Car ownership

MOT extension to end over unfit cars? Do your own vehicle health check

mot extension
Many MOT testing stations are open for business (Picture iStock/Marbury)

The UK’s six-month MOT extension might end early because of fears about increasing numbers of unroadworthy cars. Car owners are also being warned that if they don’t keep their motors in a fit state to be driven, their insurance may not cover them.

In the latest report by Green Flag and road safety charity Brake, an alarming number of drivers revealed gaps in their knowledge about vehicle maintenance. Around one in 10 drivers (9 per cent) claim they never carry out any vehicle safety checks.

One in four (27 per cent) said they care for their car just once a year. More worryingly, a fifth of drivers (20 per cent) said they’d knowingly driven an unroadworthy car.

We investigate why the MOT extension might end early and how you can ensure your car is roadworthy.

Who wants the MOT extension abandoned?

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James Foxall 2 Comments

What to do if your keyless entry doesn’t work

Modern cars are often accessed using remote fobs and keyless entry. But what do you do when it doesn’t work?

Thankfully, these vehicles are fitted with a key blade inside the fob, and a lock that’s either visible or hidden behind a cover on the door.

Below, we’ll show you some examples of what to do to gain entry to your car, and how to start it if the key is not detected.

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Mike Shaw 8 Comments

Falling petrol price: why it’s coming down and why it could go further

petrol price
The price of filling up is falling but how far will it go? (Picture iStock/AscentXmedia)

The petrol price is plummeting to below £1 a litre. However, some believe there’s room for it to fall further.

Since the beginning of the year, the price of crude oil – the raw material used to produce petrol and diesel – has more than halved. But although the cost of petrol at the pumps is falling, it hasn’t kept pace with rapid drops in oil prices. Here are two reasons why fuel prices might stay higher than you’d expect.

Reason 1: Fuel stations are suffering

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James Foxall 3 Comments

Expert advice: how to check your car’s fluids

fluids
It might look complicated but checking fluids is a simple task that anyone can do (Picture iStock/Ljubaphoto)

During lockdown, there’s every chance you won’t have been using your car as much as usual. Before driving it again regularly, it’s a good idea to check it and its fluids thoroughly.

All cars rely on fluids to operate properly. And it’s simple to check oil, coolant, brake fluid and screenwash. Follow my tips for doing so below.

When you’re checking a car’s fluids, it’s important that you park on a flat surface or you may think you haven’t got enough when you have, or more worryingly, vice versa.

How to check your oil

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Mike Shaw 7 Comments

Explained: how 3-month car finance payment holidays work

payment holidays
The majority of new cars are bought on finance. Relief is at hand for anyone struggling with repayments (Picture iStock/busra ispir)

Payment holidays for loans are an element of life we’ve had to get used to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mortgage companies were quick off the mark to help customers struggling to pay for their homes. But what if you can’t meet car finance payments? Read on to find out what to do.

Car finance payment holidays launched

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James Foxall 2 Comments

Pro tips on cleaning your car to stop COVID-19 spreading

stop COVID-19 spreading
Cleaning parts such as vents using an anti-bacterial and virus cleaner will help stop the spread of the disease (Picture iStock/zoff-photo)

There are 40 parts of your car that you should consider cleaning during the current coronavirus pandemic. Ben Murphy is the man who’s responsible for keeping Toyotas in tip-top shape for the Japanese firm. He’s outlined the 40 areas that he thinks drivers should target to stop COVID-19 spreading.

The virus is spread by tiny droplets sprayed from the mouth when an infected person coughs. And it can survive on hard surfaces. That means if your car goes to the garage for emergency repairs, it might spread the virus, or on return, harbour it. And if you get the virus on your hands while out, you can transfer it to other areas of your car. That could spread it to others.

How to clean your car

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James Foxall 1 Comment

Expert advice: car care during the COVID-19 lockdown

COVID-19 lockdown
If your car is equivalent to this during its lockdown lay-up, follow our expert tips to keep it in the best shape (Picture iStock/Istanbulimages)

Updated: 07 April

With lockdown measures easing across the country, you may be using your car for the first time in a while very soon.

If you’ve not been driving regularly during the COVID-19 lockdown, your car may need some attention before you hit the road. That’s because some car parts rely on regular use to stay in tip-top shape.

Follow these tips and there’s a much greater chance your car will start first time after a lockdown lay-up.

1. Look after your battery

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Damon Jowett 188 Comments

Pothole problem: new report shows it’s getting worse. Read how to claim

pothole problem
An all-to-familiar sight on England’s roads. Read how to claim for the damage (Picture iStock/kozmoat98)

We may not be driving much at the moment but after the warm wet winter, the pothole problem for drivers is still a motoring headache.

A new report has revealed that road maintenance budgets in England have fallen; there are now fewer roads than last year described as being in ‘good’ structural condition; and the rising backlog of repairs means billions of pounds are still needed to bring local roads in England up to scratch.

What were the survey’s main findings?

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James Foxall 17 Comments

UK COVID-19 lockdown: what it means for MOTs, breakdowns, fuel stations

covid-19 lockdown
The government has suspended MOT tests for six months from 30 March 2020 (Picture iStock/yevtony)

Updated 03 November.

If you’re a Green Flag customer and want our latest advice on what to do if you break down, please visit our important updates page here.

The country is having a second COVID-19 lockdown from 5 November to 2 December. What does this mean for car owners? Read on to find out about MOTs, what’s happening with petrol stations, and what other motoring services are and aren’t available.

What if your car needs an MOT?

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Mike Shaw 6 Comments

Drivers warned about using unofficial websites for motoring admin

unofficial websites
Unofficial websites can charge many times what the official sites cost for simple admin tasks (Picture iStock/Rowan Jordan)

Drivers who need to renew their driving licence, tax their car or even book driving tests might be paying way more than they have to because they’re using unofficial websites.

The government is warning drivers that these websites can charge many times the official cost. Even so, the companies running them are doing nothing wrong.

What are the unofficial websites?

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James Foxall 3 Comments

Expert advice: how to get more trouble-free miles from your motor

trouble-free motoring
We can’t guarantee this won’t happen to you but follow our tips and it’ll be a lot less likely (Picture: iStock/Ljubaphoto)

How many trouble-free miles has your car covered? And perhaps more importantly how many more is it good for? Records by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) show there are more high mileage Skoda Octavias in the UK than any other vehicle. That’s currently 1950 UK-registered Octavias with a valid MOT that have done more than quarter of a million miles.

But how do you get that many trouble-free miles out of your car? It certainly doesn’t happen by accident. Here are my tips.

Have your car serviced regularly

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Mike Shaw 18 Comments

Catalytic converter and premium car thefts help fuel spike in car crime

catalytic converter
If you know what you’re doing it’s easy to steal CATs from exhausts for their valuable metals (Picture iStock/BanksPhotos)

Drivers shouldn’t just be worried about having their car stolen. They’re actually more likely to have something pinched from their car. And that could include the catalytic converter.

Figures from London’s Metropolitan Police reveal that in the first six months of 2019, thefts of this component, which makes up a part of the exhaust system, were nearly double the same period in 2018. We investigate the problem and give tips on how you can avoid being a victim of car (and CAT) crime.

Why are catalytic converters stolen?

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James Foxall 9 Comments

Would you repair your car with second-hand parts? We reveal all

second-hand car parts
Engines can be remanufactured using a mix of existing and new parts (Picture iStock/Vladru)

Would you use recycled or second-hand parts on your car? Online auction platform eBay thinks more of us ought to in order to save the planet. And used parts will be cheaper and save us money too. But what are the risks? We investigate.

What are these second-hand parts?

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James Foxall 11 Comments

Expert advice: all about the airbags in your car

airbags
Airbags are designed to soften the impact for car occupants (Picture iStock/Therry)

One high tech feature of all modern cars that I never hope you see is the airbag. These are designed to inflate milliseconds after an impact and work with the seatbelts to prevent you hitting any hard surfaces in the car.

They can go wrong but thankfully it’s not something we see very often. But it’s still worth knowing a bit about airbags.

Which cars have airbags?

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Mike Shaw 16 Comments

New MOT test is tougher but more cars pass it

new mot test

The government revamped the MOT test in May 2018 to make it tougher. But its first year in operation has seen a significant decrease in the number of vehicles failing the annual test.

Under the previous rules, around four in 10 cars (about 40 per cent) that took their MOT every year failed it. However, the first year of the new tougher test saw only about one in three cars (33 per cent) declared unroadworthy by testers.

Millions of cars taken off the road

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James Foxall 7 Comments

Car recycling: find out what happens when your car is scrapped

Modern scrap yards don’t look much different to old ones. But they must recycle extensively. (Picture Honda)

Thankfully, we’re becoming more aware of the impact the things we make and use have on the environment. And that includes what we drive. Car recycling is now a vital part of the motoring process. Here’s what it involves and the lengths the industry takes to recycle your car.

Goodbye scrap yard

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James Foxall 4 Comments

Expert advice: what you need to know about new exhaust emissions zones

These signs will be springing up around the country (Picture iStock/ChrisSteer)

Whatever you think about the government and local authorities clamping down on pollution with exhaust emissions zones, we can’t escape them. And as time goes by, restrictions are only going to become tougher. We’ve already heard of some customers being caught out and fined for driving in London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). Read on to find out what you need to know.

What are exhaust emissions?

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James Foxall 1 Comment

How much do you know about modifying cars?

car modifications
Thinking about modifying your car? Want it to look like this? You might think again when you’ve done our quiz (Picture iStock/DavidF)

Car modifications are a thorny subject. The law around cars and what you can and can’t do to them is very strict. To see how much you know about modifying cars, take our cunning quiz. And if you do decide to go ahead and fix up your car, remember you must tell your insurer or your cover could be invalidated.

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James Foxall 17 Comments

How to save money buying new tyres for your car

buying new tyres
Even tyres for a small car can prove expensive (Picture iStock/GeorgeRudy)

Buying new tyres is one of the necessary evils of running a car. Not only do tyres inevitably come to the end of their life, they’re also deceptively expensive. Replacing all four tyres on even a modest family saloon can leave you without much change from £500. And the bigger the car, the more you’ll pay. Buy four new tyres for a high-performance motor and it’ll cost the thick end of £2000. But there are ways to save money without scrimping on safety.

Find out about your tyres

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James Foxall 20 Comments