Check your car's MOT, Vehicle Tax & Insurance
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:
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 ReportsMyCarCheck.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. Check MOT and Vehicle TaxMOTBefore 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 TaxVehicle 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 InA 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 ServiceThe 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 SaleSelling 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 ObligationLegally 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.
Accepting PaymentThere 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. Affiliated PartnersExternal Resources
The post Selling your Car – the popular options appeared first on Is my CAR … ?. via Tumblr Selling your Car – the popular options
0 Comments
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 ReminderWell 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 workBefore you start you will need
Step 1Choose the type of reminder you wish to receive Step 2Enter the email address or mobile phone number for the reminder message Step 3Enter the registration number of the vehicle you want the reminder email / text for Step 4Confirm 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 dateIf you would like to take part in the MOT reminder service please proceed to the GOV.uk website.
Premium ServiceMyCarCheck.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 … ?. via Tumblr Get an MOT reminder 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 payThe 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 2019The 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 2019For 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 moreThere 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 TaxIf 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 … ?. via Tumblr 2019 Vehicle Tax changes Check BEFORE you buyFirst 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 ProvidedThe 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 onceIf 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 ServiceMyCarCheck.com vehicle history reports highlight if a car has been stolen, exported, written-off, scrapped & much more from just £1.99 Premium ServiceHPI Check – popular vehicle checking service from under £10. Premium service comes with £30,000 data guarantee for peace of mind. Selecting a Vehicle History ReportThere 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 CheckHPI 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. MyCarCheckMy 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 ReportThe 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 ReportThis 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.ukVisitors to the IsMyCar.co.uk website may be interested in the following motoring topics
External ReferencesSome of the references in this post have been sourced from the following respected online authorities
The post Why Check the History of a Vehicle appeared first on Is my CAR … ?. via Tumblr Why Check the History of a Vehicle 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 youâre certain to get a better deal on your new car Get a FREE online valuationThe 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 youâre happy with the valuation, they will buy it off you â itâs as simple as that. If you want to get a great deal for your unwanted car please try WeWantAnyCarâs online car buying service (direct link) and get a free online valuation today. Affiliated PartnersEnd of AdvertMore Services from IsMyCar.co.ukVisitors to the IsMyCar.co.uk website may be interested in the following motoring topics
Affiliated PartnersHPI CheckHPI Check â 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 HPIâs 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('');
Check before you buy â Buying a car is a big deal so buy with confidence. MyCarCheck.com can reveal a vehicleâs full history, enabling you to make a more informed decision. Discover a vehicleâs hidden history, if itâs been written off or stolen and much more ⦠End of AdvertsThe post New Affiliate â WeWantAnyCar.com appeared first on Is my CAR ⦠?. via Tumblr New Affiliate â WeWantAnyCar.com 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
What if your Vehicle is Road Tax FREEThis 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 statusEasy – 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 VehicleIt 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 PartnersHPI CheckHPI 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 … End of AdvertsMore Services from IsMyCar.co.ukVisitors to the IsMyCar.co.uk website may be interested in the following motoring topics
The post Fines for driving without Vehicle Tax 2018 appeared first on Is my CAR … ?. via Tumblr Fines for driving without Vehicle Tax 2018 An undeserved driving penalty arrivesA 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 platesFor the example above – assuming the vehicle has genuinely not been near the Dartford tunnel the options are either:
What to do if you’ve been ClonedIf 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 PartnersCheck 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? End of AdvertAvoid buying a Cloned VehicleAs 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 PartnersCheck 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 … End of AdvertHow do criminals get the plates madeWhen 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
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 methodCriminals 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 … ?. via Tumblr Cloned Registration Plates 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 PartnerNational 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. End of AdvertCommon Reasons for MOT FailureHere’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
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 BounceThe 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 checkIf 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 PartnerWin 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 End of Advert3) Tyre Condition & Pressure – approx 10%This is something most people can check themselves. Key points to look out for are :
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.
Affiliated PartnerCarParts4Less? 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 End of AdvertExternal ReferencesThe post 2018 – Top 4 MOT Failures appeared first on Is my CAR … ?. via Tumblr 2018 – Top 4 MOT Failures 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:
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 RemovedWhat to do if your car’s ClampedWhen 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 impoundedIf your vehicle has been removed and taken to a pound then you should follow these guidelines –
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 recoveryTo 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 ReferencesThe post Clamping cars with unpaid Vehicle Tax appeared first on Is my CAR … ?. via Tumblr Clamping cars with unpaid Vehicle Tax 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 requiredThere 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
Braking SystemThe 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 …
Steering, Exhaust and ShocksLike 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 AdvertsNational 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. 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 End of AdvertsMOT CheckerEnter 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) TAX CheckerEnter 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) The post Pre-MOT checks – Do It Yourself appeared first on Is my CAR … ?. via Tumblr Pre-MOT checks – Do It Yourself |