MoneySavingExpert.com Feature by Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert Motoring
It’s not yet time to hoot the horn in celebration, but things are looking a tad better for drivers. There was no Budget petrol tax rise, and a supermarket price war sees costs now at an average £1.29/litre – that’s 13p less than the peak, while insurance prices have come off their peak too. Yet if the Stig’s helmet had eyes, even they’d probably still water about the fact that car running costs alone are an average £3,500/year. So I want to help you rev up your motoring savings.
Note the free website
PetrolPrices.com lists the day’s cheapest petrol stations in your area for unleaded, diesel, LPG and other fuels.
Hidden council MOT centres can mean fewer fails. 40% of MOTs fail first time, often for trivialities such as bust light bulbs or poor windscreen wipers. So always do a quick walk- around and, where possible, fix before. For the test itself, if you’ve a long-term trusted garage, great.
If not, little-known council MOT test
centres generally don’t do repairs, so have less incentive to fail you. The feedback on these is great, with many saying they get far fewer fails. There’s a full list at
www.mse.me/mots
Has the PHOTO on your licence expired? You risk a £1,000 fine. While the licence itself may be valid, the photo needs renewing every 10 years. Two million have expired, so check your card’s section 4b date and if it’s expired, go to
www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence to renew.
There’s no one cheapest insurer, so the aim’s to get as many quotes as possible. Yet different comparison sites cover different insurers, so always check at least two for a wider spread. Then check the ones they
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miss – including biggies
www.aviva.co.uk and
www.directline.com. Yet it’s also about understanding the counter-logical ways to save. •
Third party’s not always cheapest. Even though it’s meatier cover, the mere fact of selecting comprehensive insurance makes some insurers consider you a lower risk, which outweighs the cost for the bigger cover. So if you’re looking for the cheapest, always check both.
• Got more than one car? Comparison sites only do single vehicles. Manually check
www.admiral.com’s multi-car policy deals and,
if time,
www.churchill.com and
www.directline.com discounts.
Young drivers, try adding parents as second drivers.
Strange as it sounds, adding a
responsible second driver to your policy can bring costs down. This is because insurance is about risk, so they can bring the average down. It’s a case of trial and error with different firms. Yet never put someone as the main driver on the car unless they really are the main driver. Doing this falsely is called fronting; it’s illegal and can invalidate your insurance. Full help for under-25s car insurance costs in www.
mse.me/youngdrivers.
Private parking firms CAN’T fine you. Parking tickets from supermarkets, housing estates or any private car park do better impressions than Rory Bremner. Some even call themselves Parking Charge Notices to mimic official council Penalty Charge Notices. Yet they’re not fines, just invoices.
If a ticket’s unfairly slapped on your To advertise in thewire t. 07720 429 613 e.
the.wire@btinternet.com
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