 10 minutes before your scheduled appointment time or you risk the test being cancelled. On the hour before the test Concentrate on the matter in hand. Think about the test route you will be following and the important points you need to concentrate on. Use visualization techniques to practice driving in your head. Picture yourself performing particular manoeuvres and focus on the points at which you need to turn the wheel, change gear, apply the brakes etc. Listen to the last-minute advice of your instructor, and don’t be afraid to ask him or her for clarification / reassurance on any matter. If you are driving to the test centre, do so to the best of your ability. Maintain the accuracy and observation levels you have been taught so that you are properly ‘warmed-up’ by the time you come to take the test. Just before the test, take a few slow breaths to relax. Clench and relax your muscles to get rid of any tension. Tell yourself that you can do it! 32 million people hold full driving licenses in the UK. We’re sure you can too. During the test Remember that some nervousness is normal. It can increase your alertness and improve your performance. Don’t be intimidated by the examiner. He is merely a person doing a job. He is not a god and he will not be judging you as a person. He doesn’t want you to fail your test and he will not try to trick you at any stage. Don’t try to interact too much with the examiner. Silence is normal in the test car, and too much chit-chat could be distracting. Listen carefully to the examiner’s instructions. Ask for repetition / clarification if necessary and act in good time. Bear in mind that the examiner just wants to see how you would normally drive – nothing you don’t already know! Explain your decisions to the examiner if you feel you have done something that could be misjudged. If you come across a new situation, don’t rush in. Stay calm and assess things carefully before you proceed. Be prepared to change your decision if necessary. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly[…..]

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Learning to Drive

I’m useless. I feel like giving up with driving

Learning to drive is not an easy task. It takes years of experience to master the art and be able to anticipate the likely actions of fellow motorists. This is something which many learner drivers simply don’t appreciate, and watching experienced drivers travelling around with apparent ease can therefore prove to be quite demoralising. Some people take longer than others to become competent enough to pass their driving test, so the key is to keep your chin up and to continue putting the effort in to build up experience and learn from your mistakes. Driving tests Perhaps you feel like giving up driving because you have recently failed your driving test. If this is the case, then don’t panic. There are over one million driving tests completed in the UK every single year, and over 60% of these end in failure. This is not an indication that you will never be capable of driving; simply serving as a means through which you can identify areas for improvement before taking their test again. It doesn’t matter how many attempts it takes you to pass because everyone learns at different rates. Regardless of whether it is your first, second or even your tenth driving test failure; with enough practice and effort you can still get to a position where you are competent enough to go it alone on the road. Practice makes perfect The DSA (Driving Standards Agency) recommends that learner drivers complete at last 47 hours of professional tuition, under the guidance of a fully qualified driving instructor, prior to taking their driving test. This doesn’t include private tuition time, with the DSA advising learners to complete at least 20 hours of driving with an experienced motorist prior to taking their test. However, the qualified driver offering guidance must be at least 21 year old and have 3 years of driving experience in order to make this legally permissible. If you are lucky enough to have an experienced driver to hand who is happy to help by offering guidance for your private tuition the better.  Remember, the more time and effort you put into practicing your driving; the greater your chances of test success. Insurance a legal requirement However, even if there is someone you can rely on to sit alongside you when you are developing your skills; you still have to be able to afford to pay your insurance premiums. Regardless of whether you are driving a car which is owned by you or someone else, you still legally have to be either the main policy holder or a named driver on the insurance policy which covers the vehicle. Otherwise you will be driving illegal and liable for a court prosecution and a possible driving ban. Insurance can be costly; particularly for young and inexperienced motorists. However, there are still a number of things which can be done in order to bring down the cost of your premiums and make private practice a realistic proposition for the majority of motorists once more: Vehicle choice Apart from the driver, it is the car which will have the biggest impact on premiums. Vehicles which are considered to be statistically more likely to be either crashed or stolen will attract the most expensive premiums. It is therefore advised that you opt to learn in a vehicle which will be looked upon favourably by insurers. A good guide to this is car insurance groups according to a survey, with every vehicle in the UK assigned to a group numbered between 1 and 50 by insurers. It is advised that you opt for a car in the lowest group possible in order to obtain the cheapest premiums available to you. Modifications Although car insurance groups are a good guide to ultimate premiums; they can be distorted somewhat by non-manufacturer approved modifications. A modification is basically anything which results in a car deviating from its original design specification laid out by the manufacturer. Modifications which are considered to be performance or aesthetically enhancing such as the addition of spoilers or alloy wheels could well have a devastating impact on your premiums. However, security enhancing modifications such as the addition of alarms or immobilisers will be viewed positively by the insurer as they will reduce the statistical likelihood of the vehicle being stolen. Excess Excess is basically the amount of money you are willing to pay toward the cost of any repairs required on the back of a claim. Insurers will offer cheaper premiums to those who offer to pay a higher voluntary excess as their financial responsibility in the event of a claim will obviously be reduced. Named drivers If the learner is the main policy holder; then it would help to add more experienced motorists as named drivers on the policy as the insurer will assume that driving duties will be shared amongst all of those named on the policy. It would be even cheaper to have the more experienced driver as the main policy holder, but if the more experienced driver is not actually going to be the primary users of the vehicle then this will be considered to be insurance fraud.   Call Us Now Chat Live Now Clients

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Staying Safe

3 tips on dealing with negative passengers!

  Apparently, it is scientifically proven that when speaking to someone in your car or in some cases on the mobile phone, the driver gets what is called ‘inattention blindness’. This basically means that even though your eyes are wide open, your brain is no longer receiving visual signals from your eyes and will simply stop seeing things in front of you, including pedestrians and other cars. Passenger conversations are just as costly as being on the phone and negative passengers do not add to your safety. Having said this, being on the phone meant you had a higher chance of being involved in a road traffic collision than anything else in regards to passengers. Below are some 3 main tips on dealing with negative passengers: 1. Don’t carry them If you know that you may be thrown slightly of guard by a specific passenger, ask them to make their own way to your destination, this way, you stay safe and reduce the chances of a road traffic collision. 2. Be vocal Some passengers may want the music extremely load in the car, something you may not like at all. Be vocal and voice your concerns, not everyone car drive safely with music blaring in the car. 3. Music If you are going to listen to music, AND, you have a negative passenger in the car, try to keep it calm and cool. Listening to crazy and up beat music will not help with your adrenaline. Call Us Now Chat Live Now Clients

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