Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Car Ownership

Would it surprise you to learn that the average new car price in the UK is almost £29,000?  Even if you’re not in the market for a brand-new set of wheels, the higher price of new cars has a knock on effect of used cars too. Getting a car is a substantial investment, and there’s lots of conflicting advice online. Here are our top 10 tops about what you need to know.

One - Purchase Options

There are lots of ways you can buy a car in the UK. You could choose to go to a main dealer which represents a particular brand, a special used car sales site, or privately from a friend or through an advert in the paper. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. The best advice is to do your homework, know what you’re looking for, know what price is reasonable and take a mechanic with you if what goes on under the bonnet is a bit of a mystery.

Two – Do The Checks

We’ve already mentioned getting a mechanic to inspect a car before you commit to buying. You should also enter its registration plate into the DVSA website to see whether the MOT is current and details of any previous tests. Don’t worry if it’s not taxed – it doesn’t have to be if it’s just sitting on a dealer’s forecourt. It’s also worth running a HPI check which will make sure that the car you’re thinking of buying hasn’t been written off in the past and doesn’t have any outstanding finance on it.

Three – Insure It

Once you’ve agreed a price and a time to pick up your new car, arrange insurance. It’s not the job of the seller to do this for you. If you drive your car home and are stopped for not having insurance, then the fact you’ve just bought it won’t make any difference. Use the internet to search for quotes from a range of insurers rather than just opting for the first quote you come across.

Four – Tax It

It’s not up to the seller of the car to tax it either. Again, this is something which is very easy to do online, at any time of the day or night. If the car’s current MOT is still valid, then all you need to do is enter the details online, and make the payment. You won’t get a tax disc through the post as all tax details are now held online. As soon as you’ve paid online and had the confirmation screen, you’re good to go.

Five – MOT

The MOT check applies to cars, vans and motorbikes over three years old. If you are operating a taxi or bus then the rules are different. The MOT is an annual test of your car’s safety and looks at issues such as brakes, steering, tyres and seatbelts. Having a MOT done isn’t optional, and not having a valid MOT can result in a fine and points on your driving licence.

Six – Maintenance

Modern cars are fairly good at looking after themselves, and modern technology means they go wrong less often than in the past. However, that doesn’t mean that you can ignore maintenance from one year to the next. If you don’t know how to do things like check the levels of oil or whether there’s enough water in your windscreen reservoir, book onto an evening class or watch videos which show you what to do. Get into the habit of checking the tread depth on your tyres and never ignore any warning lights on the dashboard.