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Lots of us will change our car on retirement or
as we get older. It may be that you're losing the company car now you've
retired, or you've decided it's time to buy your dream car. Many people change their car as a way of economising as they get
older. If this is the reason for change, there are a number of factors to
consider:
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Car tax is based on the amount of emissions
the car produces and whether it's diesel or petrol. For the same
emission level, diesel cars are taxed at a slightly higher rate. If you
want to pay less road tax, buy a petrol car that produces low emissions.
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Small cars are obviously cheaper to buy and
to run; they do more miles per litre than big cars and are generally
cheaper to service - although the make of the car will also influence
the latter.
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Cars fit into different insurance bands. You
might consider buying a car that is in a cheaper band.
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Diesel cars do more miles per litre than
petrol ones. In spite of the slightly higher road tax and the higher
cost of diesel, you have to do a very high mileage for petrol to become
more economical than diesel.
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If you are a two-car family, you might
consider becoming a one-car family.
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You could also consider using the car less
and walking or cycling more. Not only will you save money, you will get
fitter, too!
 However,
you may want to change cars in order to get the car you have always wanted. Whether you want a super-smooth comfortable
ride with all the modern luxuries available, a flash sports car or a true classic, there
is a range of services available on the web from the manufacturers' own sites to general
car search sites.
Increasingly there are also sites offering European imported cars at amazing discounts
- these recently include well known names such as Virgin and the Consumers Association who
have entered the fray on behalf of the consumer. Below we've included the best of these
sites and a few of the prestige manufacturers.
If you are still working and want to weigh up whether it's better to have a company car or take an allowance,
then take a look at the fish4cars link below which includes an extremely useful
calculator.
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Jaguar. This is the official
Jaguar website for the UK. As you can imagine this site is full of stunning pictures of
the whole range of cars, both new and old. There is even a virtual car option that allows
you to view a selection of cars whilst rotating them - in some cases you can even open and
close the hood. However, be warned that this site takes a while to download due to the
number of images, especially the virtual car option.
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Carsource Lists and information
on new and used cars. One of the premier sources of information on cars sold on the web.
This site takes the form of a straightforward search engine. It may not be the most
attractive site but it is packed full of information and has options to show photos of
various models and links to reviews of individual cars. Well worth a look. |
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Auto Trader - This is a faithful
reproduction of the famous magazine, complete with photos and car reviews. There are a
variety of search engines available to find the car you want and although comprehensive
you may find that the majority of text is too small to read comfortably. |
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fish4cars New cars and
classified car ads on the net, highly recommended. This site has a useful feature called a
lifestyle search - you enter the kind of car you want (fast, safe, secure etc.) and it
searches through its database of used cars. It also contains road test reviews of many
used cars - lots of useful advice on what to look for when buying certain models.
A very
useful feature is a calculator to see whether it is to your advantage to have a company
car or to take an allowance instead.
The site also includes a search facility for cherished number plates. |
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The Automobile Association UK -
Welcome AA site. As you'd expect this site covers a great deal of information for the
motorist including insurance, financing and traffic news to name but a few topics. This is
a well laid-out, easy to navigate site, quick to download although the bright yellow
background may grate after a while. |
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BMW. The official BMW
website. Difficult to navigate this site and it is all too easy to get stuck into the
German version of the site. However, there are some great cars on display - particularly
the M5. |
| Aston Martin. This site is not
just about the cars but also about the company. Packed full of information about the
history behind each car and the models available, including technical specifications, this
is an impressive site for an impressive badge. |
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 Top Gear - The famous TV
programme online. Anyone who enjoys cars will get a real thrill out of this
site. It's the site to accompany the great TV program, what more needs to be
said?
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