Car ownership

How to replace your vehicle’s number plate

22/06/2015

How to get a number plate made for a caravan

You’ll need an extra number plate if you are towing a caravan or trailer (Picture © Tow Car of the Year)

You might think that replacing a missing or broken number plate would be as simple as visiting a local car spares store and handing over a few pounds for a freshly laminated number plate. But to protect drivers from unscrupulous criminals there are legal requirements that mean everyone must produce certain identity and vehicle registration documents before a registered number plate supplier can make up a replacement number plate. Continue reading →

James Mills 3 Comments

Plug-in electric cars: 67% want one to save money – but are they any cheaper?

17/06/2015

Best-selling battery car is the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (Picture © Mitsubishi)

Plug-in electric cars are being considered by most people as their next car. A study by the Government’s Go Ultra Low (GUL) has found that 67 per cent of drivers want to own a battery-powered car. Three quarters of drivers said that running costs were the biggest consideration when choosing their next motor. The GUL report also cites the style and convenience of electric models. But are electric cars really the right choice for cost-conscious drivers? We look at the pros and cons: Continue reading →

James Foxall 1 Comment

Pothole spotting car to reduce damage and cut compensation claims

10/06/2015

How Jaguar Land Rover’s pothole spotting car works (Picture © JLR)

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has come up with a pothole spotting car in an effort to prevent harm to vehicles and people. It’s currently estimated that wheel, tyre and accident damage caused by potholes costs the UK around £20m every year. Eventually, JLR hopes information collected by scanners on individual vehicles will transmit information to other cars and beyond. This could enable councils to fix damage to their highways as quickly as possible, saving money and possibly, lives. Continue reading →

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Driving test changes wanted to save young drivers’ lives

03/06/2015

Better driver training and a new test could cut casualties (Picture © Ford)

Driving test changes are being called for as the existing test hits 80 years-old. The insurance industry along with other experts are calling for alterations to bring it in line with driving conditions in the 21st Century. The driving test was made compulsory in April 1935. At the time, annual vehicle sales were measured in thousands rather than millions and car top speeds were bound by vehicle limitations rather than motorway speed restrictions. However, apart from including a written theory section, the driving test has barely changed over the intervening eight decades. Continue reading →

James Foxall 1 Comment

Expert advice: Changing a wheel after a puncture

29/05/2015

Changing a wheel should be quite straightforward. Follow our expert advice to avoid common pitfalls (Picture © TyreSafe)

Changing a wheel: it’s one of the most common things Green Flag’s expert technicians are called out to fix and it’s also considered to be one of the simplest to do. There used to be a very macho perception that anyone can change a wheel and it was only people who didn’t want to get their hands dirty who called a breakdown service because they had a flat tyre. That’s nonsense. Changing a wheel can be tricky. Here’s a simple guide to de-mystify it. Continue reading →

Mike Shaw 3 Comments

Car Share: It’s not just drivers who get stressed by commuting to work

27/05/2015

This is what it really looks like inside Peter Kay’s Car Share Fiat 500 MPW (Picture © @Conorjtwomey/Twitter)

Car share might be a comedy that gives millions of us a good laugh. But in the real world it can leave passengers feeling as stressed out as drivers. The sit com starring Peter Kay follows the twists and turns of two colleagues forced into commuting together. However, new research has revealed that a commute of just 20 minutes can be so stressful it may cause professional burn out. And in a car share situation, it’s the passengers who are more likely to feel the heat than drivers. Continue reading →

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The best in-car cameras and dash cams for less and more than £100

22/05/2015

Halfords says it is stocking in-car dash cams to help drivers guard against ‘cash for crash’ insurance fraud (Picture © Halfords)

Increasing numbers of drivers are choosing to fit in-car cameras or ‘dash cams’ to their cars. If you don’t own one, the chances are you know someone who does, or have spotted them in other drivers’ cars. But how do you know if you should have one? And which are the best dash cams available? Continue reading →

James Mills 12 Comments

Drink-drive limit: Calls to halve it to cut number of drivers prosecuted

20/05/2015

Drink driving prosecutions have been cut in Scotland by reducing the limit

The police want to slash the drink-drive limit by nearly a half amid concerns that women drivers are increasingly being caught over the limit. The Police Federation of England and Wales has called for the tougher legislation. It could mean a pint of beer will be enough to put some drivers over the drink-drive limit. Continue reading →

James Foxall 1 Comment

Changing car light bulbs: How much does it cost you?

11/05/2015

It may cost nothing for a dealer to change the headlight bulb in this Renault Captur. Or it may cost you £40. (Picture © Renault)

Changing car light bulbs used to be something anyone with the scantest mechanical know-how could manage. But as cars become ever more complicated, so replacing a broken bulb has become increasingly expensive – for some drivers at least.

A new investigation has revealed a shocking variation in the price charged by motor makers for this simple repair. Some dealers offer free bulbs, some do the actual fitting for free, and some provide both at no cost. However, others can charge upwards of £70. And there’s no uniformity across manufacturers. Continue reading →

James Foxall 3 Comments

Eco cars could prompt tax increases

29/04/2015

Even owners of some SUVs such as the Nissan Qashqai no longer have to pay road tax because their cars are so clean (Picture © Nissan)

Booming sales of low-emission eco cars could slash the amount the government raises from road tax. The result could mean tax increases for all but the most economical cars. Continue reading →

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Lost car keys: how more secure keys could soon be cheaper to replace

27/04/2015

This Chevrolet makes lost keys a thing of the past. You unlock it with your eyes (Picture © GM)

Lost car keys is a nightmare scenario for many drivers. Whether they’ve been accidentally locked in the car or stolen from a house or handbag, replacing car keys can be a major expense. However, over the past few years, it has actually got cheaper. And in years to come it could cost less still. Continue reading →

James Foxall 1 Comment

Expert advice: Looking after car tyres

24/04/2015

Not looking after your tyres properly can see you end up in a world of sorrow (Picture © TyreSafe)

Looking after car tyres is one of the easiest elements of motoring. Yet how many times do we look at our cars and not see the tyres? Wheels yes, bodywork yes, but generally tyres can be neglected and taken for granted, even though they’re the greatest contributor to our safety on the road. Continue reading →

Mike Shaw 3 Comments

Track days: all you need to know

17/04/2015

Track days are a great way of safely finding the limit – of both you and your car (Picture © Vauxhall)

Track days are all about letting drivers have fun in their car in a safe environment away from public roads. They’re not about going faster than the next person or overtaking lots of other cars, despite what some track day regulars might insist. They’re about developing your skills at the wheel and exploring the limits of your driving ability and those of your car. Continue reading →

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Car security devices: make your car hard for thieves to steal

13/04/2015

Cars might be ever more sophisticated but police still have to hunt out ones that have been stolen (Picture © Tracker)

You may think car security devices are a thing of the past. After all, less than 100,000 cars a year are stolen in the UK, a sixth of the number being taken illegally in the car-crime ridden 1990s. But a new breed of technically-savvy car thief is on the prowl.

They’re able to hack supposedly sophisticated electronic security systems in seconds meaning increasing numbers of new cars being ‘stolen to order’ by organised criminal gangs. Last month, the UK’s 10 most stolen cars were revealed by Tracker, a maker of car security devices. But even if your car isn’t on that list it could be vulnerable. The answer is to fit additional security. There’s a wide range on the market but only a limited number are recognised as being effective by the insurance industry. Here are the ones its official tester, Thatcham Research, recommends… Continue reading →

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Roof boxes reduce mpg: Tests prove carriers cost

08/04/2015

No, that’s not an outboard motor on the back. It’s complicated test gear to prove the real cost of a roof box (Picture © What Car?)

With the Easter holiday in full swing and many drivers needing extra carrying capacity in their cars, a new investigation has proved that roof boxes reduce mpg. The test, conducted by authoritative magazine What Car?, tested a pair of popular family cars first without a roof box, then with one. Fitting the load lugger reduced economy by more than a third on one of the cars.

While roof boxes appear to reduce mpg, we’ve got some handy hints that drivers can deploy to help limit that decrease in economy. Continue reading →

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Car spring clean: six things you should know

30/03/2015

Spring has sprung and the Easter weekend presents the ideal opportunity to work off some chocolate by doing a car spring clean. Now’s a good time to do it because winter equals salt on the road, which means the car’s bodywork will have been drenched with corrosive liquid for months on end.

Not only does giving it a good clean enable you to spruce up the bodywork, it also means you’ll be up close and personal with your car and able to check for any other wear and tear. As well as regular maintenance such as checking the fluids, here are six top tips for a car spring clean that your motor will really thank you for. Continue reading →

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Britain’s roads: pothole plague, compensation & billions in repairs

27/03/2015

Britain’s roads are getting worse with one in six of them classed as in poor condition. The result is a backlog of 13 years’ worth of required repair work. The most accurate survey into the state of the nation’s carriageways now shows the number of potholes being filled in England and Wales is up by a third to 2.7 million. And it reveals that the amount of compensation paid to drivers whose vehicles have been damaged by unavoidable holes in the road has rocketed. Here are the main findings of the 2015 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey of councils, produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA). Continue reading →

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Breakdown causes: Why Green Flag is called out

13/03/2015

Sensible drivers have breakdown cover and ring to be rescued

For some drivers, Friday the 13th really will be unlucky. They’ll be the thousands of car owners whose vehicles break down. Obviously cars are very complex machines with a lot of different components working together. At Green Flag we’re proud of our ability to get members’ cars going again when we attend breakdowns. And last year we helped out nearly 200,000 people. Here are the most popular reasons for calling out our technicians in 2014. Continue reading →

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Low emission diesel cars: not as smelly as you might think

11/03/2015

Low emission diesel cars are just as friendly for the planet as battery driven or petrol-electric hybrids. That’s the message from car manufacturer trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Its campaign comes after new consumer research revealed that the majority of UK adults – incorrectly – blame cars and commercial vehicles as the biggest cause of air pollution in the UK. Continue reading →

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Expert advice: the importance of car servicing

06/03/2015

The importance of car servicing should never be underestimated. There have been various surveys suggesting that at the height of the recession, increasing numbers of drivers were trying to save money by cutting back on scheduled car maintenance. In Green Flag’s experience at the roadside, it’s evident that many of the breakdowns our technicians attend are the result of cars not being properly looked after. Here’s all you need to know about the importance of sticking to your car manufacturer’s recommended servicing intervals. Continue reading →

Mike Shaw 9 Comments