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So with the new weather comes a new set of precautions. In fact, when there is such a strong change in weather like there is now, there are a number of common faults with cars that can arise. For example, if you have a vehicle that is being kept off the road and declared SORN to the DVLA, it is of good advice to regularly start the engine whilst it is parked on the driveway or in storage. The reason for this is that the cars brakes sit on the wheel arches and add pressure to the tyres. From this, they can set unless given regular movement. This doesn’t necessarily affect the car engine but is one example of what can be done to avoid repairs. Starting the engine is also a necessity when cold weather comes around – especially with some of the older used cars as some have older type engines that may not be as robust as those on newer vehicles. Having said that this doesn’t mean than new cars should be ignored when it comes to ensuring the engine is regularly started. In fact, no matter what the type of vehicle, new or used, having a car that is not regularly run can cause problems with the engine. Therefore it is advisable that they are looked after and maintained. but, not just cars that are off the road should be regularly checked – this goes for all types of cars and even those that are used for daily errands etc. A lot of short journeys are not ideal and so it may be that you take your car onto the motorway to give it that little bit of extra speed that is not possible on 30 mph roads. The idea is to not have any engine suffer from the cold and to make sure that it is used appropriately during the autumn and winter months. As of yet we are not quite in winter but it is always good to be prepared – especially when dealing with used cars that may be of a lower specification that the newer vehicles available.

I have a friend that bought a 2004 used bMW Z4. Whilst he absolutely worships the wheels that it sits on he realises that in order to keep in line with the market, he will need to upgrade. So, given the fact that he enjoys the ride of the bMW so much, he is not going to upgrade the car make or model, just the year of registration. Most people when buying a new car actually change the manufacturer or model simply because they would like to try a new experience. However, given that the car in question was only bough fourteen months ago and the fact that he has had no problems with it whatsoever strengthen the case not to change. We all know that new cars operate at a huge loss when driven out of the car showroom and that used cars seem to offer that little bit more in way of keeping the residual value. However, with the vehicle manufacturers releasing new versions of cars on a regular basis, even the used cars driver can struggle to keep up. As it stands my friend stands to lose around £4,000 if he does go ahead with his upgrade purchase. In return he will be getting the exact same bMW Z4 albeit a different colour and a 2008 registration plate. All in all, it doesn’t seem that bad a deal given that the average car will lose around £3,500 per year in value anyway. Therefore the fact that he is changing cars now show that even with used models, if you stay ahead of the game, the financial losses do not have to be so crippling. The fact that this time next week he will be driving a nearly new car, which has just over 2,000 miles on the clock, presents a good deal and good value if you ask me. Of course, there is a little bit of time and research needed to try and stay in touch with the car market but the money saved will prove to be a good bonus to those wanting to put the work in. buying cars can sometimes feel like a difficult task but with the introduction of the Internet – thing just got that little bit easier.

One of the main problems that I have had with car Websites is that the search functionality never seems to work correctly. As a result of this, I now only use a select few sites that I know will bring up the results that I want – depending upon the criteria that I enter. I am quite a regular buyer of cars online as it is part of a joint business venture that I am currently undertaking. However, navigating through all the mush is quite time consuming and can be very, very frustrating. Therefore, nowadays I only use two to three different used cars Websites that I have saved within my bookmarks. At least with these select few, I know that I am going to be getting the best deals and car promotions – not just some used old marketing gimmicks. The thing about the Internet is that things are often built on trust as it is such a new industry and people are still getting out of the old habit of only being able to buy a car when they visit a dealership in person. Nowadays though due to the advances in technology cars can be reserved from the comfort of your own home and vehicle finance packages setup. My advice is to research a few different car sites before deciding, which one to use on a regular basis. Buying a car isn’t like buying an item of jewellery for example where the cheapest prices is searched for – there is much more to think about that just the item / product itself. One of the sites that I constantly use is the Bristol Street Motors Website, which provides a wide range of new and used car stock and has some fantastic promotions that area available day by day. The managers’ specials section is one that is very useful, especially for very specific vehicles.

With the current car market having been under the cosh over the last few months so to speak, I had a little brainwave and thought about visiting my local Audi dealership to see whether or not I could get a used Audi R8 at a reduced rate. How wrong I was. I guess just some cars keep their value better than others and I suppose the two year waiting list kind of sums up the demand. See where there is demand – there are expensive prices as it means there are a lot of buyers wanting to purchase. From what I could gather, the same applied to the Audi TT in that its overall resale value hadn’t really been affected by the credit crunch. In fact, from what I could gather from the car salesman, although their used cars section of the business had been operating at slightly less numbers, overall car sales were not at too much of a low. Many put this down to the strong brand that Audi has these days and their popularity among auto enthusiasts. My assumption that I could just go in and use the current market situation to my advantage were quickly squashed, especially when the car showroom was flooded with customers and most of the salesman were conducting new business. I guess it’s back to trying to save up that £80,000 for the purchase.

So going back a few months then and it seemed as though it was all doom and gloom for the car market; new car sales seemed to be nonexistent and used car sales seemed to be operating at a much lower rate than in previous times gone by. However, as noted in an earlier blog entry, it seems as though things have picked up a little bit and that the market does not seem as stagnant as it appeared in the past. Was it all down to perception or was the industry in such a state? Whatever the reasons, I am glad to see that things seem to be on the way to getting back to previous relations and that the car market may well be about to boom once more. Ok, so finance issues are still up in the air, which means that car credit and finance acceptance may be few and far between for some people, but it may be that with people saving the pennies that they would have normally spent, it may be that buying a new motor is just the remedy?! personally I am hoping that both the used cars market and the sales within the new car sector can get through this difficult period and achieve their status as two of the most popular industries. Then again, Christmas is only around the corner and so people’s minds may be on other things!

Has anyone else been surprised by the amount of new 58 registration plates on show? At first I thought that things may have started off a little bit slow but we are half way through October 2008 now and although there has been a definite increase over the last few weeks, there is still much less than there normally is. I remember over the last few years on both the 1st of March and 1st September the amount of new cars that hit the road. Now, though it seems that although there are still a fair number out and about, used cars seem to be the more popular (and affordable) choice among car enthusiasts/buyers. This is obviously as a result of financial pressure due to the climate and so I suppose it is to be expected. Many local dealerships selling new and used cars have had to cease business as the amount of people buying is much less than it was. Also, the fact that property prices have also decreased means that dealers cannot afford to use their equity of their property as a way of affording a business base. but in terms of new vehicle registrations, maybe March 2009 will see an increase at a level more than in September. by then, it may be that the financial situation has picked up a little, which will no doubt impact on the car market and other industries. Also, with the introduction of new designs being made by the car manufacturers, it may just help new car sales that little bit more.

So I finally got around to visiting my local Honda dealership and was pleasantly surprised to see the reduced prices of certain vehicles and the fact that there were many different promotional offers on display. I thought to myself at this point that I would almost certainly get a cracking deal on a new car and proceeded to search through the different cars on show. I kind of like the new Honda Civic Type R that was sat on the courtyard. Full leather interior, a few little smart gadgets on the dashboard and the metallic paint was my ideal colour; brilliant red. The alloy wheels were 19 inchers, which gave the car a more robust and solid look. I particularly liked the rear of the vehicle and more specifically the rear spoiler, which has a totally different look to that of the older version. I got chatting with one of the salesman and discussed the possibility of part ex on my current car. Having looked at it intently, he gave me a price, which I must say was at least £1,500 less than what I thought I would get. He proceeded to explain that the cost of used cars has indeed decreased over the last month of two and that if I were to search around other dealerships, a similar price would apply. It was at this point that my day suddenly turned a bit sour as I was very excited about maybe purchasing the Civic. However, in the end I declined the salesman’s offer but did take him up on the advice that he gave me and visited a few other car dealerships to get a different point of view. Whilst some of them offered slightly more for my vehicle, overall the same price was quoted. Some were more, some were less and some of the dealerships actually offered exactly what the chap at the Honda garage did. Maybe I will wait a little bit longer…..

First of all let me explain that I have and always will be a new car buyer. Why? I put it down to the satisfaction gained from knowing that no other has had their paws on it! However, looking at the roads lately it seems that there are less new cars being driven than ever before. Of course, this is no doubt due to the current credit crunch that we find ourselves in but nonetheless, I am quite surprised at the amount of the new registrations that I seen. It seems that more and more people then are turning to used cars if they are upgrading – many are not even doing that and are simply keeping what they have got. So we are nearly half way through October, which is around six weeks since the new registrations were introduced to the cars market and being honest, I must have seen around a dozen 58 plates on the roads. However, people around me are indeed upgrading their cars but not for a new vehicle. Instead it is a short trip to the local used cars dealer who they visit and bargain with for an upgrade. I remember the good old days where on the 1st of March and the 1st of September there would be a huge influx of new cars being sent out in to the open from the local dealers and car manufacturers up and down the country. Let’s hope by the time the 2009 registrations are due to be released, these good old times will re-ignite.

It has come to my knowledge that the amount of car accessories being offered to drivers is becoming too much! A perfect example of this was given when I recently visited my local BMW showroom to look for a new car. I saw the perfect vehicle on display and sought the attention of the salesman to get a better understanding of the car, what it had to offer and any other bits that he could bring to my attention. After much persuasion, I agreed to sit down with him and discuss costs. Now, going back to what I said earlier – the car on show in the showroom looked the business and was certainly one that was right up my street so to speak. My plan was simple; trade in my old car and get the best price possible for it and then buy this new vehicle that was on show. I did look around a few used cars showrooms but quite find what I was looking for. Instead, after much competition with Audi, I decided on a new BMW. So, after sipping my coffee and explaining the above to the salesman, he begins to go through the different options and accessories the car had to offer. Bearing in mind that the one on the shop floor was exactly what I wanted – I was disappointed to learn that one of the reasons it looked so god was due to it having all the available accessories. Before I knew it then, I soon realised that in order to purchase the car as I would have wanted it – I would have had to pay in excess of £10.000 to give it my ideal look and feel. Robustly but with much politeness, I informed the car salesman that I would be making my way to get a used vehicle instead.

I would love to see a new version of the BMW 6 series even though the current model is only a few years old! Why? Well it is one of my favourite cars for a start and I think that with a few modifications and updates, it could quite possible be one of the very best. I was hoping that there would be some ever so slight changes to the exterior of the vehicle in that the back end could offer more of a curvy shaped spoiler with the back brake light being more levitated (like on the new Honda Civic cars). Everything else is just fine as it is but maybe they could increase the wheel arch a bit more to allow for bigger alloys (that’s just me being very picky though to be honest). On a separate note, I would love to see a new 4×4 model be introduced into the BMW range. The X5 are nice used cars, the X3 less so, but I think a bit more could be done to enhance the BMW range of such cars to bring them more in line with Land Rover as they, in my opinion, set the benchmark for 4×4 designs. We have already seen Audi introduce a new 4×4 vehicle into their production range as a way of enhancing their already sleek looking Q7 model. So, I suggest that BMW get their act together and come up with something special before they get left behind.