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Selling your Car – the popular options

Selling a used car is a situtation that most motorists will be faced with at some time in their driving lifetime. For a vast majority of sellers the sales process will run smoothly without any hassle or issue. How you sell your car is up to you. The three main choices are:

Private Sale (possibly via AutoTrader, Gumtree, eBay etc)

WeWantAnyCar or similar used vehicle acquisition company

Trade In – with a garage where you’re buying your new car

All three disposal methods have their pros and cons. Whichever method you choose – obtaining a vehicle history report from a company like MyCarCheck could help accelerate the sale. It is quite probable that any potential buyers will obtain a report before viewing your car – so forewarned is forearmed. If they haven’t taken the precaution and purchased a report themselves – presenting them with one may instil confidence in both you and the car.

Premium Reports

MyCarCheck.com vehicle history reports highlight if a car has been stolen, exported, written-off, scrapped & much more from just £1.99 (correct Mar 2019). Presenting a potential buyer with a MyCarCheck report adds confidence to the sale and may hopefully help in securing the transaction.

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MyCarCheck.com

Check MOT and Vehicle Tax

MOT

Before you advertise your vehicle, check the time remaining on your MOT. If there’s only a few weeks left before it expires – book it in. Selling a car with 12 months MOT is well worth the cost of the test fee (less than £50). Buyer’s may be put off if your car only has a month or two left before the MOT expires.

Vehicle Tax

Vehicle Tax is no longer transferable when a car is sold. That practice stopped in 2014. The seller can get a REFUND of any time remaining on the vehicle Tax. Details of obtaining a refund for Vehicle Tax can be found on the GOV.uk website (5). If you’re not too sure when you car tax expires check it here. The DVLA will give you a refund on any full months remaining.

Trade In

A Trade In is the simplest method. The garage will hopefully offer a trade in price similar to that offered by WeBuyAnyCar or similar car buying service. However, this price will be quite a bit less than a seller could get on the Private Market.

Car Buying Service

The WeWantAnyCar /other car buying service option is also fairly simple. Enter your vehicle’s registration number to an online service and answer a few simple questions. Within a few seconds the company offer a realistic purchase price – assuming all questions have been answered honestly. The car is then taken to one of their local inspection centres. At this point don’t be surprised to see the valuation decreased if the inspector finds any issues not reported in the initial submission.

Private Sale

Selling Privately will get the most money for your used car – maybe as much as 15% more. But, it can be a little daunting. Where should you place the adverts? How should payment be accepted? What about test drives and insurance? There is an excellent article on the MoneyAdviceService.org (1) website that gives loads of information about selling a car privately. Also refer to “How to sell a Car” on The AA’s website (2). They have some excellent advice regarding test drives, accepting payment, checking insurance, avoiding phishing scams etc.

The Seller’s Legal Obligation

Legally there’s not many things the seller is obliged to do. The essential things are registering the sale with the DVLA and giving the new owner a receipt.

The main thing is to give the green ‘new keeper’s details’ slip (V5C/2) from the log book to the buyer. DVLA guidelines can be found on the GOV.uk website (3)

It’s also advisable to write a receipt. Create two copies. Keep one for yourself and give the other to the buyer. The receipt should include the date, price paid, vehicle registration number, make and model and mileage at time of sale.  Also include both addresses. The AA have a “Car Seller’s Contract” (4) that can be download and printed

Accepting Payment

There are loads of resources online that give sound advice on accepting payment for your car. Most agree that BACS transfer or cash are still the best options. Be wary of anyone asking to make payment with Building Society cheque, ESCROW payment or Banker’s Draft – all can be forged. A genuine buyer will respect a seller’s caution and will understand that the vehicle won’t be handed over until funds have cleared. Don’t be pushed in to accepting some story about bank delays or similar.

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Affiliated Partners

External Resources

MoneySavingExpert – selling a car privately – some good advice

AA – How to sell a car

GOV – guidelines regarding selling or scraping a vehicle

AA – Seller’s Contract

GOV – obtaining a Vehicle Tax refund

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Selling your Car – the popular options published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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Get an MOT reminder

How many times have you used an MOT checking service only to discover your MOT has already expired. I used to rely on my local garage to call me a few weeks before the MOT was due, but they’ve not got the time, or maybe couldn’t be bothered, to offer that service anymore

Email or Text Reminder

Well good news is here – the GOV.uk website now offers a FREE to use MOT reminder service. It’s simple to use and I have now used it for both our work vans, my motorbike and both our family cars. The service offered by GOV.uk is simple to use and is currently being offered to owners of cars, motorbikes, lorries, buses and lorry trailers. All you need either an email address or mobile phone number.

How does it work

Before you start you will need

The vehicle registration number

An email address for the reminder email or a mobile phone number for the text reminder

Step 1

Choose the type of reminder you wish to receive

Step 2

Enter the email address or mobile phone number for the reminder message

Step 3

Enter the registration number of the vehicle you want the reminder  email / text for

Step 4

Confirm this is the correct vehicle – do NOT proceed if you have entered the wrong number plate details .. start again

Now just press CONTINUE and you will receive your MOT reminder by text or email. For cars and motorbikes – you’ll receive a reminder one month before your MOT due date. You will then get another reminder 2 weeks before your MOT is due (if you’ve not already had it tested and passed). For lorries, buses and lorry trailers – you’ll will receive your reminder 2 months before your MOT due date. You will receive another 1 month before your MOT is due if you still have NOT had the vehicle MOT tested.

Sign Up Now and never miss another MOT due date

If you would like to take part in the MOT reminder service please proceed to the GOV.uk website.

  Premium Service

MyCarCheck

MyCarCheck.com vehicle history reports highlight if a car has been stolen, exported, written-off, scrapped & much more from just £1.99 (correct Jan 2019). Buy your next used vehicle with confidence. MyCarCheck.com can reveal a vehicle’s full history, enabling you to make a more informed decision. Don’t be taken for a ride – discover a vehicle’s hidden history.

The post Get an MOT reminder appeared first on Is my CAR … ?.

Get an MOT reminder published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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2019 Vehicle Tax changes

Officially known as VED (Vehicle Excise Duty) or Vehicle Tax as most people still refer to it is set to increase on April 1st 2019. The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave forewarning of these increases in the Budget – stating that the rises were in line with inflation. Quoting from the Budget “1.40 (gov.uk). Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) – rates for cars, vans and motorcycles. As announced at Budget 2018, the government will legislate in Finance Bill 2018-19 to increase VED rates for cars, vans, motorcycles and motorcycle trade licences by the Retail Prices Index with effect from 1 April 2019″

What will you pay

The amount of vehicle excise duty charged is based on your vehicle’s CO2 emissions and fuel type (for cars registered on or after 1 March 2001*) The Bands are different for NEW cars – registered on or after 1st April 2019 – compared to cars registered between 1st March 2001 and March 31st 2019

Note : for cars registered before 1 March 2001 the vehicle tax rates depend on its’ engine size, not CO2 emissions.

Cars Registered March 1st 2001 – March 31st 2019

The CO2 emissions rates are banded from A to M. According the the Government’s Vehicle Licensing statistics (external link) of 2016 the most popular bands are F and G. Those with cars registered before April 1st 2019 in these groups – with CO2 emissions from 141-165 g/km – can expect an increase of £5. Band F will increase from £155 to £160 and Band G will increase from £195 to £200. Those with cars in Bands 1,2 and 3 will be happy to see their rates remain the same.

New Cars – registered on/after 1st April 2019

For new car buyers – registering their vehicle after April 1st 2019 the changes are more considerable. Cars in Bands A to C also remain the same. Vehicles in Bands D to H will increase by just £5 (covering CO2 emissions from 76 to 150 g/km). The remain Bands increase accordingly – Band I by £15, Band J by £25,  Band K by £40, Band L by £55 and Band M by £65

Want to know more

There are plenty of good online resources with further details of these VED increases. One of the most informative is this feature by thismoney.co.uk – including some very useful VED Band Comparison tables 2018/19 versus 2019/20

Check your Vehicle Tax

If after reading this you find yourself wondering if you’re car is taxed then please visit our free online vehicle tax checker. Simply enter your registration number to confirm whether or not your car has valid Vehicle Tax

The post 2019 Vehicle Tax changes appeared first on Is my CAR … ?.

2019 Vehicle Tax changes published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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Why Check the History of a Vehicle

Check BEFORE you buy

First and foremost, if you inadvertently purchase a vehicle that has been stolen the authorities can return it to the legal owner (or their insurance company) WITHOUT compensating you – the innocent party. Similarly, if you purchase a car with outstanding finance associated to it – that debt transfers to you. The average amount of outstanding finance on vehicles checked by HPI Check is over £9K!

For these two reasons alone there is a very clear and legally motivated reason to obtain a vehicle history report BEFORE you commit to buying a used vehicle (car, motorbike or van). For less than the price of a pizza a detailed vehicle history report will highlight any outstanding finance and many more important issues

Information Provided

The level of information obtained from a vehicle history report depends on the report purchased. Most companies offer entry level “basic”  reports and then a more comprehensive full featured report. With MyCarCheck you have the choice of three levels of report.

Bundled Reports – several vehicles at once

If you are considering several cars be certain to take advantage of their BULK report services. At the time of writing this post MyCarCheck have some great BUNDLED reports on offer. With this company you can get as many as 20 x vehicle checks for less than £3 each.

Premium Service

MyCarCheck.com

MyCarCheck.com vehicle history reports highlight if a car has been stolen, exported, written-off, scrapped & much more from just £1.99

Premium Service

HPI Check

HPI Check – popular vehicle checking service from under £10. Premium service comes with £30,000 data guarantee for peace of mind.

Selecting a Vehicle History Report

There are many online businesses that offer a comprehensive vehicle history report service. At IsMyCar.co.uk we have reviewed the offerings of 5 such companies. The two that we have chosen as our online partners are HPI Check and MyCarCheck.

HPI Check

HPI have been providing the histories of used vehicles since 1938 and are the market leaders in vehicle history checks. HPI are focused on giving used car buyers the right information at the right time. Their reports help customers make an informed decision when buying a used car, van or bike. By following the information provided by the HPI Check the car buying experience should be as pain-free as possible.

MyCarCheck

My Car Check is the UK’s number one consumer vehicle check provider. They claim to have helped millions of used vehicle buyers since their creation in 2005. It’s not restricted to car history checks – they can also check the history of motorcycles, vans – any vehicle carrying a Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM).

Their comprehensive report provides over 70 vital pieces of information all used vehicle buyers should be aware of. This includes if the vehicle is a write-off, is registered as stolen, has outstanding finance and many more. The information MyCarCheck provide comes from sources such as the DVLA, the police, insurers and finance companies.

HPI Check - sample Vehicle History Report

The graphic below shows some of the important checks included in a vehicle history report from HPI Check. To get more details please view their online Sample Report Here

MyCarCheck - sample Vehicle History Report

This chart highlights the key checks included in a vehicle history report from MyCarCheck. To get more details please view their online vehicle history checking service here

More Services from IsMyCar.co.uk

Visitors to the IsMyCar.co.uk website may be interested in the following motoring topics

MOT Status – check your car’s MOT status here

MOT History – get an up to date MOT history for any vehicle

Vehicle Tax – does your car have valid road tax

Report Untaxed Car – use this form to report an untaxed car

MOT rules 2018 – summary of the new MOT rules (May 2018)

Number Plate Cloning – what to do if your number plate is cloned

Pre-MOT checks. A few things to check yourself before booking your car’s MOT

Popular MOT Failures – Avoid the most common causes for an MOT fail

Stolen Cars – How to avoid buying a STOLEN car

Write Offs – Check if a car has been WRITTEN OFF

Write Off Categories – What’s the difference between Category C (now S) or Category D (now N)

External References

Some of the references in this post have been sourced from the following respected online authorities

Citizen’s Advice – what to do if you’ve bought a stolen goods

GOV.uk – what to do if your vehicle has been stolen

The post Why Check the History of a Vehicle appeared first on Is my CAR … ?.

Why Check the History of a Vehicle published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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New Affiliate – WeWantAnyCar.com

IsMyCar.co.uk is pleased to announce a new affiliation with WeWantAnyCar. Offering a free online valuation with over 70 stores around the UK. WeWantAnyCar take the hassle out of selling your car. Avoid the scammers and fraudsters and sell your car to WeWantAnyCar. As a CASH buyer you’re certain to get a better deal on your new car

Get a FREE online valuation

The purpose of WeWantAnyCar is to save car owners time and hassle usually associated to selling a car. They understand how frustrating selling a car can be, which is why they value your car for free in a few simple steps, and once you’re happy with the valuation, they will buy it off you – it’s as simple as that. If you want to get a great deal for your unwanted car please try WeWantAnyCar’s online car buying service (direct link) and get a free online valuation today.

Affiliated Partners

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More Services from IsMyCar.co.uk

Visitors to the IsMyCar.co.uk website may be interested in the following motoring topics

MOT checker – FREE

MOT – get an up to date MOT history for any vehicle

Vehicle Tax – check car tax, check motorbike road tax, check van’s road tax

Report an untaxed vehicle

The new MOT rules (May 2018)

Number plate cloning is on the increase – what to do if your car registration is cloned

Pre-MOT checks. A few things to check yourself before booking your car’s MOT

The most common MOT failures

STOLEN car checker – stolen motorbike checker – stolen van checker

WRITTEN OFF vehicle checker – Category C (now S) or Category D (now N)

Affiliated Partners

HPI Check

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HPI Check – HPI are the market leaders in vehicle history checks. They are all about giving used car buyers the right information at the right time when buying a used car, van or bike. By following HPI’s advice, doing an HPI Check, and buying prudently, the car buying experience should be as pain-free as possible.

MyCarCheck

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Check before you buy – Buying a car is a big deal so buy with confidence. MyCarCheck.com can reveal a vehicle’s full history, enabling you to make a more informed decision. Discover a vehicle’s hidden history, if it’s been written off or stolen and much more …

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New Affiliate – WeWantAnyCar.com published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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Fines for driving without Vehicle Tax 2018

The basic penalty for driving without relevant vehicle tax (road tax as it used to be known) is £80 if imposed by the DVLA. If you make a payment to the DVLA within 28 days it can be halved. HOWEVER – if you fail to pay this initial £80 fine and the case goes to court you could pay up to £1000 or 5 times the vehicle’s road tax fee ! The fines are considerably higher if caught by the POLICE driving / parking on the public highway with an untaxed vehicle.

Summary of Fines

£80 if imposed by the DVLA. This can increase to £1000 or 5 times you car’s annual vehicle tax if the case goes to court

Up to £1000 if caught by the Police by way of fixed penalty notice. Please refer to our article on Clamping Untaxed Vehicles

In a worst case scenario vehicles may be clamped or even impounded. If your car is clamped getting it released early is paramount – otherwise the daily charges rapidly accrue.

What if your Vehicle is Road Tax FREE

This is where a lot of people are falling foul of the law – drivers of NIL-RATED low emission vehicles. Every vehicle that drives on the UK roads (with a few exceptions) needs to be taxed – even those that are Vehicle Tax exempt. MoneySavingExpert.com obtained some interesting facts under the freedom of information act from the DVLA. More than 34,000 drivers were issued with penalties for failing to “tax” their NIL RATED vehicles. It’s an interesting article and it can be found in full here – Warning – 34,000 fined last year for not taxing vehicles which are FREE to tax. The bottom line is – whether your vehicle is nil-rated or not – you MUST complete a vehicle tax application on the DOV.UK website (or atyour local Post Office)

Check Vehicle Tax status

Easy – use our vehicle tax checker found here or go direct to the GOV.UK website. In the days of Tax Discs it was easy – a quick glance at the Tax Disc on your windscreen and you knew if your Road Tax was in date or not. The phasing out of the tax disc has left a lot of motorists confused. The biggest group of confused drivers are those driving ZERO

Report an Untaxed Vehicle

It is a motoring offence to drive an untaxed vehicle on UK roads unless it is exempt from taxation. If you are aware of an untaxed vehicle being driven (or simply parked) on a UK road then you may report it to the authorities. Report an untaxed vehicle with this anonymous service. The matter will be investigated by the DVLA.

Affiliated Partners

HPI Check

var uri = 'https://track.webgains.com/link.html?wglinkid=321239&wgcampaignid=1309945&js=1&nw=1'; document.write('<sc'+'ript language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="'+uri+'">'+'ript>');

HPI Check – HPI are the market leaders in vehicle history checks. They are all about giving used car buyers the right information at the right time when buying a used car, van or bike. By following HPI’s advice, doing an HPI Check, and buying prudently, the car buying experience should be as pain-free as possible.

MyCarCheck

var myTarget='https://track.webgains.com/click.html?wglinkid=724497&wgcampaignid=1309945&js=0'; var uri = 'https://track.webgains.com/link.html?wglinkid=724497&wgcampaignid=1309945'; document.write('<a href="'+myTarget+'" target="_blank" onMouseOver="window.status=\'https://www.mycarcheck.com/\';return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=\'\'"><img src="'+uri+'" width="300" height="250" border="0" alt=""/>');

Check before you buy – Buying a car is a big deal so buy with confidence. MyCarCheck.com can reveal a vehicle’s full history, enabling you to make a more informed decision. Discover a vehicle’s hidden history, if it’s been written off or stolen and much more …

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More Services from IsMyCar.co.uk

Visitors to the IsMyCar.co.uk website may be interested in the following motoring topics

Check MOT here – FREE

MOT – get an up to date MOT history for any vehicle

Check Vehicle Tax here – FREE

Report an untaxed vehicle

The new MOT rules (May 2018)

Number plate cloning is on the increase – what to do if your car registration is cloned

Pre-MOT checks. A few things to check yourself before booking your car’s MOT

What are the most popular causes of MOT failure?

STOLEN car checker

STOLEN van checker

STOLEN motorbike checker

Is my car WRITTEN OFF – Category C (now S) or Category D (now N)

The post Fines for driving without Vehicle Tax 2018 appeared first on Is my CAR … ?.

Fines for driving without Vehicle Tax 2018 published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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Cloned Registration Plates

An undeserved driving penalty arrives

A car owner receives a letter informing them that their car has been captured on CCTV driving over the Dartford bridge 5 times. The authority in charge is demanding the payment of a £100 fine. However, the driver hasn’t been anywhere near that area for 18 months. Something has gone wrong. The car owner needs to act quickly. Has the innocent car owner’s number plate been cloned? Is it in use on a similar vehicle?

ANPR fault or Cloned plates

For the example above – assuming the vehicle has genuinely not been near the Dartford tunnel the options are either:

The ANPR system (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) has made a mistake. It does happen sometimes. However, it’s unlikely that the system has incorrectly associated someone else’s registration number to the SAME model of car as the innocent driver on multiple occassions.

The Vehicle Registration number plate has been CLONED. Someone has fraudulently produced number plates that are a correct match for their vehicle make and model (or a model very similar). For example, the innocent driver has a Navy Blue Ford Fiesta registration ABC123Y. The fraudster either owns, or often rents, the same make & model. They then fit the cloned plates and driving arond committing their offences.

What to do if you’ve been Cloned

If you have been incorrectly identified as the driver committing a driving offence you will need to prove your innocence. Convince the authorities that your vehicle was NOT in the area concerned at the time of the offence. Maybe you were parked in a local car park with CCTV. Maybe you were using your vehicle for work in your area – miles from where the offence was committed. Collect as much evidence as you can to support your claim of innocence. Make the suggestion that your number plates must have been cloned.

If you believe your number plate has been cloned contact your local police authority and the DVLA.

Please support our Affiliated Partners

Check before you buy – Buying a car is a big deal so buy with confidence. MyCarCheck.com can reveal a vehicle’s full history, enabling you to make a more informed decision. Discover a vehicle’s hidden history. Find out if a car been written off or stolen and much more?

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Avoid buying a Cloned Vehicle

As many as 1 in 3 cars have a hidden past. When buying a car for many thousands of £’s surely it’s just a matter of common sense to pay for a car data check to ensure the vehicle you are buying has nothing to hide. Popular car data checks will check to see if your car has ever been stolen, whether it has valid vehicle tax, obtain a full MOT history and much more. Please consider using one of the services offered by our affiliated partners below.

Please support our Affiliated Partners

Check before you buy – Buying a car is a big deal so buy with confidence. MyCarCheck.com can reveal a vehicle’s full history, enabling you to make a more informed decision. Discover a vehicle’s hidden history, if it’s been written off or stolen and much more …

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How do criminals get the plates made

When purchasing registration plates from a respectable source the company will ask for evidence the customer is the legal owner of the vehicle. A registered number plate supplier will ask to see evidence of the following

Your personal identity eg. Driving Licence or Passport

Your address eg. utility bill, bank statement

Proof of vehicle ownership eg V5C or similar

The GOV.uk site can help you to identify your nearest registered number plate supplier – just enter your post code here (external link)

The criminals method

Criminals take advantage of unscrupulous individuals who bypass the system and manufacture the registration plates WITHOUT undertaking any of the checks detailed above. A recent (Sept 2018) BBC programme – Inside Out – tracked several such businesses and highlighted just how easy it is to get hold of illegall cloned number plates. For more details please see the BBC report on cloning number plates (external link)

The post Cloned Registration Plates appeared first on Is my CAR … ?.

Cloned Registration Plates published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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2018 – Top 4 MOT Failures

It’s that time of the year again and your car is due an MOT. If you’re not too sure when your vehicles MOT is due, please use the MOT checker here. As many as 40% of vehicles FAIL their MOT test on the first attempt (*1). MOT re-tests are generally free – but it’s time, hassle and inconvenience many drivers could avoid.

Any labour involved in refilling your washer water, changing a bulb or wiper blade will be charged at the garage’s regular rate. Also – you will be charged a premium for any parts required to get your car through the MOT

Affiliated Partner

National Tyres and Autocare is the largest independent fast fit specialist in the UK. Our highly trained technicians are specialists in vehicle parts repair including tyres, exhausts, brakes, batteries, MOT testing and vehicle safety inspections. We have a network of over 200 branches throughout the UK.

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Common Reasons for MOT Failure

Here’s the list of most common reasons for MOT failure and some guidelines to help get your car through the MOT. You may also find our MOT Self-Checks guide useful before booking your car in for it’s MOT test.

The data below has been compiled from the GOV.uk website’s data – an external link can be found at the bottom of this post. It’s quite amazing to see that nearly 1 in 5 cars fail an MOT due to a blown lightbulb or similar.

1) Lights & Signalling – approx 20%

This covers all aspects of illumination and signalling. Don’t forget to check the following

Brake lights

Indicators

Number plate light

Revering light

Headlights & sidelights

If your car has plastic lens covers check that they are not misted over – this will affect the efficiency of the headlights and may lead to a failure. Headlight cleaning kits are available from stores such as Halfords. If the lens cover is glass – check it for cracks and chips.

2) Suspension – approx 10-15%

If you do find something wrong with your suspension it’s worth getting it repaired BEFORE the MOT test. This way you have the opportunity to get a couple of quotes and get the best price. Suspension problems manifest themselves in various ways – sometimes subtle, other times very obvious. Knocking, clunking or banging – especially when turning a tight corner or driving over a speed bump or pothole – can be an indicator of a suspension problem.

Push and Bounce

The old way of checking a cars suspension – before the days of electronically controlled dampers etc – was to push down hard on each corner of the car. The desied result is for the car to dip down once, under pressure of the push, then return to the original position. The undesired result is for the car to bounce several times before settling ack down.

Get a Professional to check

If you think you may have an issue with your suspension, please get a professional mechanic at your local garage or auto-centre to check it out for you.

Affiliated Partner

Win a Supercar? Every week someone is guaranteed to win a BOTB Dream Car. In the past 19 years there have been over 400 winners, taking home over £23 million worth of prizes. Use your Spot the Ball skill for a chance to win The Best of the Best

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3) Tyre Condition & Pressure – approx 10%

This is something most people can check themselves. Key points to look out for are :

Correct tyre pressures – refer to owners manual or sometimes inside the door pillars or petrol flap.

Check minimum tread depth. The minimum tread for a car is 1.6mm. Most modern tyres have a convenient tyre wear tread depth indicator strip. Look inside one of the deep treads running around the tyre and you should be able to locate a wear indicator – running at 90 degrees to the tread. If the main tread is at the same height – or lower – than the wear indicator the tyre will fail an MOT.

Look for obvious damage to the tyre such as cuts in the sidewall, bulges or even nails, tacks or similar stuck in the tread.

4) Brakes & Braking System – 10%

1 in 10 cars fail an MOT due to brake related issues. Similar to your car’s suspension, this is better left to a qualified mechanic. There are some basic things a driver can check themselves.

Does the car pull to one side when braking hard? If so, book it in to your local garage or auto-centre before the MOT.

Check brake fluid levels. Before booking your car in for an MOT check the level of brake fluid in the resevoir. There should be easily defined MAX and MIN levels on the side of the brake fluid resevoir. if you are having to top up the brake fluid regularly – then you should get the car looked at. It is NOT normal to have to top up brake fluid more than once a year or so – if that.

Affiliated Partner

CarParts4Less? CarParts4Less.co.uk is one of the largest online car and van parts store in the UK. We have a complete selection of high quality car parts for a wide range of makes and models – offered at the lowest prices

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External References

*1) MOT Testing Data – GOV.uk

Top 10 MOT Failures – RAC

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2018 – Top 4 MOT Failures published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/

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Clamping cars with unpaid Vehicle Tax

Walking around my home town in Norfolk the other day I noticed 8 cars – all wheel clamped with UNPAID VEHICLE tax notices on their windscreens. These drivers have been caught with out of date car tax. It’s an offence to keep a vehicle on the UK roads without valid vehicle tax – or declaring SORN (statutory off road notice). Don’t join these drivers and face considerable fines. If you don’t know if your car has valid vehicle tax use the car tax checker (free).

Who Clamped these Cars?

Only the following authorised bodies can wheel clamp a vehicle – including:

the police

councils

DVLA

VOSA

bodies with statutory or other powers (e.g. airports or train stations)

What’s the penalty?

At the time of writing this post – the minimum release fee is £100 if settled within 24 hours. After 24 hours it goes up to £200. As well as the FINE the driver has to either buy vehicle tax or declare the vehicle SORN. If the car has been impounded the daily storage charge is £21 – in addition to the £100/£200 fine. More details can be found at the DVLA Notice Payment System (external link)

What happens if the fine is NOT paid?

Simply put, if a driver fails to pay the fine they will receive a letter informing them that their car will be sold / disposed unless all fees are paid. In addition to losing the vehicle, the owner could also be fined a further £1000

Get a Clamp Removed

What to do if your car’s Clamped

When a vehicle is clamped due to unpaid vehicle tax a sticker and leaflet should be left on your windscreen. The leaflet is an INF32 and it gives details fo the telephone number to call to have the wheel clamp removed. An example of an INF32 (pdf file) > inf_32-unpaid-vehicle-tax

What if it’s been impounded

If your vehicle has been removed and taken to a pound then you should follow these guidelines –

find out where your vehicle is

pay a release fee

show confirmation or a receipt to prove you’ve paid your vehicle tax

If you don’t know where your car is – contact your local police station by calling 101 and asking for your local police. Alternatively call the NSL on 0843 224 1999 (up to 7p / minute plus connection fees on mobile)

More Information on clamp removal / vehicle recovery

To find out more about having a wheel clamp removed or recovering your car following removal please visit the DVLA – get a wheel clamp removed …

External References

DVLA – Wheel clamp removal

Car Tax Enforcement

NSL – Service Enforcement

The post Clamping cars with unpaid Vehicle Tax appeared first on Is my CAR … ?.

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Pre-MOT checks – Do It Yourself

You’ve just used the MOT checker and your car’s MOT is about to expire – don’t panic. There’s some simple things to check yourself before booking your vehicle for an MOT.

If you have NO experience in car maintenance and would rather leave it all in the hands of the experts – do precisely that and book your car in for it’s MOT now.

Still here? good, that means you don’t mind taking a peek under your car’s bonnet and are prepared to check some basic MOT failure points before the test.

The Basics – no skill required

There are some things that practically anyone can check before taking a car for an MOT. It’s really annoying if your car fails an MOT because there’s no windscreen washer water or the horn is not working. Things to check that require virtually no mechanical skill

Screen Wash is topped up and the jets are free to squirt

The Horn is working

The windscreen wipers are working and the rubber blades are free from damage

Check the seat belts are all free of damage for example fraying

Ensure the inertia device is working – pull firmly on the belt and check that it locks – and then releases when the pressure is removed

Check the grip on the tyres is more than 1.6mm (about the thickness of a 20p). Some tyres have wear indicators to help perform this check. The grip should be proud of the wear indicators

Take a look at the tyres on the front and back. Check they are the same style, preferably make and model.

Does your car have a spare tyre? If so, it must be road legal

Check your lights for cracks or obvious damage

Test the headlights on all settings

Test the indicators

Test the brake lights

Test the reversing light

Test the registration plate light

Bodywork – check that there are no sharp edges or anything else that could hurt a pedestrian

Check you can open and close all doors from both inside and out

Braking System

The expert MOT mechanics have machines dedicated to testing the effectiveness of your brakes. But, just like the list above, there’s no point failing the MOT on something you can check. A little bit of auto knowledge is required here, but not too much. You need to know where the brake fluid reservoir is …

Check the level of brake fluid is between the minimum and maximum markers on the reservoir. If it’s too low, carefully top it up, or ask the garage to do that before they do the MOT

Pull the handbrake on and check it does not click more than a few times … if it clicks half a dozen times or more before engaging the handbrake it needs adjusting

To release the handbrake the button should not require excessive force

Steering, Exhaust and Shocks

Like the brakes, these can only really be tested by the MOT experts at the MOT test centre. You will often see people pressing down on each quarter corner of the car – lookign for excessive bounce, an indicator there’s a problem with a shock absorber. Personally, I’d leave these bits to the professionals

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MOT Checker

Enter your vehicle’s registration number to check if your car, bike or van has a valid MOT certificate. This service is FREE. The data is provided by the Vehicle Licence Enquiry service (.gov.uk)

Check MOT here

TAX Checker

Enter your vehicle’s registration number to check if your car, bike or van has a valid Vehicle Tax. This service is FREE. The data is provided by the Vehicle Licence Enquiry service (.gov.uk)

Check TAX here

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[sabrinahawkins]

Classic Car Racing at Silverstone

Where could you possibly hope to watch over 1,000 classic cars compete against each other in more than 20 races and demonstrations? At the Silverstone Classic 2018 from Friday 20th July for 3 action packed classic car racing days.

It all kicks off at 9am on Friday with Historic Formula Junior (1958-1960) Qualifying Round followed at 9:32am by the Stirling Moss Trophy For Pre ’61 Sports Cars- Qualifying Round. Friday is mostly set aside for qualifying rounds leading to Saturday and Sunday’s racing. However – Silverstone have added some great demonstrations to Friday’s itinerary including the Legends of Modern Formula One at 1:25pm.

Photo courtesy of Beacon Hill Garage - Classic Race Car preparation.

Saturday & Sunday – Non-Stop Racing

The first race for this years Silversone Classic is the Jim Clark Trophy For Historic Formula Junior (1958-1960) on Saturday morning at 9:03am followed by Race 2 – Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy For Historic Cars (Pre ’63 GT)at 9:40. Eleven races in all on Saturday and a further Ten classic car races on the Sunday. Watch the very best classics from the mid 40’s to early 70’s with everything from single seater Formula 1 cars to Touring Cars and even two wheels with the World GP Bike Legends.

Silverstone Classic

Tickets sell out very quickly for this hugely popular event. Visit the official site now to book your tickets to the Silverstone Classic

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Tax Exempt

Do you drive a Classic Car? Is it exempt from Vehicle Tax? Enter your vehicle’s registration number to check if your car, bike or van is Exempt from Vehicle Tax. This service is FREE. The data is provided by the Vehicle Licence Enquiry service (.gov.uk)

The post Classic Car Racing at Silverstone appeared first on Is my CAR … ?.

Classic Car Racing at Silverstone published first on https://www.ismycar.co.uk/