How to Cope with a Roadside Emergency

When you drive regularly or over long distances all sorts of roadside emergencies can occur, such as experiencing a flat tire or a breakdown that leaves you unable to drive the vehicle any further. This article will show you how to cope with these situations, regardless of the situation it is important that you remain calm and consider your safety.

Check down below for the things that you should do:

* The most important thing when dealing with a roadside emergency is to get off the road as fast as possible. Pull over in such a way that it doesn’t interfere with other traffic and road users. If you have a flat tyre, you may as well drive your vehicle very slowly until it is safe for you to pull over or if you know of any workshop is in the vicinity, go to that and make sure you put your hazard lights on and drive there cautiously.

roadside emergency

* If your intention is to change the tyre on your own or try to fix the vehicle on your own, then pulling over and exiting the car with caution is advisable. If the road is a motorway or very busy, you may want to exit through the passenger side door and then address the problem that your vehicle confronts you with.

* When a roadside emergency happens at night, you should make your vehicle visible by leaving the headlights on and turning on the hazard lights, in some countries it is law to carry a triangle that can be displayed a few metres behind the vehicle too.

* If your roadside emergency can not be handled by you alone, call someone for help using the special phones situated on the side of the motorway these phones help the operator to pinpoint your location and you should use them even if you have a mobile with you. Read More

5 Tips for Better Rental Car Hire

Car insurance provides you with the peace of mind and relaxed attitude you deserve on a holiday. However, it can be often quite hard to know what to look for when picking a car rental insurance. Luckily for you, we have a number of great tips….

Price

One of the main concerns is price and if you fail to choose the correct sort of cover you may end up paying a lot more than you bargained for. Most car rental companies will offer you higher prices that you would expect and this is why its often better to go with a third party retailer to get your insurance.

Check Coverage

Be sure to check what your insurance cover will meet. There are all sorts of policies and you should be sure to check up the details before you get cover. Be aware of rental companies, as they tend to fluff you up with all sorts of business speak. A third party insurance retailer often offers a far more straight talking and viable alternative than the rental company so consider using them instead.

car rental insurance

Small Print

Reading the policies small print can make all the difference if there is an issue. People tend to have strange perceptions of the things that car insurance covers. The best way to get a straight and real understanding of what your cover includes is to read the policy in full. Assumptions tend to lead to issues and should be avoided. So, take some time to read it and you will get an understanding of whats really included. Read More

Buying New Tyres for Your BMW X5

The BMW X5 is seen as an SUV with great performance and low running costs. Solidly built with all the safety features you’d expect from a BMW, the X5 comes in several different models. When buying new tyres, you need to be sure that you’re choosing the right ones for your specific X5.

Run-flat Tyres

One of the safety innovations that comes with the BMW X5 is a new kind of tyre technology. Run-flat tyres allow you to carry on driving even after you get a puncture. The specially reinforced sides protect your wheels from damage for a significant distance – giving you plenty of opportunity to get the punctured tyre repaired. Run-flat tyres mean an end to dangerous roadside tyre changes. They also obviate the need to carry a spare in the boot of your BMW, cutting down on weight and leaving you with more space for luggage.

While its possible to replace your run-flat tyres with standard tyres, its not really advisable. Run-flat tyres increase your cars safety, are more convenient and allow you to run your car more efficiently. Replacing just one or two out of four tyres with a non-flat-run tyre could also make your car much less safe to drive.

BMW X5 tyres

Tyre Load Rating

Any replacement tyre must have the same tyre load rating as the previous tyre. Like all cars made since 1973, your BMW X5 will have a tyre placard fitted that tells you the load rating you need to buy.

In some cases, a tyre offered as less expensive may prove to have a lower load rating than the one that you need. You need to check that the tyre you’re being sold has a sufficiently high rating. Purchasing a tyre that has the wrong load rating can be very dangerous. It makes your car less safe and may invalidate your insurance, leaving you uninsured in the event of an accident.

Tyre Matching

As well as ensuring that your tyres have the correct load rating, tyres need to be properly matched. If one or two of your tyres are significantly different to the others, this can compromise your vehicles safety. Matching tyres correctly is particularly important if your vehicle is one of the permanent four-wheel drive models. Read More

Flexible Fuel Frugal Ford Fiesta Favoured by UK Driving Instructors

There is almost nothing more reassuring than a vote of confidence from a group of drivers who spend their working lives in a car, and the fact that the AA driving school have announced the addition of the latest Ford Fiesta to its 2,000 strong fleet of cars, confirms that Ford have got things right with their latest model of this popular car.

Choosing the Fiesta over the Focus

The AA have ordered more than 200 units of the 2013 Ford Fiesta model and they are particularly attracted to the 1-0 Litre Ecoboost model, which will probably see the current 50/50 split of Fiesta and Focus models advance more towards favouring the Fiesta in the future.

2013 Ford Fiesta

Most popular model

The specific model that is flying off the shelves as it were is the Titanium 1.0 Litre Ecoboost model that delivers 123bhp. There is also a similar 1-0 Litre petrol unit that delivers 98bhp, and both versions of the Fiesta offer a combined fuel economy of 65.7mpg and CO2 emissions at only 99g/km.

Fuel efficient

The fuel efficiency aspect is of course a strong selling point as fuel costs have been on an upward spiral for some considerable time and are a major part of the overheads incurred by driving instructors and motorists in general. The 1.0 Ecoboost model offers excellent fuel efficiency but importantly, it still delivers the sort of power that you might expect from a car with a larger engine capacity. Read More

Finding a used car for a great price

The internet is great for finding so many things, and cars are no exception. You will find literally thousands of second hand cars for sale every single day of the week, and it has truly become the best place to both buy and sell your car.

The advantages are almost too many to list. Firstly, you can peruse as huge number of vehicles at your leisure in the comfort of your own home. Secondly, you can find out information about these vehicles quickly and easily. Thirdly, you will find that prices are more fair and more even because there is so much choice and competition. You will also find that the number of cars available means that you have a huge amount of choice available to you which gives you a much better chance of finding a good quality car, which is why you are looking in the first place!

second hand cars

To find decent used cars simply look online today and start to compile a list of the right vehicles for you. If you are going to do this though, you might as well do it properly. Take your time, make notes on the cars you like the look of, and make sure you check them all out thoroughly in the flesh. Do this and you could end up with a great car. The devil is in the detail, and if you are prepared to leave no stone unturned, you should do well.