You’re driving along, everything seems fine, you stop at a red light and all of a sudden things don’t seem so fine. There’s a funny smell, a whirring, a clunky noise. Is it the engine? Please don’t let it be the engine. Not the engine!

The first thing that usually springs to mind is – how am I going to get to work/pick up the kids/get the supermarket shopping done. The second thing that usually springs to mind is – this is going to cost money I don’t have right now. Unfortunately, if it is engine trouble both thoughts are probably going to be correct! Engine trouble will require immediate attention and it probably will cost. But like everything it’s better to sort the problem as soon as it occurs rather than leave it. So with that in mind here are some of the most common signs that you have engine trouble:

1. The most obvious sign that something is amiss will come from your dashboard. You’ve probably noticed that the dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree when you turn the ignition and then one by one the lights go out. If any of the lights stay on then this is the car telling you that something isn’t right and needs to be checked out. Pay particular attention to the oil symbol and the engine symbol.
2. A healthy car shouldn’t stall, jerk or judder, so if this is happening then there is something amiss. It could be dirty spark plugs, clogged fuel lines or a clogged fuel filter. Worst case scenario your timing belt has snapped. If this is the case then the bad news is the chances are some serious damage has been done to the pistons and it aint gonna be cheap to fix it.
3. Tapping or popping sounds are not good news either. This could indicate that detonation is taking place within the cylinders – something that happens when fuel ignites prematurely in the combustion chamber. The result? Damage to the pistons  and a dent in your wallet!
4. A grinding noise when you start up the engine might mean that your starter motor is caput and needs to be replaced, and if you hear a similar noise while you’re shifting gears it could mean transmission problems. Either sound is not to be ignored in the hope that it will just go away!
5. Finally, if something smells wrong then it probably is! It could mean that you have an oil or coolant leak, or it could be something more serious and mean that dangerous carbon monoxide gases have made their way into the cabin of the car. Not good for you or the car and something that needs to be checked out as soon as possible.

With all smells and noises it’s best to get things checked out as soon as you can. The problem might be fixable without breaking the bank – on the other hand, it might be time to think about trading your motor in for a newer model.

If you think it’s time to upgrade to something newer, why not check out our deal of the day?

Debt seems to be part and parcel of most people’s lives these days. The cost of living, freeze on wages and ‘borrow the money’ mentality that we have come to accept as the norm means very few people have no debt at all. The trouble is, if you don’t keep on top of it, debt can quickly spiral out of control and cause no end of stress and worry.

If you are currently trying to cope with a mountain of debt and wondering if you’ll ever be able to get out of it, here are some top tips to help get you back on track and get your credit score looking healthy again.

The first thing you really need to do is acknowledge the fact that you do have debt. There’s no use sticking your head in the sand and pretending it will go away. The best plan is to sit down, get out your bank statements, open all your bills and discover just how much money you actually owe. It might feel a little overwhelming to begin with, but you will feel better once you’ve faced up to it.

The next thing to do is take a good look at your income versus your expenditure. Make a list of all your monthly outgoings, both regular and occasional and this will give you a very useful overview of your spending habits. You might be surprised at how much money you’re spending on that morning coffee or meals out every month. Now it’s time to be ruthless and identify areas where you can cut back. And, hard as it might be, once your essentials are covered, you should try and put as much money as you can aside to reduce the debt every month.

Here are just some ways you could save on monthly outgoings:

• Cycle to work or car share instead of driving by yourself or getting public transport
• See if you can save money by switching your energy supplier
• Try and avoid eating out for lunch every day – all those deli bought sandwiches can soon add up.

Now it’s time to look at ways of earing some extra money. Do you have a spare room that you could rent out to a lodger? Could you take on a part time job in the evenings or at the weekends? Do you have older children who are working and living at home who could contribute a bit more to the household pot? Could you do some overtime at work? Literally every extra pound you can earn will be a help.

Prioritising your debts is also an important step to helping you get them under control. Pay the most urgent ones first and make sure you can cover the essentials like rent, council tax, water and utilities. Once these have all been taken care of then contact your creditors and see if you can negotiate payment terms with them. And don’t be pressured into paying more than you can afford. Take it slowly, pay as much as you can each month and in time you will start to get things back under control.

If you have a bad credit rating as a result of debt, we can help you get the car you need with an affordable, manageable car loan. Why not check out some of our latest deals.

Driving efficiently is better for the environment and easier on your pocket too. And when you consider how much it costs to fill up the tank these days, that’s got to be good news. With that in mind, here are some top tips to help you drive more efficiently and get more out of your fuel – up to 47% more in fact!

The most important thing to bear in mind is that the more work your car has to do, the more fuel it’s going to burn. So rule number one is minimise the work load. This means shedding all the excess weight that your car is carrying unnecessarily. Take a look in the boot and take out anything that doesn’t need to be there. If you have a roof rack on the car, take it off until you actually need to use it. It’s adding weight and also wind resistance which means your car is working harder than it needs to. It’s estimated that for every extra 100lbs that your car carries it’s losing 2% in fuel economy, so you’re saving money simply by doing a good clean out.

Something else that could be adding to the cost of your driving is underinflated tyres. If you imagine trying to roll a bean bag up a hill, you’ll get some idea of why the car uses more fuel when your tyres aren’t inflated to their optimum pressure. When tyres are properly inflated they have less contact with the road, causing less friction and thereby using less fuel. If you want to go the extra mile (so to speak) on this you could even consider getting low rolling resistance tyres which encounter even less friction and can lead to a 6% increase in fuel economy.

One of the best ways to improve your fuel economy, however is to change the way you actually drive your car. If you have a tendency to drive fast, break and accelerate suddenly then you could be using 33 % more fuel than you need to. So accelerate at a steady pace and make sure you keep plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you so that you can avoid breaking hard when the car in front slows down.

Remember the old saying, look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves, well it’s the same when it comes to fuel efficiency. Consider all the little things that could be making your car work harder than it needs to and the savings will add up throughout the year.

Talking of savings, have you checked out our latest deal of the day?