Posts filed under 'cars'
BMW have created a new electric Mini called the Mini E and are planning to trial it in West London.
If you live in the catchment area and have £330 a month spare you can lease the car and be one of the first to drive the Mini E. BMW will even by paying the car insurance. If you are interested you need to visit www.electricmini.co.uk and register your interest. All the information you need is on this site.
According to The Times Online, for the lucky first who will be trialling the Mini E, a special charging socket will be installed in their home and researches will be able to monitor how the driver uses the car and also how the car performs.
September 4th, 2009
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) have reported today that one in five your motorists are driving illegally with no car insurance.
It is estimated that the total number of 17-20 year olds without insurance is as high as 243,000 and it is being blamed on the rising costs of motoring and lack of knowledge on their behalf.
Police are cracking down on offenders. When police are on patrol their ANPR (automatic number place recognition) camera can scan hundreds of passing cars every few minutes and they are alerted to any cars that don’t have an MOT certificate, a valid tax disc or valid car insurance. They then have the power to stop, question and, if necessary, arrest the driver.
Some people are saying that young drivers can’t afford to pay for the rising costs in motoring, but in my opinion, if they can’t afford it then they shouldn’t be driving. By driving around in cars that don’t have MOTs they are putting other peoples lives in danger and they impact on other peoples insurance costs if an innocent third party isn’t able to claim for damage to their car from another insurance company.
August 27th, 2009
For all those speed camera haters it brings me great pleasure to announce that more of the dreaded Yellow boxes could be switched off - Bournemouth are considering following in Swindon’s footsteps and removing its fixed speed cameras according to a recent report by the Bournemouth Daily Echo.
A committee has been set up to discuss the necessity of the cameras just two weeks after Swindon became the first town in the UK to turn off five of them because the council claimed the £320,000 maintenance bill was too high.
There are 20 speed cameras in the south coast town of Bournemouth - which has a Conservative council - and the committee are said to be investigating whether or not the cameras actually help prevent accidents or reduce car speeds.
So it could only be a matter of time before Bournemouth’s motorists start celebrating the demise of the speed camera.
August 18th, 2009
To many drivers, abstaining from your car air conditioning is a stupid folly akin to giving away a winning lottery ticket or refusing to buy a dishwasher. But as the summer heats up (slowly) have you noticed your car’s air con has lost its mojo? To get that icy cool smell back into your car try this do-it-yourself guide that explains how to easily recharge the refrigerant in your car’s cooling system. It’s a breeze.
Firstly, if your car AC is completely broken it’s probably best to get a professional to look at it. Information site wikiHow has come up with an AC fixing guide that explains how to get that showroom fresh punch back into your car. However you will need a charging kit, refrigerant and possibly a pressure gauge. AC kits are available to buy at car stores. Take a look at the instructions and let us hear your comments on the operation AC fix-up.
August 7th, 2009
An Electric Car you can Plug in at Home - Nissan reach an era of Green Motoring
Nissan have unveiled the world’s first affordable electric family car. It’s called the ‘Leaf’ hatchback and averages a top speed of 100mph after it is charged from a plug socket at home - now that’s a powerful green machine. The five-seater is powered by a lithium-ion battery and could soon be sitting in thousands of garages around Britain very soon.
The zero emission vehicle will be sold first in the U.S, Japan and then Europe towards the end of 2010 and Nissan bosses have stated the car’s batteries could be made at the Sunderland plant - creating hundreds of jobs and giving the car industry a boost during the recession. The Leaf’s batteries can be fully charged overnight or reach 80% full in half an hour and they appear to fit neatly in place of your petrol cap.
The hatchback’s price could start at around £13,000. The best part however, is that owners will not have to pay road tax because the Leaf has no emissions. So, could you turn over a new leaf? Speaking of ways to keep your costs down, get cheaper car insurance online and check out Swiftcover.com for a UK car insurance quote in under 60 seconds.
August 7th, 2009
A report from online car insurer swiftcover.com shows that british drivers would sacrifice many of their luxuries, like going to the pub, take-aways and eating out, rather then give up their beloved cars.
36% of those who participated in the survey said that they would run their cars on recycled chip oil if it meant that they could cut their motoring costs. When the law changed in July 2007 it allowed people to legally make up to 2,500 litres of their own biodiesel which would mean no tax charges. Some people turned to converting chip fat from pubs and restaurants into a usable source - so it isn’t as silly as it sounds and does actually work - although I think it is a rather complicated process.
But would you really give up your beer? Well according to 28% of respondees, you would. 28% said they would sacrifice going to the pub, 26% would stop buying ipods, TVs and other electrical luxuries and 21% would eat in and stop having the nice treat of a take away or restaurant meal.
But what would you do to keep your costs down? There may be other ways which won’t come as a huge sacrifice:
Shop around for the best car insurance quotes
Search for cheaper petrol
Get an MOT from your council
Drive green and save money
Cut out the junk.
For more helpful tips visit the whole article at swiftcover.com
July 29th, 2009
Back in May I wrote about General Motors being on the brink of collapse with thousands of people at Vauxhall worried for its future and their jobs. Today there is quite an optimistic outlook for Vauxhall.
Reports in The Times confirms that Ripplewood, the private equity group, is in talks with Vauxhall over it’s future. There appears to now be three bidders in the frame with 5,000 jobs at stake. Talks are at an advanced stage so we will have to wait and see who the successful bidder is.
Another car manufacturer making cut backs is Jaguar. Jagua Land Rover are planning to axe 300 jobs on Merseyside, through voluntary redundancies and also close for three weeks in September. Sales have fallen in the past 10 months and they reported pre-tax losses of £281 million.
The car manufacturing industry has been hit very hard by the recession but if you are after a nice new car then, according to The Telegraph, prestige motors may be an affordable option. Some models from Audi, Jaguar, Lexus and others are currently available for £20,000 less if you shop around. Read more here about new car prices being slashed by £20,000.
July 22nd, 2009
Following on from my previous blog, I have just read that research by 100% online insurance company swiftcover.com shows that a mere 4% of drivers are planning to use the government’s scrappage scheme.
27% of drivers interviewed currently think that buying a new car is a waste of money and 29% would rather that higher taxes were placed on luxury vehicles to subsidise poorer drivers.
Have your motoring costs increased in the past 12 months? According to this research 69% of us would have experienced a rise in costs with many people blaming road and fuel taxes for higher costs.
Quite surprisingly some 78% of those surveyed believed that improving public transport would reduce motoring costs. I find this hard to believe. I think that there would have to be a bus stop in every road and train station in every town before 78% of the population would even think of using public transport on a regular basis.
Going green seems to be the way forward. Many insurance companies, including swiftcover.com, offer a discount to those with hybrid cars and these cars are also exempt from the congestion charge reducing costs even further.
To find out more about how the scrappage scheme works visit the article “Scrappage Scheme Explained” on The Telegraph website.
If you are considering trading in your old car and looking for a new car you can get a car insurance quote in under 60 seconds at swiftcover.com. Give it a try.
July 20th, 2009
According to an article in The Times online, the new car scrappage scheme appears to have had a positive effect on new car registrations.
The SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) said
“We are now beginning to see the positive impact of the scrappage scheme translate into new vehicle registrations.”
The registration of new cars continued to fall in June but not at the rate that was expected and by the smallest decline since July 2008. Apparently 35,000 new cars have been ordered since the scrappage scheme was introduced back in April, so 1 in 5 people who ordered a new car were taking advantage of the scrappage scheme. Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT said that the scheme has had a ‘very encouraging’ start but it was too early to evaluate the full impact.
However, some car dealers and motor manufacturers are still to be convinced by the scheme. A survey by Guardian Money showed that many new car buyers who use the car scrappage scheme could actually save more money if they were to simply look for the best cash deal and sell their car privately, pocketing the cash.
What are your views on this? Have you taken advantage of the scrappage scheme and did it save you money?
July 9th, 2009
If you like Volkswagen Golfs and are concerned about the environment then the new Golf will suit you down to the ground. Scheduled to hit the UK in September, the 105 PS Golf BlueMotion with 1.6 litre TDI diesel engine has better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions then other golfs.
Many motorists would be able to reduce the amount of money they spend at the pump due to the 68.9mpg. It would also qualify for the £35 a year road tax due to CO2 emissions of 107 g/km.
A review on Autoexpress gave the Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion a 4 out of 5 calling it Volkswagen’s answer to the Toyota Prius.
Unlike the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid, the VW Bluemotion is purely diesel which some critics say produces other damaging pollutants known as particulates, however in terms of emissions the VW Bluemotion beats them handsdown.
As well as reducing your petrol costs by buying a more economical car, you can also reduce your car insurance premiums. swiftcover.com offers a 10% discount for ‘green’ cars. Get a cheap car insurance quote at swiftcover.com.
July 8th, 2009
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