How do I de-ice a car properly and safely?
The right order, why the boiling water shortcut costs a windscreen, and the two minutes the night before that saves ten in the morning.
beginner15 min4 min read
Motoring
Faults, tyres, servicing, insurance, tax and the paperwork — for people who own a car rather than work on them. These guides explain what is happening and what it means for you, and say plainly when a job belongs to a garage. They are not repair manuals, and they recommend no insurer, lender or product.
206 guides
How do I fit a child car seat correctly?
Getting the seat matched to the child and the car, fitting it without movement, and the harness checks that decide whether it works.
intermediate45 min5 min readHow do I buy a used car without being caught out?
The order to do things in, the free online checks that catch most problems, and the questions that separate a good private sale from a bad one.
intermediate4 hr4 min readHow do I know when my brake pads need changing?
How to tell a harmless morning squeal from a worn-pad squeal from metal-on-metal, what a soft or long pedal is telling you, and the three symptoms that mean stop rather than book it in.
beginner15 min5 min readWhat should I keep in a car in winter?
The kit that matters if you are stopped for hours, the kit that stops you being stopped, and where to keep each.
beginner30 min4 min readWho should be the main driver on a car insurance policy?
What the main driver actually means, why adding a named driver sometimes lowers a premium and sometimes raises it, and the line between an honest arrangement and fronting.
beginner20 min6 min readWhy will my car not start?
Working out from what the car does when you turn the key whether it is the battery, the fuel, the immobiliser or something that needs a garage.
beginner20 min4 min readCan I drive someone else's car on my own insurance?
Where the driving other cars extension came from, why it is now rare, what it covers when it does exist, and the one document that settles it.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I change a tyre?
Loosen before lifting, lift on the right point, and the motorway exception that matters most.
intermediate45 min3 min readHow do I check a car over before a long drive?
Ten minutes on tyres, fluids and lights that prevents most roadside breakdowns.
beginner20 min2 min readWhat do the warning lights on my dashboard mean?
The colour code that tells you how urgent a light is, the handful of red lights that mean stop now, and how to tell a fault from a reminder.
beginner10 min4 min readWhat does a car service actually include?
Interim, full and major services are marketing names, not standards. What each one usually covers, how a service differs from an MOT, and how to tell a real schedule from a padded invoice.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat does a no-claims discount actually do?
How years accumulate, what protecting it does and does not do, and why a small claim can cost more than it pays.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat is PCP car finance and how does it actually work?
The structure of a personal contract purchase, what a balloon payment or guaranteed future value is really doing, and the three choices at the end of the agreement.
beginner20 min6 min readWhat is the difference between comprehensive, third party fire and theft, and third party cover?
What each of the three levels actually pays for, which of them covers your own car, and why comprehensive is not automatically the dearer choice.
beginner15 min5 min readWhat should I do if my car breaks down?
The order of actions that keeps you safe, why the hard shoulder is not a place to work, and what changes on a smart motorway.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat should I never leave in a hot car?
A parked car reaches temperatures far above the outdoor air within minutes. The short list of things that become dangerous, the longer list that simply gets ruined, and why the dashboard is the worst place of all.
beginner12 min6 min readHow do I check a used car's history before I buy it?
What the free checks reveal, what only a paid history check will show, and what Category A, B, S and N actually mean when a car comes back as a write-off.
beginner25 min5 min readWhat actually happens after I report a car accident to my insurer?
The order things happen in, who does what, where the delays come from, and the decision points where you actually have a say.
beginner25 min6 min readWhat does a car actually cost per year to run?
Seven cost pots, only one of which is fuel. How to build the real annual figure for your own car, including the depreciation nobody sees leaving the account.
beginner30 min3 min readCan my puncture be repaired, or does the tyre have to be replaced?
Where on a tyre a repair is legally permitted, the size limit, why sidewalls and shoulders can never be repaired, and what a run-flat or a sealant kit changes.
beginner12 min5 min readDo I have to insure a car I am not driving?
What continuous insurance enforcement requires, the insurance advisory letter and what to do with it, the SORN exception, and why laid-up cover often still makes sense.
beginner15 min5 min readDoes my car insurance cover commuting and driving for work?
What social domestic and pleasure actually means, where commuting sits, the three business use classes, and the journeys that quietly fall outside all of them.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I check tyre tread depth and know if a tyre is legal?
The 1.6mm legal minimum and where it has to be met, the moulded wear indicators that do the measuring for you, and why 3mm is the sensible replacement point.
beginner10 min4 min read