STUFF ABOUT YOUR CAR

If you want to find out what your car is worth then you don’t need to look far! Get accurate valuations for your current car by visiting www.glass.co.uk. This service does cost money (£2.95 for three valuations) but at least it is accurate. For a free online valuation of your car you can visit www.autotrader.co.uk but be warned many of these values are out of step with what a dealer will pay you for your car.

Find out how a huge range of cars compare in the reliability stakes. This site is the work of warranty direct, a large warranty company that use their claims data to produce a fascinating comparison index. Find out more by visiting www.reliabilityindex.co.uk.

Check your next car for outstanding finance, police register, mileage discrepancies, accident damage and colour or number plate change before you part with any cash. This is one thing I recommend every buyer to do regardless of the cars age. Find out more by visiting www.hpicheck.com.

Check the identity of a car before you buy it. All you need is the cars chassis number (often also called the VIN - Vehicle Identification Number) and this service will tell you when the car was built and what specification it should be. The service by VINfinder does this via an SMS text message – very clever stuff. Find out more by visiting www.vinfinder.com/sms.html.

Check on the crash test performance of dozens of cars. Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with an independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe. Find out more by visiting www.euroncap.com.

Find out more about security ratings for all new cars, vans and trucks. The data is compiled by the independent research centre Thatcham. Find out more by visiting www.ncsr.co.uk.

ABOUT CAR TAX

If you have a company car or are thinking about getting one then it is well worth having a look at this site, run by the Inland Revenue, it provides definitive advice on all things tax! Find out more by visiting www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk

Find out all you need to know about the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) an Executive Agency by visiting www.dvla.gov.uk.

LEGAL STUFF

Find out more about consumer rights by viewing The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 at www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/20023045.htm.

If you’ve ever had a dispute over finance or credit agreements then this site the Financial Ombudsman Service would probably have been very useful. It provides consumers with a free, independent service for resolving disputes with financial firms find out more by visiting www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

Find out all you need to know about vehicle emissions. The site will also help you calculate how much vehicle excise duty (VED) and benefit in kind (BIK) tax you will have to pay. Find out more by visiting www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk.

Find out the official government fuel consumption figures for your car and compare them with thousands of other makes and models. Find out more by visiting www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk.

BUYING STUFF

If you want break down cover for your car then there are lots of companies after your business, big differences in price and cover to suit your needs so it’s worth checking out more than one. Find out more by visiting www.theaa.com; www.rac.co.uk;  www.directline.co.uk; www.europe-assistance.co.uk; www.greenflag.co.uk.

If you want car insurance then this is a good place to look. Links to 37 different online insurance companies many of which are experts at specialist cover – sports cars, young drivers, low mileage use etc. Find out more by visiting www.uk250.co.uk.

NB All the sites I recommend are done so on merit and none of them are ‘sponsored links’. If you have a site that you think other users may find useful then drop me a line at jasondawe@jasondawe.com and I will take a look.