HOW TO BUY A USED CAR

For most people buying a car is one of  the most expensive single purchase. Regardless whether you have just passed you driving test or you have been driving for a while. If you don’t know much about  cars it can be a  daunting experience, because there are hundreds to choose from and then there are  different makes, models, engine sizes etc. If you get your selection right, you are promised problem free motoring, but if you get it wrong , it will cost you thousands  in fixing it.

If you are not sure which car you really want to buy, you are better off  visiting a big car supermarket.  Its great way of checking out used cars ,  without spending hours driving to different dealers. Once you have decided which car to go for, you can hit the web and do some research.

There are loads of web site , but there are 2 that I use. One is “ Honestjohn .co.uk“ . Select the car that you want and it will list all the good points and the bad points about that car. Its also great place to check out, real miles per gallon, that you are going to get out of it. Many car manufacturers promise huge 60, 70 mpg. This site lets owners report exactly what they are getting out of their car and It can make huge difference if you are switching your car to save fuel.

Another good site is the what car web site. This is good for new and used car reviews. It’s a good place to go to get owners feedback on the cars they bought and make sure that you avoid the customer mistakes that they made.

One of the biggest dilemma most people face as a used car buyer, is whether to buy petrol model or a diesel model car. On the face of it diesel cars offer great economy and lower car tax, but they are not always the best and cheapest models to buy. Nearly used diesel cars would cost you about £1500 more than the petrol ones, when you add in the fact diesel cost more to buy than petrol, probably 5p per litre. You have probably got to be doing 14,000 miles per year, more than most people do to make diesel model financially worthwhile.  Reports of £2k turbo replacement, injector replacements, are not uncommon. And buying older diesel is a bit of lottery, many will go on without a problem for years , but if yours does go wrong it will be expensive to fix, and more than wipe out petrol saving you intended to make running a diesel car.

Cars with higher the mileage, have lower prices. If you buy 3 year old car that’s done 70k miles, you would probably only pay about 45% value of a new car, which means there are huge bargains out there. Most people are put off by high mileage, but you shouldn’t be, because a car that’s done 20k miles a years is probably been driven up and down the motorway. These cars are great purchases, because they have suffered very little wear and tear.

Nearly new cars or preregistered cars are great purchases too. Car dealers when they get to end of the month would preregister the models  to get the commission on them. It means they come to you with low mileage on car and you are the second owner, and you can save thousands of pounds  on the original price.

Once you have found the car you like at the right dealership, at the right price, what do you do ? Do not hand over money yet.

 Check out what they said is actually true, if they promised full service history, check that is the case, its important because the warranty may be invalid.

Also If you are not sure about the mileage, which is a real possibility, go to GOV.UK web site and check when the mot was done and check what the mileage was on previous MOTs. If the car you are checking out has 10k miles fewer than it had on last mot, you know something funny has happened. Once you have established mileage is correct, you need  to ensure that the car has not been stolen, crashed, or its been financed. Hire purchase check would cost you about £20 and there are many site on web that will do it for you. If you do not carry out finance check and the car has loan outstanding on it, then there is nothing to stop loan company coming and repossessing the car. They  will take it away on flatbed trailer and with it goes the money you spent to buy this car. Cars on supermarket tend to be little more expensive but they do offer plenty of consumer protection. And while you are purchasing it the dealer or sales man will offer you a hard sell on used car warranty, do not bother with this , because if there is problem with the car within 6 months  after you have purchased it, take it straight back to cars supermarket, they  have to fix it under the terms of  sales of the goods act.

If you are buying it privately its different matter, buyers be aware, you have got to go with eyes wide open, but you have done the checks on the car, you know its good, you know sales history is fine, mileage is consistent with mot records etc

Good luck in buying your used car and safe driving for life .

WHAT ARE SPECIAL REASONS?

Car related offences, often leads to financial penalty and points on your driving licence. Once you have accumulated 12 penalty points you would be banned for driving for the next 6 months. However there are occasions where loss of your driving licence would disadvantage community or family members and in these situations the court can hear your “Special reasons” and allow you to keep your driving licence.

Special reasons must relate to the commission of the driving offence in question and in order to constitute a special reason the Court of Appeal advises that a special reason not to endorse or disqualify must:

• be a mitigating or extenuating circumstance;
• not amount in law to a defence to the driving charge;
• be directly connected to the commission of the driving offence;
• be one which a court of law ought to properly take into consideration when considering what sentence to impose.

           What must the court consider?

When special reasons are put forward in driving related cases the sentencing court must consider the following factors:

• the reason for driving the motor vehicle; eg was it an emergency situation.
• the distance the motor vehicle was driven; ie very short, long etc.
• the manner in which the motor vehicle was driven; ie did  you cause danger to other road users.
• the condition of the motor vehicle which was driven; ie road worthy or not.
• whether not it was the drivers intention to drive the motor vehicle further;
• the road and traffic conditions at the time the offence took place; and
• the possibility of danger to other road users at the time (most important factor)

If court is satisfied that there were special reasons then you would be allowed to keep your licence and you can continue driving.

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PARKING RULES ON YELLOW LINES ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles wants to introduce a “grace period” within months that would allow drivers to park on double yellow lines for 15min. It is hoped this measure will  boost trade in neighbourhood high streets.

As part of the coalition horse-trading needed to secure support for the move, higher fines could be introduced outside London for motorists who park dangerously.

A source close to Mr Pickles said: "The high street is in danger of shrinking or dying off, because of over-aggressive parking enforcements.

"If people are worried about paying a fortune in parking fines, they are more likely to do their shopping online or go to out of town shopping centres. For too long parking has been a revenue-raiser. It's time to end that.

It is understood the Lib Dems believe the Tory Cabinet minister's plans could prove "unworkable" .

Lib Dem transport minister Norman Baker said: "We are keen to ensure that the high street works for businesses by stopping people parking illegally for hours on end.

"I have been in discussions with other colleagues from government about how we can best take this issue forward.

"This is about tackling motorists who are parking illegally, and  not about raising charges for those who park legally."

Check Your Car Alignment and Save Fuel

                        Your Car Alignment and Save Fuel

You can save fuel, and improve your overall driving experience simply by insuring that your car wheels are properly aligned.

If you find your car pulls to left or right when driving on a straight level road then its possible that your car wheels are not aligned properly.

Improper alignment will reduce your car’s mpg because you will need extra energy to help keep the car in a straight line.  For example, if your car’s improper alignment causes the car to drift to the right the car will need extra energy to overcome this pull and continue in a straight line.

This extra energy comes from burning extra petrol.  

Improper alignment can come from many different factors – driving over a big pothole, Parking  on footpath or hitting footpath accidently, uneven tyre wear, uneven tire pressure, etc.  Whatever the cause, you should try and fix the problem as soon as possible.

This is one of the subtle ways you can increase your car’s mileage, and remember, ever  little bit counts.

Young Drivers should learn for a year before taking Driving Test

      Young drivers should learn for a year before taking test.

RAC Foundation has called for one-year learning period for learner drivers, as a way to reduce high death rate in newly qualified young drivers.

It is is calling for a one-year minimum learning period – during which candidates would have to gain experience of driving in darkness and in different road and driving conditions.

It is also suggestion that newly qualified drivers should not be allowed to carry passengers for a year after the test and if any offence is carried out within 2 years then the licence should be revoked.

Northern Ireland, already has similar measures and are looking for ways to further tighten here licensing scheme.

One in five young drivers has an accident in the first six months after passing the test and young drivers are three times more likely to die on Britain's roads than the average driving licence holders. The think tank found that in 2011 1,552 motorists in the 17-24 age range were  killed or seriously injured in 2011. “Also it is estimated that  a full package of measures could reduce fatalities by anything up to 60%."

Stephen Hammond, the Road Safety  minister, said: "Improving young drivers' safety is a priority for us – that is why we have already improved the driving test so that it better reflects real-life conditions on the road, rather than focusing on specific manoeuvres.

"We are also considering a range of options to ensure learners and newly qualified drivers are properly prepared for the road and we will publish our proposals later in the year."

In US and Australia there was  a sharp drop in casualties after placing extra conditions on new drivers. 

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Speed Limit Rise For Motorways

Speed limit rise for motorways

The government has dropped plans for an 80mph speed limit weeks after a minister said that trials could go ahead in 2014.

Patrick McLoughlin, the Conservative transport minister, has ruled out the initiative that was announced at the party conference in 2011, despite the enthusiasm of his junior minister, Stephen Hammond. In 2011, the then transport secretary Philip Hammond said the 70mph limit had been "discredited" and a rise to 80mph would boost the economy.

Earlier Mr Hammond stated that trials of the higher speed limit could be carried out in 2014, followed by its introduction nationwide if they are found to be successful.

"We are thinking about how we could trial it rather than go to a consultation. It would be important to have a good evidence-based trial," he said last week.

However sources close to McLoughlin are now saying: "This is not going to happen with Patrick McLoughlin as transport secretary because Safety is paramount to him and he would not be confident about it." The shadow transport secretary, Maria Eagle, said the government's plans were in chaos.

She said: "Only a week after the roads minister confidently claimed that trials of a new 80mph speed limit were to go ahead, it's clear that the secretary of state has applied the brakes on his own reckless policy."

Downing Street is understood to believe that while the speed increase would be popular with motoring enthusiasts but it could alienate some female voters.

Pressure groups campaigning under the name no to 80 has estimated that raising the motorway speed limit to 80mph could cost society an extra £1bn a year, including £766m in fuel bills and more than £62m in health costs.

Other groups, which include the road safety charity Brake, the Campaign for Better Transport and Greenpeace, also estimated that the higher limit would lead to 25 extra deaths and 100 serious injuries a year, as well as 2.2m more tones of carbon emissions.

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Fine Increase for Uninsured Drivers

 Fines for driving without insurance are to rise from £200 to £300 .

Earlier this month, it was announced that the fixed penalty fine for driving without insurance would rise by 50 per cent in July - from £200 to £300.

This increase comes at the same time as new fines for middle-lane hogging and tailgating are introduced.

But a leading motorists' group says that the £100 rise in the fine for driving without cover will have no impact on repeat offenders. It is believed many drivers make a financial decision to drive without car insurance rather than pay annual premiums that dwarf any fines imposed by police or the courts. Currently maximum fine for no car insurance is up to £5,000, but this has never been imposed. Fines are  means-tested, which means that the average fine is £299 - just under the new £300 fixed penalty. Also in 2012 more than half of court fines imposed for driving without insurance were £200 or less.

£300 fine versus £2,850 car insurance cost

By way of comparison, men aged between 17 and 20 face average annual premiums of around £2,850.

This is according to the latest study, which looked at more than four million quotes to see what prices drivers were getting for cover between January and March 2013.

Those aged 21 to 25 paid an average of £1,500 a year for cover.

Many driving uninsured cars are young men who may already have several motoring offences to their name. So potential fines have little deterrent value and you can easily pick another cheap banger for cash, no questions asked, and continue offending.

Hotspot for uninsured drivers

David Ward, MP for Bradford East, said that simply increasing fines was unlikely to be effective.

He said: "When the court sets these charges, they have to bear in mind whether a person can afford it. "The fine could be £3 million rather than £300: but if they can't pay it, they can't pay it."

Around 160 people a year are killed by uninsured drivers in England and Wales, with thousands more injured, according to road safety organisation Brake.

The AA wants the government to take a much tougher line with uninsured drivers, particularly those who offend time and again.

Is prison the way to tackle uninsured drivers?

The AA says that in extreme cases the courts should impose electronic tags or prison sentences.

It also wants minister to increase the number of police patrols equipped with automatic number plate-recognition technology, which is used to identify vehicles without insurance, an MoT, or tax.

Large fines for those who can't pay them are not effective, But if uninsured drivers know they'll quickly be caught then that will act as a big disincentive. We need a tough, no-compromise approach to uninsured drivers which should include community service.

However, Bradford East MP David Ward is less convinced that prison is the answer.

He said: "The problem with custodial sentences is that our prisons are full enough as they are.

But there is a strong case for saying that the fines from uninsured drivers should be given to the police so they can upgrade their vehicles with this number plate-recognition technology.

'Forgetful' drivers could be caught out

There are concerns that a tougher approach could hit motorists who are driving uninsured as a result of their own error.

A senior motoring lawyer said: "I come across many drivers who inadvertently commit the offence of driving without insurance through sheer forgetfulness or disorganisation rather than any intent to break the law. "The offence is one of strict liability – either you are insured or you are not.

"Therefore it does not distinguish between someone who changed bank accounts and forgot to move their insurance direct debit and the serial offender."

It would be difficult for the courts to bring intention into the equation.

This would require prosecutors to establish that a defendant had deliberately chosen to drive without cover.

She also said: "As long as there is no distinction between offenders of this kind, I think the increase in the fixed penalty fine is as far as it should go."

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