Car ownership

What does the war in Ukraine mean for car drivers?

The cost of living is increasing and so is what you pay to go motoring (Picture iStock/Simon Bradfield)

The devastating effect of war in Ukraine is being felt to a lesser extent across Europe and into the UK too. Here we look at how the war is affecting car users today and the impact it could have in the future.

More expensive fuel

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Expert advice: simple car checks before the bank holiday

cheap car checks
You really don’t want your bank holiday to end up like this (Picture iStock/Jimdoberman)

Before you hit the road for a bank holiday getaway, make sure you download the Green Flag app.

This bank holiday, thousands of drivers will be hitting the road, and we’ll be here to help 24/7 if any breakdowns try to ruin your journey.

But, with a few quick and easy checks, you can help prevent a breakdown from happening. So, before you set off, give these a read (and give your vehicle a bit of TLC).

Check your tyres

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Expert advice: how to use less fuel driving and save more money

use less fuel driving
Follow our tips below and you’ll use less fuel driving (Picture iStock/BrianAJackson)

With the price of fuel increasing almost daily, we’ve had a lot of people asking how they can use less fuel driving and get more miles for their money.

There isn’t a magic solution for using less fuel. It’s all about making lots of little savings that combine to result in more miles per gallon.

The most important factor is how you drive

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Now thieves are targeting electric vehicle charging cables

charging cables
Charge your EV in the street and you might get your cable nicked (Picture iStock/Coldsnowstorm)

Thieves are increasingly targeting electric vehicle (EV) charging cables as a quick way to make money.

The cables are either dismantled and the metals inside them are stripped out and sold. Alternatively crooks sell them to other EV owners for up to £200 a go.

Industry experts fear charging cable theft could escalate over the coming years, with sales of new combustion engine cars banned from 2030. The results could cost the UK’s EV drivers millions of pounds annually.

What are charging cables made of?

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More drivers than ever taking speed awareness courses

speed awareness courses
Get nicked by one of these and you could end up on a speed awareness course (Picture iStock/BrianAJackson)

More drivers are being sent on speed awareness courses after breaking the law than ever before. The courses enable drivers to avoid points, fines and potentially expensive increases in insurance premiums.

Drivers attended the courses virtually during the pandemic with 1.5 million licence holders doing so in 2021. It was the greatest number since records began for the courses. Most of the drivers attending courses had been nicked for speeding.

What are retraining courses?

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Expert advice: your E10 questions answered

e10 questions
Any questions about new E10 petrol? Our expert answers them (Picture iStock/Sturti)

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the new E10 petrol so I thought it would be useful to answer some of them.

E10 has been the cheapest petrol on garage forecourts since September 2021 when it replaced E5 as the forecourt standard. It gets its name because the bioethanol content was doubled to 10 per cent. Bioethanol is an alcohol-based fuel that is made from plant bi-products. The government chose to do this because it believes it’s a simple way to reduce the CO2 emissions from petrol cars.

Read on and I’ll answer some of the most popular questions about E10 petrol.

Will E10 damage my engine?

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Rules of the road your driving instructor may not have told you about

rules of the road
Do you know when you should and shouldn’t use your car’s horn? (Picture iStock/PixelsEffect)

There are so many rules of the road that driving instructors can’t be expected to tell you everything. That, after all, is what the Highway Code is for.

But just in case the regulations have changed since you took your test we’re outlining some of the things most of us do, that we shouldn’t. Some can even result in hefty fines.

Be careful when you use your horn

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Half of all speed cameras are switched off, new report finds

speed cameras
There’s a 50% chance this will be switched off but drivers are still speeding (Picture iStock/Daniel Heighton)

Love ’em or hate ’em, speed cameras have been a part of British motoring life for more than 30 years. But your chances of getting a ticket for speeding from a fixed camera are now significantly reduced. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by BBC Panorama has revealed that only around half of fixed speed cameras now work.

Meanwhile, another request to police forces showed that the highest a driver has been caught speeding at between 2018 and 2020 was 163mph, more than twice the legal limit.

Why have speed cameras been turned off?

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The manual handbrake is history and it’s costing us dear

manual handbrake
Most new cars have an electronic parking brake (Picture iStock/Kenneth-Cheung)

If you bought a car that’s either new or just a couple of years old, you might have noticed something missing between the seats. Back in the day there used to be a lever that would operate the parking brake, more commonly known as the handbrake.

No longer. The reassuring old handbrake has been replaced by the much less substantial electronic version. And it could be costing us dear. Read on to find out why.

What is an electronic parking brake?

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Expert advice: 6 questions to ask when getting your car serviced

getting your car serviced
Ask our questions and you’ll get him rather than the dodgy place next door (Picture iStock/Minerva_Studio)

For most of us, getting a car serviced ranks somewhere close to going to the dentist. It’s expensive, it involves hassle and we can’t get away with not doing it. But there is another way.

Pick the right garage to start with and you can make the experience an altogether more positive one. Of course, it’s impossible to know what a garage is going to be like until you use it. But ask the following six questions and you’ve got a fighting chance of picking a decent one.

What trade body do you belong to?

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Driving licence backlog causing 10 week delay on new permits

driving licence backlog
Applying for a driving licence hasn’t been straightforward for some younger and older drivers (Picture iStock/stocknshares)

If you’ve applied for your driving licence and it still hasn’t turned up, you’re not alone. New figures have revealed that drivers are facing a 10-week wait if they’ve applied for a new driving permit.

The driving licence backlog is so bad that MPs are demanding action by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). We look at what’s causing the problem and what you can do about it.

How bad is the driving licence backlog?

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Our guide to carrying a Christmas tree safely by car

carrying a christmas tree
Both children and Christmas trees should be securely fastened if you’re planning on driving with them (Picture iStock/Romrodinka)

It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to buying and carrying a Christmas tree. The British Christmas Tree Growers Association claims there are around seven million ‘real’ Christmas trees sold in the UK every year.

It’s all very well deciding you want a tree that wouldn’t look small in London’s Trafalgar Square. But if you can’t get it home, it’s a waste of money. Follow our tips below on carrying a Christmas tree successfully and above all, safely.

Measure up for carrying a Christmas tree

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How to go about rejecting a faulty car

rejecting a car
You might end up deciding to reject a car if your dealer can’t fix it satisfactorily (Picture iStock/Skynesher)

Increasing numbers of owners are rejecting their cars. Law company Stormcatcher claims people seeking legal advice for rejecting a car has skyrocketed over recent months.

But what does rejecting a car mean and if you want to do it, how do you go about it? Read on for all the ins and outs.

How can you reject a car?

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Expert advice: cold-cheating winter kit to carry in your car

winter kit
Having a glove with your ice scraper will prevent frost-bitten fingers (Picture iStock/AlenaPaulus)

Around this time of year I always think about winter and what to carry in my car to make life simpler and safer. Compiling a winter kit of equipment to carry in the cold months is easy. It might help you out when temperatures plunge and it could be a life saver if you get stuck in snowy conditions.

Make de-icing a bit nicer

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EV charging points: how easy is getting one installed at home?

ev charging points
This is probably the home charging dream for most people. (Picture iStock/sl-f)

New electric car sales in the UK are currently booming and the number of charging points can’t keep up.

For the first 10 months of 2021, there has been an 88 per cent increase in electric vehicles (EVs) sold compared to the previous year. Now, one in 10 new cars sold is battery powered. In October this year, 16,155 new EVs left the showroom.

Throughout the UK, according to Zap-Map, over that same period there were around 900 new charging points. That’s one charging point for every 18 cars. It’s hardly surprising that many EV drivers are looking at having a charging point installed at home. But how easy is it?

Can’t you charge with a normal plug?

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More than half of car tyres are underinflated. Check yours today

underinflated tyre
Underinflated tyres can be dangerous and costly (Picture iStock/PattyC)

With winter approaching, tyres will play a critical role in how cars handle in colder conditions. New research by transport charity TyreSafe has found that 57 per cent of vehicles on UK roads have underinflated tyres.

Tyres determine how well a vehicle stops and steers. In slippery winter conditions, all the safety technology a modern car is fitted with will be pointless if it’s driving on underinflated tyres.

Here we look at why it’s so important for your tyres to have the correct amount of air in them.

Underinflated tyres wear more quickly

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Expert advice: what is a cabin filter and how easy is it to change one?

cabin filter
Replacing the cabin air filter is often an easy job (Picture iStock/MihajloMaricic)

If you get a funny smell whenever you turn the ventilation on in your car, you might need to replace the cabin filter. Here I’m going to look at what the cabin filter is and how it might be easier than you think to replace yourself.

What is a cabin filter?

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Licence to quiz: how much do you know about your permit to drive?

driving licence
Most of us have one but take our quiz to find out more about the UK driving licence (Picture iStock/Stocknshares

The driving licence is an unsung part of many of our lives but it’s going to change soon. The government has revealed it wants all driving licences to be digital from 2024. It is developing a smartphone app that everyone will have their driving licence on.

To celebrate the impending demise of the driving licence, take our cunning quiz to see how much you know about it.

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Motoring offences that could see you hit with four-figure fines

motoring offences
Splash someone intentionally by driving through a puddle and it could cost you a lot of money (Picture iStock/Helivideo)

Owning and driving a car is already an expensive business. But there are various motoring offences that could make it even pricier if you commit them. We’ve hunted down a selection of the four-figure fines that you could be hit with for driving, car and admin infringements.

You might be surprised to read that some fines for what might seem like fairly petty offences are actually quite hefty.

Dodgy tyres could get you the biggest fine

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Expert advice: what to do if you lose your car keys

lose your car keys
You know you put it somewhere. But where? (Picture iStock/Atkinc)

There are few things as frustrating, stressful and potentially expensive as if you lose your car keys. We know because it’s something that we get thousands of calls about from drivers every year. The question is: what do you do about it?

Is the key really lost?

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