If you have breakdown cover then you will probably have to have decided whether to take out additional levels of cover for recovery for example. Most breakdown companies include recovery to a destination usually within 10 miles for free but if you break down 60 miles away from your home, you will have to fork out yourself to have the car recovered to your home address. Upping your level of cover can mean that you can be recovered from anywhere in the UK and bring back to a local garage or your home. This can then allow you some time to decide what you want to do and shop around for quotes from garages. If they recover you at a time when the garage is closed, then they will often...

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If your car has developed a fault or have warning lights come up on your dashboard, then a garage may recommend that you have a diagnostic run on your vehicle. This can range in price from £30 upwards to £100 depending on where you take it. So what exactly is a car diagnostic check and how can it help with a fault? All modern vehicles have an on-board computer inside them which is linked up by sensors to different components within your car. These computers monitor things such as engine temperature, oxygen levels and replay issues and any faults found are stored on the on-board computer in a series of fault codes.  These fault codes need to be read by specialist equipment called a diagnostic machine. Not all garages have...

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Have you ever had it on your car where a light comes up on the dash such as brakes need replacing or bulb gone and after you have replaced the part or fixed the issue the light on the car dashboard is still on? This can be frustrating and can cause problems when it comes to selling a car as people are dubious about buying a car showing faults. Often the car will need to be taken to a garage that can put it on a diagnostic machine and reset the code before it will be removed. This may cost you about £30 to do so, but do contact a few different garages for quotes as you may find one cheaper and main dealers are often not the most competitively...

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You may have heard people say that they are going to the doctors for a “MOT” this is essentially an all over health check where the doctor will check the your stats such as blood pressure, cholesterol and often a urine sample to see if you have any health issues. Well you may be surprised to hear that you can get a very similar thing for your car. An MOT is carried out once every 12 months for cars that are over three years old, but within this 12 months many issues can arise. Lots of garages offer a free health check for your car where they will check the main components such as brakes, fluid levels, lights and tyres. Even if your MOT is due shortly, you may want...

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