Car ownership

Increased car cloning causes innocent drivers trouble

car cloning
Cloning cars usually starts with stealing a number plate (Picture iStock/Jens Rother)

If you’ve been hit with an unexpected fine for speeding, driving in a bus lane, parking or not paying a congestion or emissions zone charge you may have unwittingly become a victim of car cloning.

New research shows an alarming increase in fines issued by Transport for London (TfL) to cars with altered identities. The number overturned because they were given to cloned cars was up nearly nine times between April 2021 and April 2022.

We look at what cloning is and what to do if you suspect your car has been a victim of it.

What is car cloning?

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We rate the fuel tracking apps that help you to save money

fuel tracking apps
Do you know how quickly you are using fuel? If not you need a fuel monitoring app (Picture iStock/GeorgeClerk)

We all know the price of fuel is going up. But do you know how much you really spend filling your car up? And if you don’t, how do you know if any steps you’re taking to make savings are working?

What you need is an app on your phone that records what you’re spending on petrol or diesel. But which one? We’ve tried five of best-rated fuel tracking apps so we can tell you the ones that are worth looking at.

How fuel tracking apps work

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James Foxall Leave a comment

Ways to stop your car’s catalytic converter being stolen

catalytic converter theft
Drivers are increasingly starting to protect their catalytic converters from thieves (Picture iStock/Michael Vi)

Catalytic converter theft continues to be a problem around the UK. The Centre for Infrastructure and Asset Protection (CIAP) claims thieves stole 2,254 catalytic converters – also known as cats ‑ in March 2022, up by 11 per cent from February.

The CIAP, with backing from the police, now wants to roll out its SmartWater marking for cats nationwide so that more drivers can benefit from it. We look at how drivers can stop crooks making off with this valuable part of their car’s exhaust system.

How can you stop your catalytic converter being stolen?

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James Foxall 1 Comment

Is pay-as-you-go insurance the right cover for you?

pay as you go insurance
Low mileage drivers should look at pay-as-you-go insurance (Picture iStock/Kameleon007)

You might well use pay-as-you-go for your mobile phone. It does after all seem fair enough to only pay for what you use. So what about pay-as-you-go car insurance? It’s becoming increasingly popular with drivers and according to comparison site Compare the Market, a fifth of car owners could save money by insuring in this way.

How does pay-as-you-go insurance work?

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James Foxall 1 Comment

Air conditioning quiz: will you keep your cool?

Turn up the air con to max for our cunning quiz (Picture iStock/Bernie-Photo)

We take air conditioning for granted now that it’s fitted in even the cheapest cars. But how much do you actually know about it? And will some of our questions about what keeps you cool make you all hot and bothered? Take our air conditioning quiz to find out.

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Best motoring apps for your smartphone in 2022

motoring apps
Some navigation apps can work better if there’s a passenger to help (Picture iStock/Dean Smith)

Most drivers have a smartphone. And that means they’ll have access to motoring apps. There are hundreds if not thousands of them out there, but which are worth having and which are worthless?

We’ve taken a look at different areas of motoring and investigated the most appropriate apps for them. Read on for the best mapping, safety and learner driver apps plus the motoring app we think you might not want.

Best mapping? Google Maps or Waze?

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James Foxall Leave a comment

Expert advice: Used car tyres? Probably not such a great idea

used car tyres
Used car tyres can be sold with dangerously worn tread compared to new tyres (Picture iStock/Fertnig)

We’re hearing from our friends in the tyre industry that they’re expecting cash-strapped drivers to buy increasing numbers of used car tyres. Of course, it’s related to increases in the cost of living: motoring costs are as badly affected as food when it comes to inflation.

And buying used (sometimes called part-worn) tyres is one way people might think they can save money.

Like a visit to the dentist, no one relishes forking out to replace the rubber on their car. But I think there are several reasons why buying used tyres isn’t a brilliant idea.

What are used car tyres?

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Mike Shaw 1 Comment

Great motoring ways to spend the Queen’s Jubilee bank holiday

queens jubilee
Why not go to a car show over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend (Picture iStock/Alphotographic)

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations are on the first weekend in June. Ahead of it, Britain is basking in the knowledge that we get a four-day weekend to help Her Majesty celebrate. But what are you going to do during it?

Below we outline five great motoring ways to spend the long bank holiday weekend.

Celebrate with the Queen

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How parking on someone else’s drive is legal and other strange laws

Parked on someone else’s drive? It’s not an instant offence (Picture iStock/Alphotographic)

Imagine waking up and finding someone else’s car dumped on your drive. It might sound strange but it happens. And astonishingly there’s no simple fix because one of Britain’s strange laws means it’s not immediately illegal.

You read that right. The 1991 Road Traffic Act handed over parking enforcement to local authorities. They can fine drivers for parking on public roads. But a drive is private land and the council has no jurisdiction over that.

The land owner isn’t allowed to remove the rogue car either as that could make them responsible for damaging someone else’s property.

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James Foxall Leave a comment

What does the war in Ukraine mean for car drivers?

The cost of living is increasing and so is what you pay to go motoring (Picture iStock/Simon Bradfield)

The devastating effect of war in Ukraine is being felt to a lesser extent across Europe and into the UK too. Here we look at how the war is affecting car users today and the impact it could have in the future.

More expensive fuel

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Expert advice: simple car checks before the bank holiday

cheap car checks
You really don’t want your bank holiday to end up like this (Picture iStock/Jimdoberman)

Before you hit the road for a bank holiday getaway, make sure you download the Green Flag app.

This bank holiday, thousands of drivers will be hitting the road, and we’ll be here to help 24/7 if any breakdowns try to ruin your journey.

But, with a few quick and easy checks, you can help prevent a breakdown from happening. So, before you set off, give these a read (and give your vehicle a bit of TLC).

Check your tyres

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Damon Jowett 2 Comments

Expert advice: how to use less fuel driving and save more money

use less fuel driving
Follow our tips below and you’ll use less fuel driving (Picture iStock/BrianAJackson)

With the price of fuel increasing almost daily, we’ve had a lot of people asking how they can use less fuel driving and get more miles for their money.

There isn’t a magic solution for using less fuel. It’s all about making lots of little savings that combine to result in more miles per gallon.

The most important factor is how you drive

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Mike Shaw 15 Comments

Now thieves are targeting electric vehicle charging cables

charging cables
Charge your EV in the street and you might get your cable nicked (Picture iStock/Coldsnowstorm)

Thieves are increasingly targeting electric vehicle (EV) charging cables as a quick way to make money.

The cables are either dismantled and the metals inside them are stripped out and sold. Alternatively crooks sell them to other EV owners for up to £200 a go.

Industry experts fear charging cable theft could escalate over the coming years, with sales of new combustion engine cars banned from 2030. The results could cost the UK’s EV drivers millions of pounds annually.

What are charging cables made of?

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More drivers than ever taking speed awareness courses

speed awareness courses
Get nicked by one of these and you could end up on a speed awareness course (Picture iStock/BrianAJackson)

More drivers are being sent on speed awareness courses after breaking the law than ever before. The courses enable drivers to avoid points, fines and potentially expensive increases in insurance premiums.

Drivers attended the courses virtually during the pandemic with 1.5 million licence holders doing so in 2021. It was the greatest number since records began for the courses. Most of the drivers attending courses had been nicked for speeding.

What are retraining courses?

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James Foxall 39 Comments

Expert advice: your E10 questions answered

e10 questions
Any questions about new E10 petrol? Our expert answers them (Picture iStock/Sturti)

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the new E10 petrol so I thought it would be useful to answer some of them.

E10 has been the cheapest petrol on garage forecourts since September 2021 when it replaced E5 as the forecourt standard. It gets its name because the bioethanol content was doubled to 10 per cent. Bioethanol is an alcohol-based fuel that is made from plant bi-products. The government chose to do this because it believes it’s a simple way to reduce the CO2 emissions from petrol cars.

Read on and I’ll answer some of the most popular questions about E10 petrol.

Will E10 damage my engine?

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Mike Shaw Leave a comment

Rules of the road your driving instructor may not have told you about

rules of the road
Do you know when you should and shouldn’t use your car’s horn? (Picture iStock/PixelsEffect)

There are so many rules of the road that driving instructors can’t be expected to tell you everything. That, after all, is what the Highway Code is for.

But just in case the regulations have changed since you took your test we’re outlining some of the things most of us do, that we shouldn’t. Some can even result in hefty fines.

Be careful when you use your horn

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James Foxall 11 Comments

Half of all speed cameras are switched off, new report finds

speed cameras
There’s a 50% chance this will be switched off but drivers are still speeding (Picture iStock/Daniel Heighton)

Love ’em or hate ’em, speed cameras have been a part of British motoring life for more than 30 years. But your chances of getting a ticket for speeding from a fixed camera are now significantly reduced. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by BBC Panorama has revealed that only around half of fixed speed cameras now work.

Meanwhile, another request to police forces showed that the highest a driver has been caught speeding at between 2018 and 2020 was 163mph, more than twice the legal limit.

Why have speed cameras been turned off?

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James Foxall 5 Comments

Expert advice: what cold weather does to your car

cold weather
Winter affects many parts of your car (Picture iStock/Hutchyb)

Winter is here and with the cold weather comes a whole lot of challenges, and not just for us drivers. Cars too will be suffering in the lower temperatures. Here are the different ways icy conditions affect your car and some handy suggestions for ways to reduce their impact.

Low temperatures thicken the oil

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Mike Shaw 4 Comments

The manual handbrake is history and it’s costing us dear

manual handbrake
Most new cars have an electronic parking brake (Picture iStock/Kenneth-Cheung)

If you bought a car that’s either new or just a couple of years old, you might have noticed something missing between the seats. Back in the day there used to be a lever that would operate the parking brake, more commonly known as the handbrake.

No longer. The reassuring old handbrake has been replaced by the much less substantial electronic version. And it could be costing us dear. Read on to find out why.

What is an electronic parking brake?

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James Foxall 18 Comments

Expert advice: 6 questions to ask when getting your car serviced

getting your car serviced
Ask our questions and you’ll get him rather than the dodgy place next door (Picture iStock/Minerva_Studio)

For most of us, getting a car serviced ranks somewhere close to going to the dentist. It’s expensive, it involves hassle and we can’t get away with not doing it. But there is another way.

Pick the right garage to start with and you can make the experience an altogether more positive one. Of course, it’s impossible to know what a garage is going to be like until you use it. But ask the following six questions and you’ve got a fighting chance of picking a decent one.

What trade body do you belong to?

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Mike Shaw 5 Comments