Member Advice > Member Advice on Cars

Advantages: Fast, efficient service
Disadvantages: High price if not pre-ordered over the internet

...my car in to a Kwik-Fit centre when I had a puncture before checking prices on their internet site. I had previously used Kwik-Fit centres for both servicing and tyres and always thought their service and pricing to be very competitive. The service I received was excellent with the operatives identifying the cause of the puncture and also identifying that two more of my tyres were close to the legal limit. I was told that the puncture was too close ...
...I had fitted on the Kwik-Fit internet site. I expected to have paid slightly more because I had gone directly to the one of their centres however I was horrified to discover the same tyres would have cost me £111.30 each if I had ordered them over the internet. Failure to check the internet price therefore cost me £167.10. So, if you are going to use Kwik-Fit for tyres always order them in advance over the internet. ... Read review

Advantages: Freedom, Independance and the buzz of passing!
Disadvantages: Potentially very expensive, consuming, the unknown

Well I'll start by indroducing myself as a 27yr old guy from good old Derby! I left it late to learn how to drive but got there in the end and I'll tell you how. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PART 1....... THE PLAN When I decided I wanted to learn to how drive I realised that I didn't want to spend months or years learning to drive, I wanted to do it in a matter ...
...Well that was the plan anyway! As soon as I passed my theory test I booked my practical test which was for the 7th Sept 2009, 7 weeks away. I then searched around for a Driving Instructor and found a school which was well priced and covered my area, I called them and had a chat about one of their packages which was 30hrs of tuition for £530. He said he would send an instructor round for an assesment lesson. The next week I had my assesment lesson ... Read review

Advantages: Drive less
Disadvantages: Tax has to be collected somehow

Bet you didn't know that the biggest oilfield on dry land in Western Europe is in England, not only that but it's near a camp site in Devon! Ok, Wych Farm in Purbeck isn't South Fork, but the nodding donkeys do suck up an impressive 85,000 barrels a day, and at $120 each at current prices that's lot of money. In fact about 70 miles of the southern coast of England is a bit of a hot sport for crude and with oil rising 400% in just four years its well ...
...broadsheets it reminded me of that episode of Rising Damp when Rigsby buys oil shares from his conman tenant Seymour, who convinces the seedy landlord there's oil in the Penninies, then alights with Rigsby's life savings. Oil has been drawn in Singleton, in West Sussex, since 1991, pulling out 30,000 barrels last year alone. Markwell Wood, near Chichester, is reported to be containing up to 200 million barrels at around 12 billion bucks at current ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap fuel, reliable, good for the enviroment
Disadvantages: Takes up some space, only 1200 filling stations

...LPG. What is LPG? LPG is short for Liquid Petroleum Gas, commonly known as Auto Gas, most petrol driven cars or vans (not diesels) can be converted to run on LPG which almost cuts your fuel costs in half. Currently, there are around 140.000 cars running around the UK able to run on LPG & 11 million worldwide. With around 1200 filling stations with LPG facilities in the UK you are never far away from being able to fill up. LPG is a by product ...
...it is very environmentally friendly. LPG vehicles emit less Co2 gases, little sulphur & no soot particles. In the UK we export about 45% of our LPG supply. When LPG is stored under pressure at certain temperatures it becomes a dense liquid allowing a large quantity to be stored in a small space. How does it work in a car? LPG cars run on both fuel & gas separately, in most cases the spare wheel is removed & a round tank that stores the gas about ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap
Disadvantages: Not to be trusted, left my car dirty

...had my car in at ATS in Altrincham for a shock absorber, being the only place that could it, as the other usual chain garages refused to quote for it for some reason (BMW Z3 2.8) . Initial thoughts were that the place looked generally derelict, I turned up early and spoke to an uncheery person to be told that the garage opened up at 8.30am not 8.00am. Anyway they did the work and on payment I asked the man I if they had taken it for a test drive ...
...After complaining via the ATS website I got a call from the manager in Altrincham who apologised and said that it had been test driven around the car park! Hardly what I call a test drive for proving a vital safety component is fitted properly. He also said that the man who drove the car out of the garage had washed his hands before driving it. He then suggested that I had a higher standard of hand cleaning than him! I feel annoyed and fobbed off ... Read review