There has been a lot of bad press recently regarding the fiat 500 being vastly underpowered and struggling to go up hills. The 1.2 litre engines are struggling and only producing 69HP meaning that even in first gear many drivers are logging complaints that the car is not fit for purpose and can make hill starts virtually impossible. I have driven one of these for a short period and I have to say that even though I didn’t encounter many hills in my journey I did feel that the car was greatly lacking power and at times felt very sluggish. This problem is emphasised the... Read More
Importance of correct tyre pressure
Having the correct tyres on your car is important and ensuring the tread depth is at a safe level is equally essential for a safe drive but one thing often overlooked is having the correct tyre pressure. Most people will always set their tyres to one pressure regardless of what sort of driving they will be doing or what sort of tyres they have but this can be quite dangerous and have a massive effect on stopping distances and fuel economy. When you have standard tyres fitted there will be a section in your car manual that advises on the correct PSI (pounds per square inch)... Read More
What to check when hiring a car
There is often a time when most of us will need to hire a car or van for a short period of time. This may be due to your vehicle being in for service or repairs or possibly to assist you with moving house. Whatever the reason you need to be aware of the contract that you are agreeing to when hiring a vehicle and make sure that you shop around for the best prices. Most companies will hire vehicles out on a daily rate, be sure to check what the price quoted includes, such as VAT, insurance and breakdown cover etc. I was surprised when I recently hired a vehicle to find out... Read More
What to do if you put the wrong fuel in your car
In the UK once every 2 minutes someone puts the wrong fuel into their car. This blunder can be costly to rectify, somewhere between £500 and £3,000. The main cause of this error is having a new car or simply getting distracted at the pump. So what do you do on realising you have put the wrong fuel in your car? The AA guidelines state that should you put the wrong fuel in NEVER start the ignition as this will send the fuel round the engine causing much more damage and making the fix a lot more expensive. Misfuelling is so common now that most of the breakdown companies... Read More
Should I service my car myself
We are all looking for ways we can save money in our daily lives and one element we often consider is the car. Running a car can be an expensive outlay and often servicing is one of the things that we tend to put on hold, as you are not required to have one done by law unlike an MOT etc. Delaying a car service can potentially cause problems which can lead to a bigger expense and can also mean that your fuel consumption is higher. Have you ever considered servicing your vehicle yourself? Ideally you will need to have some knowledge of a car engine but it need not be that... Read More