The whole point of insurance is to price the cost of repairs against the risk of an accident, theft, etc, etc, in addition to the claims history down to the person driving the car and the risk of claims due to the area the live/work.

Whether a car is 'green' or not should have, in my opinion, zero to do with the premium charged, especially as many poorer people cannot afford EVs and won't for the forseeable future, let alone 'newer' ICE engined (including hybrid) cars....

I'd also recommend the food at Tebay, not your usual motorway services burger-or-nothing, but a good selection of tasty knife-and-fork food.

Also, on the M74, Cairn Lodge services is owned by the same people as Tebay, also recommended. Its on a road running parallel to the M74 between J12 and J11...

The 5series is a great car with an excellent auto and if it is to be a keeper try and find one with plenty of extras which will be more desirable when you do sell. Try to find one with the variable suspension and no big wheels. Runflats are OK on these cars. Long term a petrol will be cheaper to run if you are not a high miler.

The autobox on my X3 is a delight, relaxed and fuss free driving. I hated autos until I was loaned a 3 series when the Mini engine blew - changed my mind, especially if it's an 8 speed torque converter box....

I have a 16 year old car. I do low mileage. A newer car might have lower emissions, but what is the cost carbon footprint of building a brand new car?


Someone who does high mileage in a new car, emits more pollution, then my car which is doing low mileage.

I have been looking at re-freshing my car, and it is hard to find a 3 or 4 year old car at a decent price, good service history and quality. In the past, there were many ex-fleet cars available for sale. I suspect company car tax and changing jobs may have something do with it.

Newer cars are far more complicated and they are n't as good as they used to be. Waiting at the main dealer to pick up my car following a service. The owner of a two year old car was quoted £250 for air conditioning re-fill. The same job in my older car is £40. The tyres on newer are bigger and they cost £250 each, on my car they are £100 each.

Add to that the hostile attitude towards motorists. Roads have been narrowed to make way for cyclist. So what is the point of buying an Electric car? If you are stuck in traffic due to loss of capacity.

Councils have high car parking charges. To park outside my home, I need to pay for a resident parking permit. If I visit family by car, I can't park there as they in a different residents parking zone. You can't park unless they have a visitors parking permit. Even they they have limit such as 6 hours maximum.

Then you have councils who set up honey traps to catch motorists for wrong doing. Such as putting up yellow lines outside businesses and then using CCTV to catch desperate people. One local council pedestrianised their high street, but it looked like a normal roads. The signs were camouflaged.

I have been honey trapped at yellow box junctions. Councils are milking drivers via their CCTV systems. Yet crime reports to the police or council never get investigated even when these CCTV systems. They are only used against motorist. In my another area, I drive through, they have put 20mph zone on a major road, but I don't see the signs, until too late and you have to brake hard and hopping not caught on cameras.

I have been hit twice by uninsured drivers, so do not I want to buy a nearly £15k car, only to be ripped off by my insurance company when I make a claim.

Even though I pay for a car, insurance (insurance tax premium), fuel duty, road tax, parking charges.... I still need to use public transport and taxis to get around.

I rather see driverless cars, which I can call up like Uber. I won't need to worry about parking or someone damaging my car.

Having done some research online it looks like the rear pads may wear faster due to using the hill hold function or the auto electronic parking brake.

That will not wear the pads at all. Both Hill Hold and the EPB are only applied when the car is stationary thus no pad wear happens....