Am I right in thinking that finance deals offered by car selling places are generally very bad value and that it's better to borrow money elsewhere and pay cash?
Yes. Bank is a good idea.
Is it possible to pay for a car on a credit card?
Depends on who you're buying it from - second hand from a genuine private seller, definitely no; otherwise quite possibly. Good idea too for the £100 protection. Of course you know credit card for borrowing that sort of sum can be even worse than car finance.
What's the best trade off between cars made in the UK and cars made elsewhere with expensive replacement parts? ie. how do I weigh up the expense of replacement parts vs. potentially greater reliability?
They're not necessarily trade-offs: well-made reliable cars aren't the most expensive for parts, and you need fewer parts. A more important trade-off is paying for a more reliable make/model versus the hassle of having it in the garage a lot.
My personal tradeoff there has changed. Before kids, I was happy to do the banger-nomics thing and drive a £500 car in to the ground. Now it's more of a big deal to be without the car, so I've gone up the price scale.
How much emphasis should I put on low CO2 emissions vs. other stuff?
Blimey, terribly personal question. In pure financial terms it's not a big deal at the moment for road tax, but it's directly related to fuel consumption anyway.
My belief is that one should buy the smallest and most fuel-efficient car that'll fit your needs say 90-95% of the time. Lots of people buy a car that's big enough for the biggest job they might conceivably need to do, and waste loads as a result, driving a vastly oversized car around most of the time. Much better to stick a roof box on for occasional large-capacity trips, and rely on hiring a large vehicle (small vans are very reasonable) when you need more than that can handle.
What is good performance in terms of miles per gallon?
Depends on vintage. In my head, 40 mpg is decent for petrol, 60 mpg decent for diesel. I think new cars do better.
What is best practice in terms of winter/summer tyres?
I don't think I know anyone in the UK who changes their tyres with the seasons. Regular checks to make sure they're the right pressure and not worn are your friend year-round.
Can you buy snow chains in the UK?
Yes. Halfords usually has them in from about now. Or I'm sure you can get them over the Internet.
What other sorts of safety equipment belong in a car
In addition to your list, I always carry: ice/mist scraper, water (for radiator, screen or drinking), maps, screen cleaner, digital tyre inflator, jump leads, tow rope. A lot of these are more convenience than safety - but some of them fall in to the category of 'preparations that can prevent a minor issue turning in to something dangerous'.
In winter when it's snowy I also keep a shovel and some old bits of carpet (extra grip) in the boot.
What's your magic piece of equipment in a car?
I won't buy a car that doesn't have an alarm that goes off if you open the driver's door with the headlights on. Actually, I might, but I'd fit one as an urgent priority. I'm not particularly scatty but this simple measure has saved me from a flat battery on countless occasions.
I'm also a big fan of my digital tyre inflator. You plug it in to the lighter socket and it blows up your tyres to the selected pressure automatically - all you need to do is unscrew the dust cap, clip it on, press a button, wait, clip it off, screw dust cap back on. Correct tyre pressures give you noticeable fuel savings and better grip, and petrol station air hoses are almost always broken these days IME.
Another big win is an FM transmitter for my iPod - gives me my iPod over the car stereo (playlist if no passenger to operate it). Newer car stereos have a socket you can plug an iPod/a-like in to directly.
(Can't offer advice on drinks holders or hands free kits: I'm not a good enough driver to drive safely while picking up/putting down a drink or using a phone.)
no subject
Am I right in thinking that finance deals offered by car selling places are generally very bad value and that it's better to borrow money elsewhere and pay cash?
Yes. Bank is a good idea.
Is it possible to pay for a car on a credit card?
Depends on who you're buying it from - second hand from a genuine private seller, definitely no; otherwise quite possibly. Good idea too for the £100 protection. Of course you know credit card for borrowing that sort of sum can be even worse than car finance.
What's the best trade off between cars made in the UK and cars made elsewhere with expensive replacement parts? ie. how do I weigh up the expense of replacement parts vs. potentially greater reliability?
They're not necessarily trade-offs: well-made reliable cars aren't the most expensive for parts, and you need fewer parts. A more important trade-off is paying for a more reliable make/model versus the hassle of having it in the garage a lot.
My personal tradeoff there has changed. Before kids, I was happy to do the banger-nomics thing and drive a £500 car in to the ground. Now it's more of a big deal to be without the car, so I've gone up the price scale.
How much emphasis should I put on low CO2 emissions vs. other stuff?
Blimey, terribly personal question. In pure financial terms it's not a big deal at the moment for road tax, but it's directly related to fuel consumption anyway.
My belief is that one should buy the smallest and most fuel-efficient car that'll fit your needs say 90-95% of the time. Lots of people buy a car that's big enough for the biggest job they might conceivably need to do, and waste loads as a result, driving a vastly oversized car around most of the time. Much better to stick a roof box on for occasional large-capacity trips, and rely on hiring a large vehicle (small vans are very reasonable) when you need more than that can handle.
What is good performance in terms of miles per gallon?
Depends on vintage. In my head, 40 mpg is decent for petrol, 60 mpg decent for diesel. I think new cars do better.
What is best practice in terms of winter/summer tyres?
I don't think I know anyone in the UK who changes their tyres with the seasons. Regular checks to make sure they're the right pressure and not worn are your friend year-round.
Can you buy snow chains in the UK?
Yes. Halfords usually has them in from about now. Or I'm sure you can get them over the Internet.
What other sorts of safety equipment belong in a car
In addition to your list, I always carry: ice/mist scraper, water (for radiator, screen or drinking), maps, screen cleaner, digital tyre inflator, jump leads, tow rope. A lot of these are more convenience than safety - but some of them fall in to the category of 'preparations that can prevent a minor issue turning in to something dangerous'.
In winter when it's snowy I also keep a shovel and some old bits of carpet (extra grip) in the boot.
What's your magic piece of equipment in a car?
I won't buy a car that doesn't have an alarm that goes off if you open the driver's door with the headlights on. Actually, I might, but I'd fit one as an urgent priority. I'm not particularly scatty but this simple measure has saved me from a flat battery on countless occasions.
I'm also a big fan of my digital tyre inflator. You plug it in to the lighter socket and it blows up your tyres to the selected pressure automatically - all you need to do is unscrew the dust cap, clip it on, press a button, wait, clip it off, screw dust cap back on. Correct tyre pressures give you noticeable fuel savings and better grip, and petrol station air hoses are almost always broken these days IME.
Another big win is an FM transmitter for my iPod - gives me my iPod over the car stereo (playlist if no passenger to operate it). Newer car stereos have a socket you can plug an iPod/a-like in to directly.
(Can't offer advice on drinks holders or hands free kits: I'm not a good enough driver to drive safely while picking up/putting down a drink or using a phone.)