Car Compressors

One of the 12V devices we mentioned previously was the very useful tyre pump. Wherever you are, whatever the time, these handy machines let you pump up your tyres. Admittedly they’re quite noisy, so ideally using them at three o’clock in the morning on a housing estate isn’t ideal, but they can and will save the day when you really need them to.

Let’s have a quick run down of some popular brands that make car pumps.

AA

Whenever there’s a news report on TV relating to motor vehicles, insurance, roads or anything else driving related, the news crews will wheel out someone from the RAC or the AA. It makes sense then to start with the AA as they’re synonymous with road safety. Regularly checking your tyre pressures is something they advocate, so it stands to reason that they’d put their name to an inflation device or two. It’s highly unlikely that they manufacture them in house, but hopefully the fact that they allow their name to be associated with the range is a signal of quality.

If you’re a brand oriented individual, that’s a reason to opt for the AA, but they’re not the most recommended brand you’ll find on the web.

Michelin

Most people associate Michelin with tyres, as they’re known as a premium brand that make reliable replacement tyres. A lot of people believe you get a huge number more miles with Michelin’s compared to cheaper options, and we’ll not pass judgement on that, however it’s rare that I’d stump up the cost for premium tyres as experience tells me that driving over something like a nail will puncture even the most expensive tyre.

Again, this is a big name brand which will appeal to many people, but isn’t the choice of the industry.

Ring

Here’s where the heavyweights and experts are putting their money – the Ring brand. I’d not heard of them until a couple of years ago, but recently they’ve been getting the seal of approval from well known journalists and specialist websites alike.

Well priced, feature rich and building a good reputation for reliability and longevity seem to be helping Ring to corner the electronic tyre pump market, at a time when the tide is shifting towards owning a pump yourself rather than using the one at the petrol station.

As more and more people drive, there are increasing number of devices begin produced that can be used in the car itself. Not only can you use them, you can also be confident that they are being charged by the car itself and don’t need to be powered up prior to them being inside. The 3 that seem to appear frequently include chargers, tyre inflators and of all random items, cool boxes.

Chargers

Where do we being? There are a huge range of chargers available to used in your car ranging from providing USB points to cigarette lighter sockets. Many offer an increased number of charging points meaning you can be less concerned if you need more than your car has to offer.

So, if you have a car travelling full of yourself and your family or friends, being able to provide plenty of charging points that can be used for phones and entertaining devices will help to maintain a positive atmosphere.

This will also support you in keeping on top of things during your journey. In addition to this benefit, you will also be able to charge and maintain the energy supply in dash cameras and GPS. These items allow you to keep track of your journey and provide the information that you require. So, now matter which requirements you have, there are a large number of uses available and benefits that charging units can add to your vehicle.

Tyre inflators

Tyre inflators seem to be appearing to offer more and more benefits. Ensuring driving safety is essential. One of the key inspections frequently recommended is checking your tyres. In addition to ensuring that your tyre depth is now lower than 1.6mm, keeping on top of your tyre pressure will support you to make sure that driving at various speeds is safe.

Tyre inflators that you can now buy can be plugged in inside your vehicle not only to check the tyres pressure, but also to use to inflate your tyres to the pressure suggested by the car provider. Some even have lights on them, so if you are checking, reducing or increasing your tyre pressure in the dark, you can see much more easily.

On top of this, many inflators also come with a number of different sized adapters meaning they can be used to inflate various items from bicycle tyres to footballs.

Find out more here.

Cool boxes

Travelling on a long-distance journey or heading away for a holiday? There are now cool boxes, of various sizes, available to be plugged in in the car to keep drinks and foods cool as you are travelling.

With various sizes and prices, there are lots of products to chose from. From big to small you find the ideal box for your size vehicle, as well the number of items you are hoping to be able to store within it. Additionally, cool boxes now seem to have an increasing variant of uses making them more and more appealing.

 

Buying a used car can be full of pitfalls to watch out for. A cars history is often difficult to uncover, finding out if a vehicle has a full service history can be a complete nightmare. Then there is the subject of accidents; how would you really know if the car you are looking at has been in one? There is more to consider too, such as whether the vehicle is mechanically sound. You can get some absolute steals when buying a used car but you really do have to be clued up or you may end up buying something which will break down within a week of purchase.

When buying a used car the first thing you should look at is the price to make sure that it is reasonable. Asking prices do fluctuate quite a lot, so it may be worth picking up a hand book like Glass’s guide for car valuations to give you an idea of what various models of different years are worth. You will find that quite often a seller will let a car go for much less then a guide valuation states the car is worth. This could be down to several factors including mileage and general condition. If a car is a little rough around the edges but mechanically sound, you have a possible bargain in the making.

Always be cautious of vehicles which have had a lot of body modifications done to them. They might look quite stylish but you can be sure that they will have been driven hard many times and their overall condition is likely to be bad as a result. Often, the engine of a modified car has had a lot of use, some of it pushing it to the limits of what it is capable of. This makes modified cars best to avoid, go for something that looks like it has had years of family use as families tend to take better care of their cars.

It is advisable to take a mechanic with you when buying a used car so they can assess the condition of the car for you. The cost might be a little steep, but at the least, you won’t be driving away in a car which shouldn’t have been bought by anyone.