What 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 read
Tax, MOT & Admin
MOT, vehicle tax, the V5C, penalties and running costs.
21 guides in Motoring
How do I prepare a car for its MOT?
The half hour of owner checks that removes most avoidable failures, what you cannot check yourself, and how the retest rules work.
beginner1 hr4 min readIs it worth repairing my car to get it through the MOT?
The comparison that decides it is repair cost against what the repaired car is worth to you over the next year, not against what the car would sell for.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I challenge a parking ticket?
A council penalty and a private parking charge look almost identical and work completely differently. How to tell which you have, and the appeal route for each.
beginner30 min5 min readHow does car tax work, and why is mine so much more than my neighbour's?
Why the first year is priced differently from every year after it, what the additional rate on higher-priced cars is, and why tax does not transfer when a car changes hands.
beginner20 min7 min readHow do I check whether a car is taxed, has an MOT, or is on a SORN?
Three free government services tell you a vehicle's tax status, its full MOT history and whether it is declared off-road. What each one shows, what it does not, and what to do with the answers.
beginner10 min5 min readWhat do minor, major and dangerous mean on an MOT certificate?
The five outcomes an MOT can record, which of them fail the test, which of them stop you driving, and how an advisory differs from a minor defect.
beginner12 min5 min readWill I be charged to drive into a clean air zone?
Clean air zones, London's ULEZ and congestion charging are three different schemes with different rules. How to check your own vehicle in a minute, and what actually determines whether you pay.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I check whether my car has an outstanding safety recall?
The free GOV.UK check, why letters miss so many owners, how a used car ends up carrying an unactioned recall, and what to do when one shows.
beginner15 min7 min readI have had a speeding ticket — what happens now?
What a Notice of Intended Prosecution is and the timescale it must arrive in, the three possible outcomes, how penalty points work, and where a speed awareness course fits.
beginner20 min5 min readI sold my car but it is still in my name — what do I do?
Why the tax refund not arriving is the warning sign, how to prove you notified DVLA, and what to do about fines generated by someone else's driving.
beginner20 min5 min readWhat are the most common MOT failures?
Where failures actually cluster, which of them you can prevent for a few pounds, and which mean a garage bill you should budget for.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I reduce the cost of running a car?
Where car costs actually go, and which changes make a real difference against which are marginal.
beginner1 hr2 min readWhat is the difference between the registered keeper and the owner of a car?
Why the V5C is not a title document, who is legally responsible for what, and the situations — finance, company cars, family arrangements — where the two are deliberately different.
beginner12 min5 min readWhat licence do I need to ride a motorbike or scooter in the UK?
How the CBT, the A1, A2 and A categories fit together, what each one lets you ride, the age thresholds, and the progressive access route.
beginner20 min5 min readDo I have to tell DVLA about a medical condition?
What notifiable actually means, why the duty sits with you rather than your doctor, what happens after you tell them, and the eyesight standard everyone is subject to.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I scrap a car properly?
How to find an authorised treatment facility, what a certificate of destruction actually proves, why cash is a red flag, and the DVLA notification that ends your liability.
beginner25 min5 min readHow do I check my driving licence details and share them?
Where your endorsements and entitlements actually live now the paper counterpart is gone, how to generate a check code for a hire company or employer, and what to do at 70.
beginner15 min5 min readWhat vehicle paperwork do I need to keep?
Which vehicle documents exist, which ones actually matter at sale, what to keep and for how long, and the two that should never be in the car.
beginner25 min4 min readCan I appeal an MOT result I think is wrong?
The two separate routes — disputing a failure and disputing a pass — the deadlines that apply to each, and what happens to the fee if you are right.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I transfer or retain a private number plate?
The difference between transferring a plate straight onto another car and putting it on retention, what makes a plate display illegal, and the traps when buying or selling a car with one on it.
beginner25 min5 min read