[Archived] Suggestions for the Popular Motoring Sites thread

Crabman

Great idea dbramley :T

I've created a new sub-heading for that and included a few.

If anyone would like to suggest other owner clubs please post below and I'll pop them in.

lamb7994

for MPG try:
www.fuelly.com
works in Litres and £

JAmes

Iroc

www.greencarsite.co.uk is good for electric and hybrid cars :T

MikeH99

Suggest www.KwikGuides.com - has various thorough online guides, but especially good for printable checklists for use when buying a used car and for comparing the full costs & features of car insurance policies. Also the free used car valuation service that includes a local market assessment, which is quite critical to price.

Atb.

mop587

For anyone learning to drive, have a look at this site:

Driving-test-success.com Driving Lessons And Driving Test Info

It has free video driving video tutorials, theory test advice and mock tests, hazard perception tests and lots for learner driver infon and advice.

jumpingjack09

Now that times are hard and we are in a recession maybe more people should try Car Auctions, they are a great place to get a bargain as long as you have got your wits about you.
So here is some advice when buying a car at auction.

1. Remember the hammer price is not the final price there are always fees to be added on when you go to pay for the car like the auctions fee and some even charge now for filling in the registration document and even if you pay with cash so make sure before you bid you know exactly what you are paying as otherwise a cheap car could become an expensive one.

2. Try look around all the cars you are interested in before they are going under the hammer because when people are bidding they miss a lot of things as it is all a bit of a rush this will stop any nasty surprises when you pick up your car.

3. Set yourself a limit for all the cars you have looked at including the auction fees so you don't get carried away as it is easily done.

4. Watch each car you are interested in start up so you know it doesn't have starting problems, get the driver to give the engine a good rev so you can check for smoke and engine noises, check the oil and water make sure the water does not have oil in it and the oil has water in it, if there is not water in the car be wary. Ask the driver where the biting point of the clutch is so you can find out if the clutch is ok, also ask if it stiff to get into gear as this is also a sign of a faulty clutch. Check tyres and other parts of the car if they need replacing and add them into your price, also check for warning lights on the dashboard and temperature gauge as this can give you a clue as to problems with the car.

Finally there are certain things that you cant check at an auction this includes the gearbox, brakes etc just make sure you get a bargain then at least if you have to spend some money out it is not the end of the world.

I hope this helps people get a bargain.

jumpingjack09

I think it would be a good idea to add a section on Car Auctions to help people save money now times are hard.

I have listed a few links below if anyone is interested.

http://www.manheim.co.uk/

http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/

http://www.carandvanauctions.co.uk/

http://cars.uk.msn.com/bangernomics/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7063580

dbramley

Hi,
Some of the owners clubs I've used in the past are:

BMW 3 Series (Current Shape)
http://www.e90post.com

Kia
http://www.kiaownersclub.co.uk

Ford C-Max
http://www.cmaxownersclub.co.uk

Ford ST
http://www.stdrivers.co.uk

Ford Kuga
http://www.kugaownersclub.co.uk

cheers
Dan

Guesty6

Very good Forum for the Higher end market, also a large For Sale section which I believe is free

https://www.pistonheads.com

BigShowMK

A great owners club website for the new MINI is www.minitorque.com/forum