Tag Archives: automotive

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A Beginner’s Guide To Classic Car Restoration

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Whether you have a passion for restoring them or driving them, there are many classic car lovers out there. Bringing a classic or vintage car back to life can be a labor of love and can be an incredibly rewarding experience. It could be to sell the car on, and the process is what you enjoy. It could be to then keep the car yourself and enjoy it as a weekend vehicle.

But if you’ve not done it before, but quite fancy the idea of it, then where do you start? Here are a few of the steps you should take if you’re interested in a classic or vintage car restoration. Then, no matter your previous skills or experience, you can be on the right path to getting the project done well.

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Do Your Homework

A vintage car restoration is not a small project. So you need to take some time to figure out how much it could cost you and what you have available to spend on it. What are the tools you need for such a project? Do you have the right ones? If you know someone that has done it before, then that could come in really handy.

Choose the Right Car

Choosing the right car can be one of the trickiest parts of a car restoration. It isn’t always going to be straightforward; the chances are that you will find one with a few problems. But you don’t want to have too many problems that will cost you a lot to fix. So take your time checking out what is for sale near you. Looking up ‘car auctions near me’ could be a good idea too, as you can often get a good deal at an auction. Classified ads, local papers, and car garages can be good places to look to. Be sure to ask plenty of questions for the previous owners.

Original or Personal

When it comes to classic cars, there are some stalwarts that believe you have to recreate the car back to its original form. But will that be the route that you take? You could opt for classic, or add some personality to the car. Making a plan and deciding what you want the car to look like is really key. It can be a good idea to know what you want to do beforehand, so that you can plan the right tools and design.

Space

You might have grand plans for your car restoration, but have you thought through where it is all going to go? Do you have space in your own garage, or would you be placing the car elsewhere? If so, you’ll need to check the security of the place, as well as check on insurance (though if the car isn’t driveable yet, it can reduce the insurance).

The thing to think about is why you are doing it, as classic car restoration can take a while. It should be a labor of love, as that will make it more appealing, and get you out there each week, rather than putting it off and wasting your money.

Electric Car Maintenance

Maintenance Musts: Essential Steps Every Electric Car Owner Should Take

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Every car owner should take steps to keep their vehicle in tip-top condition. If you’re prepared to look after your car, you’re likely to save money on repairs, and your wagon will be worth more if you ever come to sell. Electric cars are a different proposition to traditional motors, but this doesn’t mean that maintenance is any less important. Here are some essentials for every electric car owner.

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Servicing

All cars, regardless of the type of technology or fuel they use, need to be serviced on a regular basis. Servicing involves a series of basic and routine checks, which are designed to ensure that the car is running well and reduce the risk of problems developing. You have to pay for a service, but keeping up to date with services could save you a huge amount of money in the long-term. Servicing an electric vehicle is often more straightforward and therefore cheaper than traditional cars, as there are fewer parts and the mechanisms are simpler. If your car is due a service, look for local garages that offer maintenance checks for electric cars.

Cleaning and polishing

If you’re a driver who takes pride in the appearance of their car, microfiber car wash towels are an excellent investment. Cleaning won’t prolong your car’s life expectancy, but it’ll make the car look more attractive, it will enhance the driving experience, and it’ll make the vehicle more marketable if you come to sell. If you use a car for business purposes, cleaning and polishing the vehicle will help to give off the right impression and enhance the appeal of your brand.

Taking care of your battery

There may be different guidelines for optimum charging for different makes and models, but it’s important to take care of your battery regardless of the type of car you drive. Nissan recommends charging the battery to 80 percent, rather than 100 percent to prolong the life of the battery. Check with the manufacturer so that you get the best out of your battery. While it may not always be the best option to drive with a full battery, it’s certainly not advisable to run your car on empty. Avoid getting to the stage where the battery is on 1 percent.

Tire tips

All drivers should check their tire pressure and tread depth on a regular basis. If your tires are worn, or they’re under-inflated, this can affect the driving experience, as well as putting you and other drivers at risk. Check the air pressure before long journeys and take a minute to inspect the surfaces of the tires. If the pressure is running low and you’ve only just pumped the tires up, you may have a slow puncture, and it’s worth trying to repair the tire or replacing it with a spare.

If you own an electric car, it makes sense to try and keep it in pristine condition for as long as possible. Taking good care of your car will enhance safety, save on repair costs and boost the value if you choose to sell.

Sustainability

4 Surefire Ways To Save Money On Your Car Usage

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It’s an inevitable fact of life that you need your car. No matter how much you try and save money by taking lifts with pals, using the good old public transport system and walking once in a while, sometimes only a car will do. A trusty four-wheeled motor also gives you the freedom to go where you want as and when you please. You can drive off the beaten track to find a secluded spot for some downtime, or you can find the quickest route to get to your mom and dads without having to change trains twice before taking a bus across the state.

The world of automotives can be a bit of a minefield. There are a ridiculous amount of cars on the market ranging from the swanky new hybrids that utilize greener and more sustainable technologies to the older, yet more affordable diesel guzzlers. No matter what your vehicle of choice is, you can save money in the way that you use your car. Read on to find out more.

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Buy New… If You Can

One strategy that car dealers swear by is to purchase new off the forecourt. Many people disagree with this stating that the moment you drive your shiny new car away from the dealer, your car has already depreciated in value. While this is true, a new car will give you the reliability and warranty you need to ensure you’re not forking out hundreds or maybe even thousands each year on maintenance. Your brand new vehicle should have at least a three-year warranty meaning that if anything breaks down or stops working during this time, you should get a free replacement. The ability to keep the car for longer before having to trade it in means that you won’t be losing money every time you swap your vehicle. It makes more economic sense to keep a vehicle for six or seven years rather than changing every two to three.

A new car is also safer. They have enhanced features such as side impact bars, computerized technologies that allow you to see behind you and intuitive braking systems that will deploy in the event of a potential accident. Older cars, while they may be cheaper, will have a higher chance of being in rear-end bumps that often mean lawyers like Babcock Partners are called in. Try to mitigate this with a newer, more reliable and safer vehicle.

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Maintenance

There are points in every car owner’s life where it feels like everything’s falling apart at once. Your car’s exhaust might be blowing, the tires threads are near the legal limit, and you need to swap a headlight. In the scheme of things, these are relatively minor outgoings to keep your car running. The bigger issues occur when the drive shafts, cam belt or gearbox need changing. If you have an older vehicle, it can often make more financial sense to purchase a whole new car rather than change a particularly expensive component.

Make sure you check out the manual of your car and complete all of the basic maintenance checks. Change the oil filters when necessary, get your car serviced at the correct intervals and always have good grippy tires on your vehicle. This can make your car more fuel efficient saving you money on gas. By keeping your car well looked after you’ll receive a premium price when you do eventually trade in.

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Common Sense

If you have a particularly busy day ahead of you ferrying the kids to swimming lessons, doing a spot of grocery shopping, checking in on the parents and popping to the library to hand back some books, make sure you’re sensible with your car usage. It makes sense to combine these tasks into one car journey rather than heading home after each one. Try to formulate a route that is the quickest and uses the least miles saving you money on fuel.

When obtaining the all-important insurance for your car, you need to shop around and not accept the first offer you’re given. Even if you’ve been with the same insurance provider for years, there’s no reward for loyalty. If you can save $200 by changing your provider and the cover is like for like then swap.

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How You Drive

You may be one of those human beings that loves nothing better than accelerating through the gears quickly and reaching the speed limit as fast as you can. While this may get you to your destination a fraction faster, you’ll also be consuming more fuel as your speed demon ways rattle up through the gears too quickly. Keep your acceleration at a more average pace to save more money on gas.

Although the thought of car sharing can make you break out in cold sweats as you might need to relinquish the driving duties once in a while, you could be cutting down your car running costs massively. If you carpool with a work colleague and share driving and car duties, you’ll logically be cutting down your fuel expenditure and car usage by half. This makes fantastic monetary sense. You’ll also be doing your admirable little bit for the environment as one less car will be on the road during rush hour traffic.

It goes without saying, but you should be driving sensibly and be the epitome of a responsible driver. Don’t allow yourself to be drawn into roadside arguments, don’t allow your frustrations with other road users lead you to drive erratically and keep to the laws of the land. Simply by using your common sense, you can save money on the roads.

While driving may be an expensive business, there are ways you can cut the costs of your car usage. Car ownership is necessary for millions, but this doesn’t mean you have to forego a decent quality of life to maintain a decent vehicle. Utilize some of these tips to ensure that you remain a thrifty, money-conscious car owner.

Nissan, Nissan e-NV200 Combi

The Nissan e-NV200 Combi: Big Car, Small Emissions

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Most of the hybrids and electric cars you see today or either the small models that hardly contain three people or they are massive, like the ones that Elon Musk is pedalling at the moment. But the Nissan e-NV200 Combi is one of those cars that is bridging the gap between small and large. It is the world’s first 7 seat MPV that is all electric. The idea for this model is to cater for shuttle services as well as appeal to large families. In this respect, the NV200 is catering for quite a niche market, so let’s put it to the test.

Nissan was one of the first firms with a mainstream EV, and this model, based on the NV200 van, is pretty much cut from the same cloth as the Nissan Leaf. As far as its power is concerned, the electric motor has a decent 107 bhp, as well as 187lb ft of torque, meaning that its modest power lends itself well to the family contingent. And while the NV200 model is considerably bigger than the Nissan Leaf, it has the same 24wHk battery that the leaf has. So if you’ve got a small family but opted for this car, you may find yourself heading to a used auto service to trade it in. And as the somewhat a limited battery power is felt at higher speeds, despite the larger front than the Leaf, the official range for the vehicle is only 106 miles.

Despite its somewhat limited range, it comes with two different charging options in both versions of the car, the Combi and the Tekna. The two charging options, the Rapid, and Rapid Plus, and while the Rapid version can take 4 hours to charge, the Rapid Plus version has a high speed 6.6Kw AC option for charging onboard. There isn’t much difference between the Combi and the Tekna, save for the 15-inch alloy wheels, as well as climate control, and the usual features like Bluetooth and so forth. The benefits of both models are that it has the Nissan Carwings Infotainment System, which includes satellite navigation, as well as a DAB radio.

The one thing you notice when taking it out for a spin is that it’s so quiet, as well as it being without a diesel engine, and no manual gearbox. This means that negotiating heavy traffic is easy work. And while the van is able to keep up with other high-speed traffic, the top speed of 76 miles per hour can be a bit of a problem. It’s also important to remember that other factors will drain the battery. The one major issue is that if you are driving in hot weather, the climate control will put a lot of pressure on the battery.

But, as far as a family car is concerned, this is certainly one of the front-runners in the category of “driving five or more kids to the game”, but with its limited capabilities, it appears more useful in shuttling people back and forth, rather than long, strenuous journeys.

Porsche

Important Care Tips for Your New Porsche

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If you have splashed out on a stunning new Porsche, you will want to care for it properly so that it look as good as new for as long as possible. After all, a gorgeous vehicle like that deserves some serious TLC. However, despite your best intentions, if you don’t go about looking after your Porsche correctly, you could end up causing more damage than good. With that in mind, read on for some top tips.

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  • Dealing with steam – Is your vehicle steamed up? You may need to shift the seat and move the carpets for this one. It’s also a good idea to check the bottom edge of the door panels. If you have a Porsche Boxster996 especially, this is a critical maintenance tip. This is because your Electrical Control unit is situated under the left seat, which means that steam can actually be dangerous. After all, the EC unit coming into contact with stream is the last thing you want for your new vehicle. Nonetheless, steam is something that can impact all models, so don’t overlook the importance of this. It’s also worth pointing out that the 996 Cabrio and all Boxster models have drains underneath the soft top, which need to be kept clear.
  • Choose cleaning products with care – No doubt, cleaning your new Porsche will become your new favourite hobby on the weekend. Nonetheless, the last thing you want to do is scratch your new car or leave it with smudges or covered in a sticky residue. This could easily happen if you don’t choose your cleaning products with care. A good place to start is with Test Facts best spray wax page. You will discover more about the 12 best spray waxes on the market, including information about the features of each product, helping you to choose the best one for your Porsche. You can also find such information on all of the other cleaning products you need. Reading reviews from other Porsche owners comes highly recommended too.
  • Check the brakes – Have you purchased a second hand Porsche? If so, you should check your brake discs as soon as possible. You’re checking for corrosion! Most of the damage tends to be at the back of the brake, which is annoyingly the part that you can’t see. Other signs that your brakes could be rusty is if your experience a slight vibration whenever you brake.
  • Check the tyres – Last but not least, checking tyre pressure is a given with any vehicle. Nonetheless, you also need to carefully check the edges of the tyres too. Grip is going to reduce, as the tyres get older, because the rubber deteriorates. Therefore, checking the integrity of the tyres is especially important if you have opted for a used Porsche.

Needless to say, you will want to give your Porsche the love and attention it deserves. Use the tips that have been mentioned above to ensure your Porsche sparkles brightly and works amazingly for years and years to come.