VIN plates: what they mean, why they’re vital for all car owners

VIN

Rather like humans have finger prints, cars have VIN plates. These Vehicle Identification Numbers should be unique to every car. The first thing to know about this number is that it’s actually not a number at all. It’s a seemingly random collection of digits and capital letters. But as we’ll see, these characters aren’t random at all. And the VIN is actually the most important means we have of registering the true identity of a car. Here’s everything you need to know about your car’s finger print.

Where do you find the VIN plate?

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James Foxall 5 Comments

Pickup trucks: which are the best for towing, fuel economy and families?

Pick up trucks: which are the best for towing, fuel economy and families?

British drivers don’t have to cast their mind too far back to remember when pick-up trucks were exclusively the preserve of big, burly builders who’d never heard of a hard hat, let alone a health and safety risk assessment.

These days, pick-up trucks are a common sight. There have been great advances in choice and quality, increasing the pick-up truck’s appeal to more self-employed people than ever. They’re noticeably better to drive, more fuel efficient and more comfortable and safe for a family – without being any less hardworking.

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James Mills 1 Comment

Drivers in France need an emissions sticker to enter famous cities

Drivers travelling to France require an emissions sticker to enter Paris, Lyon or Grenoble

Air pollution means cars with high emissions could be prevented from entering Paris or Lyon

As millions of Britons make plans for their Easter or summer holidays, travellers driving to France must ensure that their car has an emissions sticker when visiting Paris or Lyon – the two largest cities in France.

The sticker system has been introduced to help tackle air pollution in city environments, and is active in Grenoble, Lille, Strasbourg and Toulouse as well. Other French cities are likely to join the scheme.

Called Crit’Air, it effectively bans old cars from city centres during weekdays and will allow authorities to restrict which cars are permitted to enter cities.

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James Mills 21 Comments

Expert advice: what is AdBlue and why it’s vital for some diesels

AdBlue

Run out of AdBlue and you might struggle to get going again

AdBlue is becoming an important part of our motoring life. And for drivers of diesel cars it could make the difference between miles of trouble-free, low pollution motoring and their car not working at all.

There are currently estimated to be more than 200,000 vehicles using AdBlue in Europe. This is because it’s been popular in the haulage industry for the past 20 years as a means of reducing poisonous exhaust emissions.

Although AdBlue is neither a fuel nor a fuel additive, cars that use it can stop running if they don’t have a sufficient amount in a special on-board tank. That’s because the AdBlue is designed to be injected into the exhaust fumes and remove the harmful nitrogen oxide gases. The trouble is, some drivers aren’t sure what AdBlue is and ignore the car’s reminders to fill it up. Sometimes when the AdBlue tank runs dry the car won’t start and they then have to call us out to get going again. Here’s all you need to know about AdBlue.

How do you know if your car uses AdBlue?

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Car value: How much is your car worth?

Car value

You never know, you might be pleasantly surprised when you discover how much your car is really worth

The value of a car is important for most drivers. Whether you want to buy or sell a motor, or just make yourself feel better (or worse!) about how much it’s worth, knowing a car’s value is vital. It’ll enable you to confirm that a car you’re buying has been fairly priced and know that you’re not losing precious pounds on one that you’re selling.

But as few car owners work in the motor trade, what’s the best way to calculate your car’s value? Happily there are many tools available to help with this. Read on to find out how to value any used car.

Car value: try sales or auction sites

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James Foxall 3 Comments

Check how many miles you drive each year to avoid invalid insurance

How to check how many miles you drive each year - and avoid invalidating your car insurance

If you’re unsure how many miles you drive each year, you’re not alone. More than a quarter of drivers could be guessing how far they drive and it may cost them dear, according to a survey.

The findings mean millions of drivers could be paying too much for their car insurance or, more worryingly, may be at risk of invalidating their policy.

The survey of 2,000 drivers highlighted how 27 per cent of Britain’s motorists ‘guesstimate’ how far they drive each year. It was conducted by uSwitch.

Why is it important to submit an accurate annual mileage to insurers?

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James Mills Leave a comment

Diesel car ban: Will it really happen and what does it mean for drivers?

Diesel car ban

About half these cars will be diesel. Could they really be banned?

Will there really be a diesel car ban? It’s been a hot topic among drivers for the past couple of years and as time passes it seems to get ever hotter. At the end of 2016 it was revealed that by 2025 diesel cars would be forbidden from entering Paris, Madrid, Athens and Mexico City. There are rumours that London could follow suit and the capital’s Westminster Council has already revealed it will charge diesel drivers extra to park.

Later this year, there will be a change to the congestion charge. Owners of older, more polluting vehicles will pay a supplement of £10 to enter to congestion charge zone. Five other UK cities have been told they can create clean air zones. These would also permit local authorities to charge diesel drivers for coming into city centres. So what do these proposals mean for owners of diesel cars and drivers considering buying them?

Why are diesel cars being punished?

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James Foxall 1 Comment

Simple tips to prevent a flat battery in a car

Simple tips to prevent a flat battery in a car

On the face of it, a car battery is a boring piece of equipment that’s often hidden away and rarely given a moment’s thought. But drivers who don’t want to end up stranded at home or, worse still, at the roadside should pay more attention to their car’s battery, or it could go flat.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the battery is the heart of a car. If it goes flat, your car stops working. And flat batteries are the number one cause for technicians from Green Flag to be called out to rescue drivers.

The reasons car batteries are the number one culprit causing breakdowns are simple. Batteries don’t last forever; they typically have a working life of between five and seven years. And batteries are placed under increasing strain, as new cars offer a rising number of convenience features that can drain them with precious little warning.

Happily, you don’t have to be a trained technician to care for a battery. These are the simple steps any driver can follow to prolong the life of their car’s battery. Continue reading →

James Mills 8 Comments

Big fuel savings for better drivers. We show you how to reap them

Fuel savings

Drivers who’re more aggressive at the wheel could use significantly more fuel

Drivers with a light foot can save themselves £562 a year according to a new report. By anticipating the road ahead better, drivers can save money at the pumps and almost halve the amount they have to fill up every year.

Insurer Direct Line compiled the findings using information from drivers with telematics ‘black boxes’ fitted to their cars. It analysed 319,000 journeys over a two-month period and concluded calm, less aggressive drivers can make big fuel savings of nearly £11 a week.

What did the report find out?

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The best driving courses for mastering winter weather

The best driving courses for mastering winter weather

Winter weather isn’t only dangerous for drivers when ice lies around a bend or snow is falling from the sky. The limited daylight hours, low sun, wet leaves, standing water and submerged potholes all make for particularly difficult driving conditions.

Drivers who don’t always feel confident when faced with such challenges – and many don’t – would benefit from taking a driving course specifically aimed at dealing with winter weather.

There is a wide variety of training available, tackling everything from aquaplaning to driving on ice. Prices range from affordable refresher courses to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Here’s how you can stay safer, and feel more confident, when driving in the most tricky of all the seasons. Continue reading →

James Mills 1 Comment

What every driver needs to know about the 2017 VED car tax changes

Car tax

Did you know that the car tax regulations will change in April, 2017? Big alterations are afoot after the government calculated that increasingly fuel efficient cars are leaving it out of pocket.

That’s because currently, the annual tax drivers pay to be on the road is calculated according to how much carbon dioxide (CO2) comes out of their car’s exhaust. And around 25 per cent of all new cars are so clean that, guess what? They’re exempt from road tax.

But from next April anybody that buys a new car will face a new regime of car tax. And overnight it will make many of the UK’s most popular new motors much more expensive to own.  Continue reading →

James Mills 113 Comments

Car exhaust cleaning: are DIY products for DPFs worth it?

Car exhaust system cleaning: is it worth using DIY products for catalytic converters or diesel particulate filters?

Within your car’s exhaust system there are two areas that are hot spots for trouble and often need cleaning – the catalytic converter and the diesel particulate filter. Both of these cause problems for the efficient running of your car and can lead to it failing its MOT. In fact, Britain has a monthly peak of 43,000 cars failing the annual roadworthy test because of unacceptably dirty emissions from the exhaust.

Given the high cost of replacement parts, it’s no surprise that many drivers are embracing DIY cleaning products. These claim to return to good health congested catalytic converters or diesel particulate filters. We look at the options for drivers and ask whether they are worth using.

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James Mills 25 Comments

Designated drivers: wild passengers and pressure to drink drive – the truth

Designated drivers

It is possible to have fun at a party and stay sober to drive friends

Being the designated driver can be a thankless task. Now the facts about staying sober to drive friends who’ve had a few can be laid bare. Being pressured into drinking by friends who’ve entrusted you with their safety and having drunken passengers distracting you are just two of the pitfalls. Nonetheless, new research by Green Flag shows that more of us than ever before (26 per cent) are volunteering to be designated drivers.

Designated drivers: the benefits

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James Foxall Leave a comment

December car buying: We weigh up pros and cons

December car buying

Car showrooms aren’t exactly rammed with people in the run-up to Xmas. But there might be a good reason for that…

Is it time to change your car? Looking for a bargain new or used motor? If that’s the case, it could be time to dust off your haggling skills and go December car buying. Of all the times of the year, the run up to Christmas is arguably the best to grab a car bargain. But will it save you in the long run? We weigh up the pros and cons of buying a car in December.

Why December may not be the best time to buy a car

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Not-so glorious mud: what to do if your car is stuck in mud

What to do if your car is stuck in mud

Mud, mud, glorious mud, goes the song, but it’s not something many drivers will be singing about if they end up stuck in the stuff.

Unfortunately, a combination of British weather and occasional parking venues at weddings, outdoor events and even farm shops mean it’s not just intrepid explorers who find their cars come a cropper and end up bogged down in mud. Everyday drivers do too.

So without further delay – especially for those who are, literally, stuck in the mud as they read this – here are some tips that may help get things moving again. Continue reading →

James Mills 2 Comments

Buying used cars: how to spot a bad one

Buying a used car: how to spot a bad one

British drivers like to make their money go a long way, which is why most of us buy used cars. Around 7.2 million are sold every year, compared with 2.6 million new models. And because a new car can’t have been crashed, clocked or cloned, this means the majority of car buyers are vulnerable to unscrupulous sellers trying to pass off a bad used car as a good one.

There are all sorts of tricks of the trade that can be employed to pull the wool over the eyes of a used car buyer. The Green Flag blog has covered some of the important checks that drivers should carry out before parting with their cash for a car. But here we’re looking at less obvious tips that can help drivers spot a bad car – also known as a dud, or lemon.

To make sure your next car doesn’t leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth, read on.  Continue reading →

James Mills 12 Comments

Things to remember for safe winter driving this year

Safe winter driving

The abolition of the tax disc saw a rise in the number of cars without VED

Car ownership can be a taxing business – in more ways than one. There’s so much to remember that it’s easy for simple bits of admin to slip through the net. Forget one of those and it could end in a costly fine or ‑ even worse ‑ an accident. For worry-free and safe winter driving, here are six points that it’s worth checking.

Safe winter driving: car tax and MOT

After the abolition of the tax disc, the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) witnessed an increase in the number of drivers who hadn’t paid Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) or tax. Part of the problem is the tax disc was a very visible reminder for drivers that they needed to keep their car legal. If you’ve lost track – it’s easy to do ‑ check whether your car is taxed by going to the DVLA website here. Continue reading →

James Foxall 9 Comments

Car fires: What to do if your car catches fire and how to stop it

Car fires

Around a third of the 300 car fires a day are caused by poor maintenance or design flaws

Car fires are not as rare as you might think. The Fire Service says that around 300 cars a day go up in flames. Recently there have been high-profile blazes involving the Vauxhall Zafira MPV because of a design flaw. And figures from the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which oversees manufacturer recalls of faulty vehicles, reveal that the number of cars recalled for risk of fire increased dramatically in 2015-16.

Big-name manufacturers Honda, Chrysler, Bentley, Volkswagen, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Ferrari, and Porsche all joined Vauxhall in issuing recalls for vehicles that are at risk of catching fire because of design or build flaws.

Although the chance of a car catching fire is tiny, what do you do if it does? We asked the Fire Service for its advice.

What causes car fires?

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James Foxall 3 Comments

Icy roads: What to look out for and how to drive on them

Icy roads

If the verge is frosty it’s quite likely the road will be icy too

Icy roads probably aren’t something we think about much. Yet for many of us driving on ice is a regular occurrence during the coldest months of the year. If you have to scrape the ice off your car in the morning, or even perhaps when you leave work in the late afternoon, there may be ice on the road. We explain how to figure out whether the road is likely to be icy and how to drive if it is.

How to spot icy roads

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James Foxall 4 Comments

First aid kit for drivers and how to help at an accident scene

First Aid kit

It might not just be bent metal at the scene of a road crash

Either having or witnessing a road crash is most people’s worst nightmare. But as bystanders there is plenty we can do if we’re involved in, or come across, a road crash. According to the Red Cross, around half the deaths from road accidents occur before the emergency services arrive. But the vast majority of those fatalities could be prevented if first aid is administered in that time.

Carry a first aid kit

Road safety experts urge drivers to carry a first aid kit. And although these can be vital in an emergency, they’re also pretty handy to have in the car, just in case of the unexpected. After all, you never know when your child is going to fall over and scrape their knee or you’re going cut your finger changing a wheel. Continue reading →

James Foxall 2 Comments