Posted by So, you’re about to go out in your car?
Before you grab your keys, wallet, and phone, there are a few things to think about. Firstly, are YOU prepared? Secondly, is your car prepared?
I wonder how many people, like myself, just grab the keys, jump into their car, and set off, only to find that it rains, the windscreen gets dirty, and the washer bottle is empty? It’s probably something that you’ve known about for the last three or four trips you’ve been on, but like me, made a mental note to refill it, only to forget to do it when you get home.
Preparation of both yourself and your vehicle is the key to a stress-free drive, be it to the shops, to work, or on a longer trip.
How do I prepare?
Firstly, I do try to keep my car in good condition, and prepared for whatever drive I’ll be undertaking. This means thinking about, and being prepared for insurance, road tax, and MOT in advance.
Insurance:
I set a reminder in my calendar for one month in advance of when my current insurance runs out. That way I have time to get quotes and have the money in place before I end up having to rush the process, and probably end up paying far more than necessary. Something that’s important to note here is that you’ll very rarely get a competitive price from your current insurer unless you have some bargaining power.
Make sure too, that you get as close as possible to like for like quotes, because a common trick used by insurance companies to get your business, is to give you a very low but very basic quote with a high excess.
It’s certainly a good idea to screenshot or save your quotes because some less reputable sites will increase the price if you don’t buy straight away. I’m speaking from experience here, and having the original quote saved allowed me to get the original price saving myself the £60 extra that they’d added when I changed one detail (adding my Clubcard number) that was supposedly going to reduce my quote!
Road Tax:
This one is fairly straightforward, but again, having set aside the funds in advance will soften the blow. Now, here’s a thing. Because when we buy our cars, we usually need to Tax and Insure them at the same time, and often if we’re buying second hand, the MOT will have either just been renewed or will be due, we have all three things, and the cost, all due during the same month.
To avoid this initially is difficult. However, you can break this up by taxing your car for six months, which although more expensive the first year, will ensure that in future you’ll not be burdened with the bills at the same time. With your MOT, you can have your vehicle tested up to one month in advance of the expiry date of your current MOT certificate, so you can keep the existing expiry date, but have the vehicle tested and pay for it a month early.
Next up, it’s the simple things to check. Tyres, fluids (Oil, Water, brake fluid, and that all important washer bottle).
Tyres:
It might seem obvious, but your tyres are all that hold you on the road, so a fairly simple check is worth the time.
I once had a rather odd vibration from the front of my car. It took me a fair bit of time to track it down, but it was a defective tyre and had I not been inquisitive enough to investigate it, I might have had a very serious crash on the motorway. The problem was, in fact, a delaminated area under the tread that caused a bulge. This would have eventually, or more than likely, fairly soon, caused a catastrophic failure of the tyre.
Tyre pressures are easy to check and keep inflated to the correct pressure. Not only will this keep them in the best condition, and safe, but will also keep your fuel economy at its peak too. Incorrectly inflated tyres will make the vehicle handling act and feel strange, and the tyres will wear unevenly, causing the added expense of early replacement.
If you are having new tyres fitted, always either fit pairs of identical tyres to the front or rear or alternatively, if perhaps you need to replace a single tyre, then fit the identical make and size to the one on the opposite side of the car.
As I said previously, your tyres are all that hold you on the road. Not only this but they have to transfer the power from the engine to the road, and the front ones have the added job of getting you around corners safely. If there’s an upgrade that you’re thinking of doing to your car, make it better tyres. An extra £100 on a set of tyres can see you upgrade from budget to premium tyres, and that, in turn, will reward you with better grip and shorter stopping distances. At motorway speeds, this can be over 15m shorter stopping distances.
Watch this video from What Car
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_j-2W2uZ8c?rel=0&w=560&h=315]