Fitting seat covers in your vehicle

If you have a car or van and notice that the seats are becoming a bit tatty then you may consider getting them reupholstered. This can be very costly, especially if it is leather and unless the car is worth a lot of money, it is not often a viable option for many.

Instead of forking out for costly reupholstered seats, why not look in to getting some car seat covers. Car seat covers come in a range of fit, style and material. If you have a new car and want to protect the seats then you may opt for a quick and easy cover that you can pop on and off when you need to. If the seats are already damaged then you may decide to get a cover that looks more permanent. You can buy universal covers which fit many types of vehicles, but these do not often offer the best fit and you may not find them very comfy. If you really want the seats to look like they are ew then chose a cover that has been designed to fit your specific vehicle. You will often have to pay a bit more for these but still a fraction of the cost of reupholstering.  Places such as Halfords sell seat covers but you may be able to find them online at a lower price.

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Making sure you have a spare key for your vehicle

When buying a new car you often receive two keys.  If you have an older vehicle or have purchased it second hand, you may not have been given a spare and therefore you will have to ensure that you look after it well. Having just the one key that you reply on can be risky as not only can you lose it which will be extremely costly to call someone out and make a new key (not to mention time consuming) but also it may become damaged or faulty rendering it useless.

Before going to a main dealership to get a new key for your vehicle, you may be able to get one from a specialist key cutter and often save quite a bit of money. Some car keys however cannot be duplicated by these third party companies so always ensure you check first if they can create one for your make and model without just going off an advertised price on a board.

Many insurance companies are now offering key cover which will pay out if you lose or damage your key and need to get a replacement or possibly even the locks changed.  

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Do you understand the ratings on your tyres?

When purchasing new tyres you will often be asked what size you need. The garage may have a system where they can look up the tyres for your vehicle but if you have had different aftermarket alloys fitted or want a different size tyre to what is standard then you will need to have this information to hand.
A tyre has three numbers such as 105/55/R15 written on the side of them. The first number indicates the width the second number indicates the profile and the third number indicates the tyres size in inches. After this you may notice another set of reading; a number followed by a letter. The number indicates the loading rating. This number is linked to a table which tells you the load that each tyre can carry. Remember this is times by four (as long as all tyres are the same) when you are working out what load the total vehicle can carry.
The final reading is the speed rating. This is shown by a letter and again is a reference to a rating on a separate table. An R rating, for example, would be a maximum speed of 106mph. It is important to not only check the size but also the other ratings on the tyre when purchasing new ones.

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Car insurance – ways to save money

If you are approaching the time when your car insurance is coming up for renewal, give yourself plenty of time to shop around for quotes before it automatically renews. Most policies automatically renew the day they expire and you may find that you cannot cancel online but instead need to call someone to cancel the policy.

If you do not mind who you use for your insurance then you may want to use a comparison site such as Money Supermarket or Compare the Market to find the best prices for you. Not all insurers advertise their prices through these sites, so if you really want to find the best site then you may also need to check directly on other insurers websites.

If you want to try and earn a bit of money back on your insurance policy then you may decide to use a company such as Quidco or Top Cashback to see what they are offering. The cashback is not guaranteed, but as long as you meet the criteria, it is often paid out. Some people use the comparison sites then use a cashback site to complete the purchase. Always be careful when doing this as some insurers will not pay out cashback if they have provided you with a quote through a comparison site first. Make sure when using a cashback site that you clear all your cookies and ideally use a different email address to the one you use on the comparison site.

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Is breakdown cover really worth it?

Having breakdown cover can seem like another expense that motorists can do without. Breakdown cover is not essential but without it you may end up having to fork out hundreds to get your car recovered to a garage or home again.

There are a few different breakdown companies, some of which act as brokers or refer jobs on to the larger companies to actually carry out the recovery. When looking to take out breakdown cover be sure to check the different companies to compare prices. There are some great comparison sites that allow you to easily see what you get for your money with each breakdown company.

Some insurance policies include breakdown cover or they offer it as an extra. Again it is worth checking other price before taking this out and to see which breakdown company is used if they don’t have their own.

Like insurance, breakdown cover usually renews automatically after 12 months so be sure to check you renewal price to make sure it has not increased too much. You may be able to call up your company and tell them that you are thinking of leaving and see if they can offer you a better deal.

 

 

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