Track days where you drive your own car can be a brilliant present (Picture © Guild of Motoring Writers)
The perfect Christmas gifts for car fans can vary from something they’ll use on their car to something about their car or something to do with their car. It may even be their first car, if they’re very young. Or it could be an item of retro clothing that helps them turn back the years. Here are five ideas for the perfect Christmas gifts for the car enthusiast in your life. Continue reading
You don’t need four-wheel drive to stay safe in snow – but it helps. And there are other ways to get your car ready for cold weather. (Picture © Ford)
With temperatures set to plunge this week, new research reveals how unprepared many drivers are for the onset of freezing weather. With the Met Office predicting snow in some parts of the country, along with the thermometer dropping to -5 degrees Celsius in rural areas, Green Flag shows how to get your car ready for cold weather. Continue reading
Green Flag used to rely solely on independent operators. Now it has 200 of its own vans
Green Flag started life as the National Breakdown Recovery Club in 1971. It was renamed Green Flag in 1994. To mark its 20th anniversary one of its original employees, Neil Wilson explains how the breakdown business and cars have changed over the past two decades. Continue reading
Amazing views are guaranteed in the Yorkshire Dales. (Picture courtesy of Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority)
Where? Settle to Richmond
When to drive it? Winter
Essential stop? Buttertubs Pass
Perfect stay: The Punchbowl Inn, Low Row, North Yorks
To see another side of our green and pleasant land, try a Great British Drive in the Yorkshire Dales in the winter months. The mornings can be crisp and the winds chill but you’ll catch sight of some of nature’s most inspired efforts and arguably, some of man’s too. Continue reading
It’s late, the traffic is bad and the kids are asking the perennial ‘are we there yet?’ Time to take a break. After filling up with fuel and picking up drinks and snacks, the final push for home can begin. And then it happens. As you pull away from the pumps, the car’s engine splutters, warning lights glow like Christmas decorations and suddenly you realise you’ve filled up with the wrong fuel. This is where Green Flag’s training kicks in. Continue reading
Topping up your screen wash helps ensure you can see in low winter sun. (Picture © Prestone)
Car maintenance such as topping up screen wash isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But there are some things drivers really should be able to do to ensure their cars are as roadworthy as possible. It’s quite a worry that a new survey shows that two thirds of drivers can’t check the oil level in their cars; 31 per cent don’t know how to check tyre pressures; and nearly a third don’t know how to fill their screen wash bottle. Continue reading
\\\\\\ Cars are getting cleverer with self-parking functions. But parking spaces are becoming smaller. (Picture © Nissan)
As cars are getting bigger, parking spaces are staying the same size, prompting an increase in the number of people claiming for low-speed damage. According to new figures, Britain’s drivers are having to spend between £500million and £760m a year on repairs. Continue reading
The right choice between petrol or diesel cars saves money at the pumps (Picture © Vauxhall)
The modern motor buyer has a quandary: which will prove the most cost effective between petrol or diesel cars? The answer varies depending on who is asking the question. It used to be that diesel-powered cars were unquestionably the cheaper option to buy and run, as they were more economical and the fuel was cheaper. Now, however, diesel is more expensive and petrol engines are becoming more efficient which muddies what used to be a clear-cut decision. Continue reading
More car makers than ever are offering fixed price servicing. (Picture © Skoda)
Keeping a modern motor maintained can be surprisingly expensive. Car valuation expert CAP Automotive says even a Volkswagen up!, the car it says has the cheapest running costs on Britain’s roads, will cost £848 over the first three years of its life. Fixed price servicing aims to ensure you know what you’re going to pay well in advance so you’re not hit with a huge garage bill out of the blue. But do such schemes make sense, or are they just another way of extracting more cash from drivers? Continue reading
Passing the driving test can be an expensive business. (Picture © Renault)
The number of drivers learning through the school of mum and dad has rocketed over the past 20 years. And it could be costing parents dear. Continue reading
Make sure the dealer will let you test the model with the trim level and engine size you’re interested in buying. (Picture © Suzuki)
Test driving a new car is the ideal opportunity for buyers to find out if a model suits all their needs. Whether it’s a family estate that’s going to be filled with child seats for the school run, or a sports car that will have the roof lowered on sunny Sunday mornings, it’s important that drivers use the car during the test drive as they intend to use it in day-to-day life.
I’ve been testing new cars for the last 20 years and these are my top 10 tips to help you get the most out of your test drive and choose the right car for your needs. Continue reading
It’s January and the weather is starting to turn very cold, so now’s the time to give your car the once over and make sure it – and you – are prepared. Winter takes its toll on cars and their owners. Here are some simple steps to ensure you’re ready. Continue reading
Buying a new set of tyres for a car is an expensive business that nearly every driver grumbles about. And with over 30 million new replacement tyres sold each year, that’s a lot of grumbling.
Unlike paying for insurance or even buying the car, precious few tyre retailers offer drivers the option to spread payments over a period of time, so there’s little choice but to stump up the cash before you can drive away with new, safe tyres.
I should know. Recently I began to research replacement tyres for our four-year old Mercedes E-Class estate. The difference between the cost of household name premium tyres and budget brands I’d never heard of was staggering. For four new tyres, the largest potential saving between premium and budget was £862.
Puncture repair kits are increasingly replacing spare wheels
For drivers it’s a modern dilemma: to have a spare wheel or not. On the one hand there’s the risk of being one of the 23,000 drivers Green Flag attended in 2013 who were stranded at the side of the road because they didn’t have a spare wheel. On the other there’s the fuel and therefore tax you might save by not carrying the extra weight of a spare wheel that you might never use. Continue reading
Plenty of views to be had whether it’s inland or at the coast. This is Porlock. (Picture © ENPA)
Where? Somerset
When to drive it? Summer/Autumn
Essential stop? Tropiquaria
Perfect Stay: The Langbury, Blue Anchor Bay, Minehead
Being an island makes Britain unique among its European siblings in many ways. One of them is that it’s possible to drive from coast to coast with ease in multiple parts of the country. For a combination of things to do and beauty head to the south west and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. However, few drives in Somerset have the all-round family appeal of one that actually starts in Dorset, at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis. Continue reading
Slow moving motorway traffic. But what happens if you break down in it? Read on to find out (Picture © Volvo)
Motorways might be safe roads to drive on, but they can be a nightmare to break down on. What should you do if your car conks out in the fast lane? Where’s the safest place to stand? Who do you contact and what will they do? This answers all those questions and more.
For specific advice on what to do if you break down on a Smart motorway, read this article.
Continue reading
Sporty Audi RS6 is most affected by pothole damage (Picture © Audi)
Upmarket motors are the most likely to suffer from suspension damage caused by the shocking state of our roads, experts claim. Continue reading
Anyone buying a car with an outstanding debt on it can have it legally snatched
The increasing numbers of innocent drivers having their car repossessed because of debts racked up by the previous owner is prompting a change in the law. Continue reading
Ensuring company cars have the latest safety aids such as a reversing camera and object detection helps those who drive for work (Picture © Ford)
Do you drive for your employer? Have you had the correct training or, indeed, any training at all? If the answer is no, then it’s time to take action: at least 24% of road deaths and serious injuries in this country involve a vehicle that is being driven for work. Continue reading
Honda Civic records the best ‘true MPG’ according to tests by What Car? mag (Picture © Honda)
Fuel consumption – and more specifically cars’ inability to their match makers’ claims – is one of the biggest causes for complaint among drivers today. Now new research shows that smaller cars are more likely to return fewer miles to the gallon than larger models. Continue reading