Sunday Express - Driving Miss Crazy

Having a car is fun and fabulous. But sometimes the world of motoring can feel like the final frontier for the modern woman. Your word might be law in the boardroom, but turn up at a car dealership with your husband and there's still a good chance that the salesman with direct all his patter at your other half and ignore your questions. And never mind how switched-on financially you are when it comes to other areas of your life – when some grimy car car mechanic is sucking air in through his teeth and telling you it's going to cost you £450 to get your cranksprocket realigned, it's easy to feel out of your depth.

The stock answer to this situation is that a woman shouldn't bother her pretty head with such matters and instead get the nearest available male to help her out. But many women either don't have vast quantities of car-savvy blokes immediately to hand or would rather be independent anyway. And these days maleness is by no means an automatic guarantee of mechanical competence.
'In the past a lot of men used to do their own maintenance and repairs, but over the last twenty years that's really dropped off,' says Steve Fowler, editor of What Car?. 'This is partly because cars are becoming more complex and partly because of the pressures of time and modern life. That means nowadays the average bloke wouldn't necessarily know any more than the average woman – though he'd probably feel he had to pretend he did. Women can actually make better car buyers because they're more pragmatic. If they're not particularly knowledgeable about cars they'll get stuck in and do the research rather than attempt to bluff their way through and that puts them in a stronger position.'

Getting up to speed on buying and running a car isn't nearly as difficult as people in the car trade and old blokes down the pub would have you believe – here are some basic guidelines to get you firmly in the driving seat.

Money and your motor
Let's say you need a new skirt and you see one for £40 and one for £70. If you go for the cheaper option you've saved £30. Unfortunately it's nowhere near as simple as that with cars. Because although a £4000 car will initially be cheaper than a £7000 one, if it needs loads of repairs, has poor fuel economy or is expensive to insure then all of a sudden it doesn't look like such a bargain. But then, some cheap cars can also be trouble-free and inexpensive to run. What's important is that you break down the different costs associated with car ownership and make decisions based on your individual needs.

For example when you're buying a car you need to look at the basic price if you're paying cash, or the basic price plus the cost of the interest payments if you're buying it with a loan or other finance agreement. And if you're planning on selling the car in a couple of years, is important to look at the depreciation (loss of value) that will have taken place by then. Some cars depreciate quite sharply whereas others, like the Mini hold their value relatively well.

Then there are the other running costs such as road tax, car insurance, breakdown cover, fuel, servicing, repairs, MOTs, trips to the carwash and maybe even the occasional parking ticket. It's a good idea to make a list and see where you can shave some money off. Shopping around for car insurance is an obvious one, as is buying the best value fuel. The website www.petrolprices.com which monitors forecourt prices around the UK can help you out here - just enter your postcode or town and the system lists the nearest filling stations and their current prices.

Repair costs can be scarily unpredictable – and sometimes very unfair. Although, broadly speaking, new and newish cars are more reliable than old bangers, it's frustrating when you've spent a sizeable chunk of your savings on a car which then keeps collapsing and demanding replacement camshafts and alternators within months of the warranty expiring whilst a friend whose elderly motor appears to be held together by string and mud sails effortlessly through its MOTs.

But one way of keeping repair costs down is by looking after your car as you would a treasured houseplant or much-loved pet. This means not skimping on services, which should be carried out at the intervals advised by the manufacturer, and performing regular maintenance checks.

Keep your Motor Running
Caring for your car doesn't mean donning greasy overalls and changing your own sparkplugs – unless that's something you're keen to have a go at, of course!
It is however vital that you check your car over regularly as it'll prevent problems and, more importantly, keep you and your family safe on the road.
Even if dealing with anything vaguely mechanical feels out of your comfort zone and you've always tended to see under the bonnet as a scary place, once you've done the checks a few times you'll be surprised at how quick and easy they actually are. You'll need your driver's manual which will give you information about the correct tyre pressures, show you the geography of what goes where under the bonnet and get you past any 'accidentally putting oil in the screenwash container' anxiety attacks.

A useful approach is to follow the POWDER sequence below about once a fortnight

P – petrol or other fuel
O – oil
W – windscreen washer, coolant and other fluid levels
D – damage to the vehicle
E - electrics (lights and battery)
R – rubber (tyres and windscreen wipers)

If you're not sure about how to do any of these checks, get an experienced friend or family member to show you. Doing the checks yourself rather than relying on the nearest available bloke is great in that it means you don't have to waste any of your valuable time on nagging, and it also helps you become more familiar with your vehicle. So if it develops any problems such as leaking fluids or making odd noises or smells then you'll be quicker to spot them and either deal with it yourself or take it to a garage.

The Girls' Guide to Garages
For overall happiness and peace of mind, having a capable, trustworthy garage on speed-dial is every bit as vital as tracking down the perfect hairdresser. But where do you find such a paragon of virtue? Personal recommendation is seen as the best way forwards, so ask around among family, friends and colleagues. If your car is still under warranty then you'll probably want to have it serviced by the franchised dealership, but charges and levels of service can vary even within the same franchise, so it's worth doing some reconnaissance on local dealerships before deciding which one to go for.

As far as independent garages go – they can be very good, very bad and all points in between. And the ways a garage can potentially rip you off are many and varied – they range from fabricating work that doesn't really need doing, to using a cheap brand of oil and charging you for the top-of-the-range variety to charging two hours labour for a job that really took them an hour. It's best to choose a garage that's a member of a trade federation such as The Retail Motor Industry Federation or The Motor Vehicles Repairers Association. Or better still, check out local garages signed up to the Motor Industry Code. This is a scheme developed by the motor industry to create a network of garages that customers can trust. Garages that join are agreeing to keep to certain standards and if you're not happy a free advice line is available. You can find details of local garages at www.motorindustrycode.co.uk or by phoning 0800 692 0825.

When using a new garage, it's a good idea to start off by having just a minor bit of work done initially, such as getting them to replace a headlight bulb or carry out a service. That way you can get a general feel for the place and suss out how friendly and reliable they are and whether they seem to be dealing fairly with you.
The garage environment can feel a bit unnerving to the uninitiated and trying to describe the precise nature of the odd clunky noise your car has been making to a bloke in a grimy overall over the background noise of someone welding and a radio playing Chris Moyles at full blast is, for most of us, a fast-track to feeling like a useless girlie. But it's important to behave confidently and not bang on about how little you know. Ask questions about what they're going to do, how much it's likely to cost and whether the charge includes VAT. When discussing prices, it's important to be aware of whether you're being given an estimate or a quote. Quotes should be supplied in writing and cover exactly what the garage plans to do, whilst estimates just give a rough cost. If possible, run this past car-savvy family, friends and colleagues to see if they nod approvingly or splutter out their coffee and squawk about how they're trying to rob you. Hopefully it'll be the former and you'll have just started a good relationship with the garage of your dreams.

Gotta New Motor?
The best time to start thinking about your next car is long before you need to buy it. If your old one has given up the ghost and you're lost without a car for work or the school run, you're not in a strong position when it comes to haggling at the showroom or shopping around for the perfect second-hand deal. Doing your research well in advance gives you time to consider your priorities, such as increased fuel economy or getting a larger car for a growing family. It's also a time when you can check out different makes of car. Many people often have loyalties towards a certain brand – it's a bit like families where they always have the same breed of dog – their much-loved Labrador or Westie passes on and after a respectful interval is replaced by another. Sometimes this is a good thing – after all, if you've always been happy with your Nissan Micra why bother to change? But when the time to get a new car comes round it is at least worth considering the options. Car manufacturers are changing all the time – Skodas used to be a bit of a joke, for example, but now they're very well-regarded. So flick through a few car magazines and maybe even test-drive a few cars you might not normally have considered. It's a bit like dating men who aren't your usual type or trying on clothes in a colour you wouldn't normally wear – sometimes you can be very pleasantly surprised!

Whether you're buying new or second-hand, one of the most important factors in getting a good deal is to do your research beforehand. This is where the internet is particularly useful – sites such as www.whatcar.com will not only give you the list price of different new and used models, but also the 'target price' – which deducts the discount you can reasonably expect to get. That means that you're not 'haggling in the dark' with a car salesman, but negotiating from a position of greater power. You can also look up the resale value of your current car, both as a trade-in or if you decide to sell it privately.


Buying from a Dealership
When you're buying a car from a dealership, it's important to bear in mind that they don't just make their money on selling cars but also on flogging finance deals, extended warranties, and making money on cars that have been traded in.

So a typical dealer strategy is to attempt to dazzle you with his generosity in one area, such as offering a decent discount on the car you're buying, while quietly stitching you up on the finance or your trade-in. However, if you've done your research beforehand and know the exact sums it'll be impossible for them to pull the wool over your eyes.

Since the credit crunch kicked in , car sales have plummeted so when it comes to haggling, remember that you're in a strong position. You can make it even stronger by going in at end of the month, or better still, the end of the quarter. Car dealers have targets to meet and if they haven't yet done so they'll be particularly keen to clinch sales at these times. And if you've got a car that's over ten years old then you might want to take advantage of the scrappage scheme. This is an arrangement whereby you get a £2000 incentive for scrapping your old car and buying a shiny new one. £1000 of this comes from the car industry and half from the government. But even if you go down this route it's still important to do your research and make sure you're getting the best possible deal and look at ways you can drive down the overall price of your car even further.


Buying Through a Private Sale
You can get a real bargain this way, but there are also far more pitfalls for the unwary. You've got very little legal comeback if the car turns out to be a complete crock, and you also need to be more vigilant about not getting landed with a stolen car. Always go to visit a private seller at their home, rather than letting them bring the car to you or meeting somewhere such as a motorway service station. And don't ever complete a sale without having all the relevant documentation such as the vehicle registration form. No matter how independent you are, it's best to bring someone else along when buying through a private sale as going for test drives or exchanging large sums of money with a complete stranger isn't a good idea.

Driving Disasters
The most important thing to remember about breakdowns is that prevention is better than cure – the more conscientious you are about checking your tyres, the less likely you are to get a puncture and avoiding overloading the battery means you're less likely to get a flat one. Join a breakdown organisation and always have a fully charged mobile phone in your car so you can summon help if needed. If you're the sort of girl who likes doing her own repairs then you'll probably feel confident changing a tyre at the side of the road. But if you're not there's no need to feel as if you're letting the suffragettes down by not having a go. For small punctures, a can of Holt's Tyreweld can save the day. It's an aerosol you squire through the tyre valve to seal the hole and inflate the tyre. It's only a temporary measure but the top speed you can go is about 50mph. But at least it can help you home or to the nearest garage.