How to Check your Car before Driving

Getting a few checks done before you drive off might make the difference between a smooth ride and a huge inconvenience.  Read on!

Exterior - Look for leaking fluid as well as any tire issues. Your windshields, windows and mirrors should all provide clear visibility too

Engine - Make sure that your fluid levels are up and that your battery is charged up.

Signals and Lights - Your indicator lights should be bright and responsive. Make sure that your headlight, brake and reverse lights are not blown. Your wipers should be in good working order too!

Interior - Make sure nothing has sneaked into the car before you drive off! Also, give your car a chance to warm up so you can read the gauges and make sure that everything is in order.

When car trouble is unavoidable, you can always call a mechanic or reliable roadside assistance team to bail you out! Find out how you can subscribe with such services with The Smarter Finance Company today!

How to Check your Car before Driving 

How to Protect your Car

Take a few steps once in a while to make sure that your investment in your new car is protected!

Scheduled Maintenance - Follow your scheduled maintenance schedule! A trained mechanic will not only be able to help you tune up your vehicle every once in a while if you can’t do so on your own but they can spot some problems that you might have missed!

Washing and Waxing - Keeping your car clean helps your car to continue to look its best! A shiny car is also perceived to be worth more too.

Car Alarm - A simple car alarm can help protect your car from theft and vandalism. Just make sure to calibrate the car well if you don’t want to wake up the neighbourhood with the slightest disturbance!

Driving Safe! - If you drive safe, you prevent a lot of unnecessary woes! Follow the road rules and make sure you are in good condition to drive before getting in the car.

A good comprehensive insurance coverage can help make sure that if something does happen to your car that you’ll have somewhere to go to get repairs done! Call The Smarter Finance Company to find out more! 

How to Protect your Car

Deciding on Extra Features for Your Car

What are some extra features you can add-on to your car? Find out below!

Safety Add-ons - Check your car for number and placement of airbags, warning systems, and other technology that can help you detect danger around you and your vehicle.

Electric or Environmentally-conscious Versions - If there is a hybrid version, why not do your part for the environment and gain some fuel economy when you use electricity instead of petrol to run your car!

Paint & detailing - Changing colour and look of your car is an expensive feature that doesn’t add much value to your car but can be nice if you want to personalise your car.

More Technology - If you want to be connected on the move or entertained, or simply have a good mapping system installed, you can take a look at what technology can be added into your car’s control panel.

Extra Insurance and Warranties - Car insurance and warranties are important add-ons to give you peace of mind when you’re on the road. Find out more about what you’re covered for to make sure you are covered in all situations.

Extra features for your car might be quite expensive so be careful when you negotiate extras with your dealer. 

Deciding on Extra Features for Your Car

Making Sure you have Sufficient Car Insurance

You shouldn’t ever compromise on your car insurance even though it’s expensive. Here’s how to keep your insurance costs low...

Buy an Affordable Car - Sports, performance and SUV models generally are more risky cars to drive because of the power they have. While the cars are costly themselves, it can be expensive to insure them too.

Figure out what you Need - Find out what kind of coverage there is. Comprehensive insurance is a good mid-level coverage to start with.

Compare Car Insurance - Compare the best car insurance deals and pick the one that fits your car the best. Make sure you check out reviews of the company too!

Look for Discounts - There just might be some special rates if you pick up a package deal or wait for a particular time in the year.

Manage your Excess - Balance your excess with how much you can afford but don’t pick an excess too high that you won’t be able to claim anything unless your car is totalled!

Drive Carefully! - A good driving track record means a cheaper insurance premium!  

Check with The Smarter Finance Company if you need help with those quote comparisons today!

Making Sure you have Sufficient Car Insurance

Use Your Car for Your Safety!

Because so many things can happen to you on the road, your car is built to keep you safe. Here’s how!

1) Check your Speedo - Check that you’re within the speed limit and don’t speed. Save yourself from a speeding ticket and an accident!

2) Check your Blind Spots - Use your side view mirrors and keep your windows unobstructed and clear so that you can see your blind spots for any hiding pedestrians or vehicles

3) Use your Lights and Wipers Appropriately - In bad weather conditions, your high beam, demisting lines on your rear windshield and your wipers are there to give you a clear view of what’s in front and behind you.

4) Wear your Seatbelt - Always buckle up and buckle up tight! Keep a seatbelt cutter of knife handy as well in case you are trapped in the car and need a quick way out.

Keep safe not only by knowing how to use your car, but by having comprehensive car insurance in place too!

Use Your Car for Your Safety!

How to Pick a Car that’s Right for You!

Just how can a person decide on just ONE car? There are a lot of things to look at isn’t there? Here we narrow down some tips for you...

How big?

Different cars cater to different needs and you need to work out just how much capacity your need. Test drives and asking questions at the showroom might be able to help you sort out some queries you have.

How powerful?

More power may mean more speed, but you may not always be more safe!  What level of security and power you really needs depends on the terrain that you travel on a regular basis.

Gas, Diesel or a Hybrid?

You get different fuel economy from different types of petrol. Again, depending on what your average route looks like, different choices will give you a better yield!

How to Pick a Car that’s Right for You!

Your tastes may change over the years and finding a car that suits you will take some searching. We hope that we’ve been able to help you narrow it down!

How much should you spend on a car

We can help you decide how much money to spend on your new car. Just take a look at the different components here:-

Down Payment

Making a cash payment upfront helps to reduce the monthly repayment amounts that you need to pay, but it should be balanced with how much you have in your bank account at that moment of course!

Monthly Payment

Examine your savings each month and how much you can comfortably put aside each month to go towards your car repayments. You can also tap on your savings or adjust your expenditure to make sure that you can fit the monthly payments in.

Extra Costs

Extra costs can affect how much you spend on your car outside of your monthly payments. Road taxes and sales taxes, registration costs, insurance, petrol and maintenance all adds up!

Don’t spend past your limits and look at your car financing plan carefully before committing. Being comfortable with the amount you pay will make your life a lot easier!

How much should you spend on a car

Deciding what car to buy

If there are too many choices and you don’t know where to start looking, here we look at some aspects of a car that might help you make a decision!

Capacity                       

How much space do you need? How big is your family and do you need extra capacity for transporting things around town?

Power

Do you really need 4 wheel drive or extra horse power under the hood? If you aren’t expecting to cross too much terrain, perhaps you can scale down your requirements.

Safety

How many airbags does your car have and whether there are additional safety features installed in your car will depend heavily on your environment. Wet and cold weather as well as off-road conditions will require more control and safety from your vehicle for you and your passengers.

Economy

Different cars have varying levels of fuel economy. It’s always a good idea to get a car that doesn’t drink gasoline too much because it’s expensive, especially if you expect long commutes!

If you have your sights set on a car, you can start looking at car financing rates so that you can be prepared to put your money down when a good deal comes up!  

Deciding what car to buy