Category Archives: -Hybrids-

-Hybrids-, -Other EVs-

Does Fixing The Car Have To Be So Expensive?

Leave a comment

They are one of the most expensive things we will ever own. In fact, for the majority of people, their car is the most valuable and the costliest of all their possessions except for the home. The amount they have to spend on their mechanics is a big part of that, as well. Cars are complex and fixing them isn’t easy so it’s no surprise repairs can be costly. But is there any way to at least make them more manageable? Does keeping your car in good condition always have to be so costly?

Photo

Not if you take care of it

Everyone can reduce how much they spend on repairs. The simple fact is that most drivers are too busy or simply not willing to put in the time to show their own auto a little more care. We can all do more to maintain our cars. Changing spark plugs, checking tire pressure, changing the oil when necessary. You can do all of these and more with the expensive help of a mechanic. If you own an electric car, you can still clean and polish it, lessening the risk of rust, and you can take care of the battery. The more time you put into the car, the less money you have to spend on it.

Not if you shop around

Make sure you’re not going to the most expensive garage in town. Even if they’re a legit business and not resorting to tricks, you could save money by going to their competition, especially if they’re a shorter distance away from you. Shop around when it comes to your parts and maintenance equipment as well. Suppliers like CTI Supply that sell directly to garages and other auto businesses could offer much better prices, especially if you buy in bulk. Don’t always let the garage find your replacement parts for you, either. It’s not entirely unheard of for mechanics to mark up the car parts they source and find for your vehicle. Of course, you shouldn’t try to go too cheap with replacement parts, as that can only end up making them more likely to break and need another replacement in short order.

Not if you prepare

One of the most expensive parts of car repair isn’t the bill, but how unprepared the majority of car owners are for them. If your car has a malfunction or accident and your insurance isn’t paying, you may find that you don’t have the funds readily available. A lot of businesses will let you make repairs on credit, but often with interest that marks up the overall price significantly. By putting aside a car maintenance fund as shown at The Nest, you can avoid going into debt and have the cash ready to go when you need it.

As well as the tips above, you do want to make sure you’re being taken for a ride by your mechanic. Take a closer look at your bill the next time you visit and make sure you’re not getting any extra charges you shouldn’t.

-Hybrids-, -Other EVs-

Taking Yourself From A To B: Your First Car

Leave a comment

That means it’s time to invest! If you’re the kind of person who’s lived in a big city your whole life and never needed your own transport, or you’ve been able to depend on someone else this entire time and you know the situation needs to change, it’s time to take action. Being able to drive is a life skill a lot of people have and not a lot of people really put to good use. It can help us get jobs and support ourselves, it helps us ferry our families around and makes homelife a lot easier, and a vehicle can even be a mini home in itself when you need it to be. So if you’re on your journey to becoming a fully fledged driver, here’s some good ways to stay on top of things.

These keys are only a snatch away from you Source

Getting On With Your Lessons

Lessons aren’t always the first step in learning to drive. You need to determine first of all what kind of vehicle you’re hoping to pilot from here on out, whether it be a manual or an automatic or a car that runs on fuel or electricity. When you’re first starting your lessons, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, this is the space where it’s absolutely safe to do so.

Make sure you keep up with car control when you’re outside of the driver’s seat. If you know the routes around your town well, you can easily keep up with a Sat Nav or the instructor’s commands. Look at maps in your spare time, understand the speed limits of the common roads. Try and get some offtime practice in another car when you can, as more and more practical experience is never going to hurt anyone. With this, you’ll be studying for your theory from the get go, and still have the right amount of practical experience.

What If I Can’t Afford a Car?

Don’t worry, a lot of people are in the same situation as you. When you’re in this kind of situation, there’s a few solutions out there for you. Why not try a lease maybe? When you’re only hiring a car out for a short while, the cost is going to be dramatically lower than trying to own one outright. And hey, you might not even get enough use out of an owned car!

If someone else in your family has a car, see if you can be put on their insurance to also drive it safely when they’re not using the vehicle. Sharing the cost of running the vehicle between you is something a lot of people can manage, so don’t turn your nose up at not owning your own car. You can always move on from here after all, instead of immediately getting bogged down into debt.

Getting from A to B doesn’t have to cost the entire bank. Driving is an investment of course, but it’s worth it for living life to the full.

-Hybrids-, -Other EVs-

Tips for Anyone Buying a Used Car

Leave a comment

Image source – http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/230000/velka/road-and-car.jpg

 

Are you looking for a used vehicle? There can be many benefits associated with buying a used vehicle. The most obvious benefit being the fact that used vehicles are a lot cheaper. They represent exceptional value when you consider how quickly the value of a new car depreciates. However, you will obviously want to make sure you purchase the right vehicle for you. So, let’s take a look at some top tips on purchasing a user car.

Check you have all of the paperwork before paying – It is important to make sure you have the correct documents before you pay up, as well as all of the necessary spares and a spare set of keys. The documents you should expect include the sales contract, manuals, servicing booklet, and logbook or V5C.

Be cautious when buying a car on eBay – If you have decided to buy a car on eBay, please be aware that you are not going to be protected. You will not be protected by eBay’s own buyer protection. If you purchase via PayPal, you will not be protected by PayPal’s purchase protection either.

Choose a dealership that specializes in the vehicle you are looking for – When looking to buy a specific auto make, it is a good idea to look for a dealership that specializes in this type of vehicle. For example, if you want to buy a Subaru, then the Eblen Subaru dealership would be a good place to start. This comes recommended because the people working at the dealership will have expert knowledge regarding the type of vehicle you are looking for. This will ensure you get the best information. Not only this, but if you require a repair or a replacement part in the future, they should be able to assist you with ease.

Take the vehicle for a test drive – It is so important to take your vehicle for a test drive, and when you do this, there are numerous things you should look out for. Will the car fit into your space? What does the engine sound like? Does the car pull away smoothly? Do you have enough space in the boot? What is the passenger space like? Are the boot, doors, and bonnet easy to open? Does the car feel balanced or does it veer to one side? Do the clutch and brakes function effectively and smoothly? If you are going to be fitting a child car seat, is it going to go in easily? Is your driving position at the wheel comfortable?

Be thorough when car shopping – When looking for a used car, you need to make sure it is right for you. There are some key factors you should be looking for. The vehicle’s mileage is important. If the odometer’s figures are wildly out when you consider the age of the vehicle, you need to ask why. Most vehicles clock up roughly 10,000 miles per year. Aside from this, you should also turn on the lights, test the radio, look at the engine for signs of water or oil leaks, check the oil itself, check repairs, and assess the overall condition of the car.

Always haggle – A lot of people assume that there is no point in haggling, however, this is not a practice that is only suitable for backstreet bazaars. You know what they say, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. This is most definitely the case when trying to buy a car. So, how do you haggle effectively? There are a number of approaches you can use. The first is to look for vehicles that are already discounted. This indicates that there may be some more room for negotiation. In addition to this, look for the tiniest scratches or dents and use this as a bargaining tool. You should also get them to check something in for free, as opposed to only looking for the price to come down. Plus, don’t feel like you have always got to fill the silence. Wait for them to fill the silence with a better offer.

Work out the true cost ­– Budgeting effectively is a necessity when buying a car. However, this is where a lot of people go wrong; they underestimate the true cost of buying a vehicle. When working out how much this is going to cost you, don’t only consider any upfront costs and finance repayments if you have taken out of any loan. You also need to think about parking permits and tolls, servicing, MOTs, car insurance, tax, and fuel.

Make sure the car meets your requirements – Last but not least, do not make the mistake of falling head over heels for a car and then forgetting what you were looking for in the first place. If a car does not meet your list of requirements, don’t buy it. So, before shopping, it is a wise idea to draw up a list of all of the things you need. This can include your essential requirements, whether you want petrol or diesel, boot size, eco-friendliness, and anything else that is important to you.

If you follow the advice that has been provided above, you should find it a lot easier to find the perfect used vehicle for you. A used vehicle can present a lot of value, but this is only going to be the case if you choose with care. Do the necessary research and follow the information that has been given to you, and you won’t go too wrong.

-Hybrids-, -Other EVs-

Can You Reduce The Costs Of An E-Car?

Leave a comment

Even though the British government has made it clear that the future is not in fossil fuel powered vehicles, a lot of households are still debating the advantages of an electric car. Indeed, at a time where most people need to commute on average an hour to go every day, it’s easy to see how an electric car could make it difficult to maintain a healthy work/life balance. After all, who’s got time to put their car on charge for 12 to 18 hours to be able to get to the office on the next day? You can’t just top it up at the pump in a matter of minutes like you would with a diesel or an unleaded petrol engine. Additionally, there is no denying that electric vehicles have not yet addressed all the issues that environmental and legal institutions have complained about regardless fuel-powered engines. So the question remains open for now: If there a way to reduce the many costs of an e-car?

What are the hidden costs of electric cars?  

Electric cars are expensive

For the time being, buying an electric car is an expensive purchase. For a start, even the best selling electric vehicle in the UK, the Nissan LEAF, costs on average £8,000 more than the best selling family favourite car, the Ford Fiesta. For a family budget, £8,000 is not the kind of expense that can be easily ignored. Besides, you need to add the running costs of maintaining an electric engine. A 1.2L petrol engine will need a refuel after roughly 300 miles, and you can expect to pay between £35 and £40. But the Nissan LEAF will need charging after 100 miles, which means that you also need to check for charging stations along your route.

But things will change

Additionally, if you’re looking for a cheap auto insurance, you’d better stick to the Ford Fiesta for now. Electric cars are indeed around £330 more expensive to insure at the moment. Admittedly, it doesn’t mean that you should ignore the option of buying an e-vehicle as you can expect that technology will improve rapidly. Along with the legal incentives, it’s likely that within the next 10 years, electric cars will become cheaper to insure compared to fossil fuel engine, as we’ll get closer to the 2040 deadline set in the UK.

There are already eco-friendly actions

There has been a lot of discussion in the recent years about the green benefits of electric vehicles. Indeed, it’s impossible to ignore the cost of production on the environment. Indeed, the lithium contained the car batteries come from environmentally destructive mines, which are linked to the creation of highly toxic chemicals that are regularly dumped back into the environment. In other words, until this process can be improved, it’s hard to think of electric vehicles are green cars. However, there are green actions that can help to improve their running costs for your wallet and the environment. Indeed, Smart Green Batteries SARL has patented charging stations using recycled oils to charge your car.

In other words, e-cars still come at a high cost in terms of environmental protection, financing, and practicality. However, there are indications that this cost can be decreased through technological progress over time.

-Hybrids-, -Other EVs-

Making Your Car Safer For The Road With Technology

Leave a comment

Image

 

Driving can be a dangerous game. There are so many thousands of drivers on the roads just in your area every day, and each of them will have their own view on what safe driving is.

To ensure that you are always safe on the road, companies like American Traffic Solutions will install cameras, traffic lights, warning signs and diversions to ensure we stay safe. However, the safety of ourselves and the people around us is not only down to the authorities. We have a responsibility to make sure that we drive safely and that our car is safe to drive.

There are some great pieces of tech we can install into our cars which make driving much safer, and therefore being on the roads a less hazardous affair.

Rear-view camera

One of the things which can make a massive difference to the way we drive our vehicles is the ability to see where we are reversing. Rather than you having to guess where the cars are in each side of when reversing into a bay, the camera will show you and make it easier for you to drive. It also means that if anything appears at the back of the car such as a cat, you can avoid hitting it.

Phone technology

One of the most common causes of road accidents is texting or talking on the phone while driving. Having your phone either lifted up to your ear or under your steering wheel is a huge danger to you and everyone around you. The great thing is that you can get a car which has the ability to stop you from using your phone on the road. Most newer models will now have Bluetooth in the onboard system which will allow you to connect your phone and talk hands free. Another great feature which Ford has introduced is the ability for your car to read message out to you. This saves you being tempted to take your eyes off the road when you receive a message. You are then able to auto reply with ‘Call me back later’ and carry on your drive.

Lane Keeping

Don’t you just hate it when people swerve in and out of lanes for no reason? This can happen especially when a driver isn’t paying attention to the road. Luckily, many cars can now detect a subtle change in lane positioning and will correct this automatically. It means that if a driver is too busy texting to pay attention to the road. The car will move itself back into the lane and stay there.

Collision Prevention

You may remember your driving lessons when one day your instructor told you to break in the middle of the road. Learning how to emergency stop is a skill you are taught in case of an accident, however sometimes you simply cannot predict what will happen. The great thing is, some cars will do it for you. The Honda Accord for example will sense an accident happening and slam the brakes on before you even notice what it happening, it can save your life, and it will certainly make your car much safer on the road.

-Hybrids-, -Other EVs-

Your Car Is More Than Just Transportation. Here’s Why!

Leave a comment

For most people, their car is just a way to get from A to B. It’s a handy tool that can help them get around in their day to day life, but it doesn’t bring them any extra benefits apart from being a convenient mode of transport. However, it is a very expensive mode of transport. Sure something this expensive should bring more benefits to your life than just a form of transport? Well, thankfully, it can! Your car doesn’t just have to used to getting you from A and B. Here are some other great ways you might want to benefit from your little auto.

Picture Credit

Money Maker

Your car doesn’t just have to drain your finances – it can actually be a nice little money maker and can bring you a small extra income if you are smart with it. Have you already heard of the likes of Uber and Lyft? These platforms give you the chance of becoming a taxi driver and making some cash from transporting people around using your car. The great thing about these kinds of platforms is that they give you the chance to be as flexible as you want to be with your work. You can take to the road and pick people up at times to suit you, so you can be your own boss!

Marketing Opportunity

Do you have your own small business? If so, then your car could be turned into an extra marketing tool. Wraps for cars and trucks are a great way to get your company name out there so that more of the public will encounter it. All that you need to do is pay to have a wrap designed with your company’s logo and branding. This will then be applied to the exterior of your car. You will then have a nifty little advert on the side of your car that everyone will see next time you go out for a drive!

Status Symbol

There are lots of people out there who use their car as a status symbol to show off their wealth and assets. Even if you aren’t the wealthiest person in the world, there will still be a really cool car out there that reflects your personality and street credit. One of the most obvious go-tos for a status symbol has to be a sports car. If you can’t afford a brand new Lamborghini, you could simply buy a chic second-hand sports car – it may have a previous owner, but it will still ooze coolness!

Stress Reliever

Some people see their car as a stress reliever. Whenever they are feeling stressed, they will simply jump in their car and go for a long drive. It doesn’t really matter where they go as the action of driving can help some people really calm down and unwind. If you need some extra calm, you could always take a drive to a peaceful rural location.

So, why use your car as just a mode of transportation when you could use it one of the ways above?