Car Driving – Race Events UK

Founded in Germany in 1937, Volkswagen, which literally means ‘people’s car’ in German, has gone from strength to strength.  As a result, the range of used Volkswagens for sale on the second-hand car market is extensive and their popularity and reputation for quality continues to grow with each new generation, making them ever more desirable.

The iconic Volkswagen Beetle and the Camper Vans that were built before the 1980s are now so popular that to purchase a very good one second-hand would set you back considerably more than if you were to buy another make of car of the same age.  However, if you are looking to buy a VW, but your budget won’t stretch far enough to get you a classic model, there are plenty of other used Volkswagen models on the market for you to choose from.

Two perfect examples are the Polo and the Golf.  Both are fairly small cars, with varying engine sizes and specs.  There are literally thousands of used models around so the available choice is huge. 

In 1994 the venerable Volkswagen Beetle was completely redesigned and introduced back onto the market.  Although it has never gained the iconic status of the original car it has remained a popular model and has now been in production long enough to be gaining a foothold in the used Volkswagen market.  The Beetle has come full circle and is once again popular, but a good used example is not cheap to buy.

If you are ready to take your practical test and are learning to drive with a driving school in Blackpool or your local area, they can usually book your practical driving test and handle all of your information. You driving instructor will let you know when you are ready to do the test and will book it on a day to suit you; they will also book you in for a 2 hour lesson on the same day as your test to warm up and brush up on your skills.

To book your test with your instructor you will need your provisional licence, your theory test certificate number, your preferred method of payment and your preferred date and time for the test. The practical driving test will cost approximately £62 during weekday and £75 for Saturdays and weekday evenings.

Make sure that your driving instructor is available on your test day and notify them when you receive your test appointment letter (this can take up to 2 weeks). Booking your practical test is easy through your driving school in Blackpool, but if you want to book it directly you can by calling the Driving Standards Agency.

DVLA issues number plates as a means of identifying the vehicles on the road and also for taxing them for revenue purposes.  While many things can now be done online these days, registering your vehicle for the first time with the DVLA is not one of those activities.  That’s because the DVLA wants to ensure that the name and address of the vehicle keeper as filled out on the certificates is a genuine person.  You’ll be required to present both the completed certificates and your identification together when registering a vehicle for the first time.  Name and address checks are performed at that time, ensuring compliance with the law.

After successful registration, a number plate is ordered with the registration mark on it.  If you purchase a used vehicle, the seller is responsible for notifying the DVLA of the sale details, including the date and the identification information for the purchaser.  The seller remains liable for that vehicle until the DVLA is notified of the new owner.

In most cases the number plate remains with the automobile, however you can also apply to the DVLA at the time of purchase for a personalised or cherished plate number.  Do not remove the current plate until you receive your new plates – the DVLA works with the authorities to ensure licensing compliance, and driving an unregistered car is a good way to start dealing with both parties very quickly!

The DVLA has made quite a few improvements to the way they do business, and most people today find the necessary processes much quicker and easier than they were in the past.

One of the more commonly asked questions is, “how do I display my registration number correctly?” You can obtain a copy of the document that explains this by contacting Her Majesty’s Stationery Office which clearly outlines how registration marks have to be displayed in accordance to the 2001 Road Vehicles Regulations.  Here are the key points regarding displaying registration numbers in the UK.

- You must own the registration mark in order to display the related number plates on the vehicle

- Lettering on the rear number plate should be black on a yellow background while black lettering on a white background number plate is required at the front.

- All number plates, be they cherished number plates (personalised) or standard number plates must conform to UK standards and be easy to read.

- The lettering and the spacing of the number plate must conform to a set measurement

- Altering, misrepresenting, or rearranging the letters and/or numbers on your UK number plates is strictly prohibited

- The following chart displays the proper measurements for the spacing of letters and numbers on your registration plates (see http://www.numberplates.com):

Characters Height 79mm
Characters Width (except for the number 1 or the letter I) 50mm
Character Stroke 14mm
Space between characters 11mm
Space between any groups 33mm
Bottom, side, and top margins 11mm (minimum)
Space between vertical lines 19mm

If you have any further questions regarding the proper measurements listed above, you should contact your local DVLA office either in person, on the phone, or at their website.

There are many reasons for buying a private number plate; some people see it as an expression of their individuality, while others believe it to be a great gift, a gift that keeps on giving. There’s even an investment incentive, as long as the plate is purchased soon after its release. No matter what the reason is for buying the plate, private registration plates are becoming ever more popular, and can make for a booming business. The DVLA says it expects to raise £80 million, from the 2010 plate series alone.

For many the problem with car ownership is that it is difficult to make a unique statement on the road, because even the most expensive cars have hundreds of copies on the road. That’s why number plates are a popular way of customising cars, without making any physical changes to the car. In fact a number plate can assure you of one thing; there’s only one car with that number plate, and it is the plate of your choice, something truly personal.

While some plates can only be afforded by the rich and famous – think ‘F 1’ and ‘L 0 V E’ – number plates for sale by dealers are not necessarily as expensive as you may think. Obviously the rarer the plate the heavier the price tag, but with 30 million to choose from, starting at £50 each, there’s something for every taste and budget. Some are even willing to pay up to £500,000 for a sought after plate.

As a hoped-for answer to the growing practice of “car cloning” which involves the theft of car registration plates, the DVLA has begun selling anti-theft car registration plates.  Currently, many people are experiencing the theft of their legitimate registration plates by people who wish to pass their car off as someone else’s in order to commit crimes, drive away from petrol stations without paying, or sell stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers.  Vehicle cloning has also been found to be a problem in mailing citations for speeding or running red lights.

The new plates are designed to break into pieces and become unusable when prised off a car.  Not only that, but removing them from the car is designed to take at least three minutes, much longer than the average thief wants to spend committing such a crime.  That alone should deter most incidents if the pilot scheme runs well and the plates come into wider circulation.

The cost of the plates will be slightly higher, by about £10, but authorities predict they will still be very popular, especially in congested areas or locations with high car crime.  One prime reason for number plate theft is to avoid the London Congestion Charge, and so these new plates should sell quite well in that area. 

With more than 33,000 cases per year of registration plate theft reported, the new anti-theft plates should help the police catch criminals as well as keep unsuspecting and innocent vehicle owners from receiving surprise fines in the mail.  As many Brits can attest, the time and aggravation they spend dealing with a false charge is worth the extra £10 for an anti-theft plate. 

The DLVA will announce when the plates are available for general purchase.

Car registrations for new imported vehicles can be applied for at your local area DVLA office.  It takes two to three working days for this as no “over-the-counter” service is offered.  When registering your new imported vehicle, you will need to present the following original (not photocopied) documents to your DVLA office:

- A completed V55/4 application for new vehicles (V55/5 if it is used)
- If applicable, you will need to pay the £55 registration fee and all applicable tax fees
- A current British insurance certificate
- All foreign registration documents as well as other documents that relate to the vehicle
- Collection date evidence such as the supplier’s invoice
- Type approval evidence
- If applicable, you will need to provide a British MOT test certificate
- All appropriate HM Customs and Revenue forms
- If applicable, you will need to provide a Form V267 or a “Declaration that a vehicle is new.”  This can be downloaded online or you can acquire one at your local DVLA office.
- Documents which prove your name and address to be correct

Unless you have all the necessary and proper documentation, you will not be able to register the vehicle, nor can it be taxed.  There is the possibility that the DVLA will want to physically see the vehicle in order to confirm its identity.  If you have any further questions or need more information regarding registering and taxing an imported vehicle you can speak with your local area DVLA office or visit their website.

When you take your driving test, you are prepared for everything you will have to do and be asked by your examiner during it, however what do you do when you pass and you are out on the open road on your own? There are many more skills you require for driving everyday than what you get taught before your test, so how do you prepare for this?

Many people say you learn as you go and from experience but not everyone is confident enough to do that, sometimes extra help and reassurance is what you need and you can do that by taking a pass plus course at your driving school in Bury st Edmunds. When you take a pass plus course you get to learn essential skills and training which aren’t often covered in your driving lessons before your test such as:

- Introduction and town driving
-All-weather driving
-Out of town driving and rural roads
-Night driving
-Dual carriageways
-Motorway driving

A recent survey for the Driving Standards Agency showed that 93% of people who had taken Pass Plus felt more confident on the road, and 80% considered that their driving skills had improved as a result of taking the course. There are also other benefits of taking the pass plus course, some insurance view drivers who have taken it more favourably and you could get reduced premiums because of it. So if you have recently passed your driving test and feel that taking this course would be beneficial to you, you should visit your driving school in Bury st Edmunds and take the course today.

Theft of number plates is a cause for concern as many stolen plates are used for serious criminal activities. Theft resistant number plates are designed to be difficult to remove, or at least more difficult than normal plates.

There are a number of reasons why number plates are stolen. Stolen plates are put on vehicles when drivers don’t want to be traced under certain circumstances, such as speeding, illegal parking, not paying congestion charges, parking tickets or speeding fines. Worse still, sometimes number plates are often used to disguise a stolen vehicle.

The DVLA works with plate manufacturers and others to develop standards for theft resistant plates, and aims to reduce the number of car owners who face motoring related fines for something they didn’t do, and also to prevent the serious problem of vehicle cloning. The DVLA standard states that theft resistant plates need to withstand at least three minutes of tampering, and even if they are removed, they are supposed to break into at least four different pieces, which makes them useless for attachment to a different vehicle.

It can be difficult to find a number plate printer that can manufacture a theft resistant plate, as these are not yet widely available, but the DVLA has a list of number plate printers that are able to print the regulated anti-theft plates. Plates that resist tampering are more expensive than standard plates; be prepared to pay up to double the price of a standard number plate.

Whilst the Mini could never claim to be bigger inside than it looks on the outside (it’s actually as small as it appears, just as you’d suspect), the Mini One/Cooper is a tribute to brilliantly attractive design and fantastic handling.  Cute and classy, cool and mischievous, this car triumphantly fuses apparent opposites into a sparkling jewel of style and engineering.

Unlike the originals from the sixties, the contemporary Mini is truly comfortable (if you’re in the front, anyway), making a trifle of long journeys and bumpy roads. However, like the originals, it does still have a space problem. The boot is tiny and, if your kids are approaching adolescence, they’ll have to be forcibly crammed into the back seat.

The performance, however, is surprisingly good, although for a small car it is heavy. You’ll still be able to enjoy satisfyingly energetic acceleration, excellent grip and superb steering nonetheless. The heaviness is part and parcel of the car’s robustness and the interior quality is vastly better than when it first rolled onto the roads. A small car that looks chic and cheeky at the same time, the Mini One/Cooper is as stylish now as when it first dazzled the world four decades ago.