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This sounds stupid but I know nothing about cars

I've just got a provisional licence.(Today)

It might sound stupid but I genially don't know anything about cars

What do I need to own a car?
Whats a MOT?
What does insurance mean?


What do I need to own a car?
In terms of licence.How it works and what does it mean by points on licence

Say if I got my full licence by July.Do I just need to pay for a car then(MOT,insurance )each year
Roughly how much does it cost.
If I bought a car for £750
No ones ever told me so I actually dont know
Original post by 061194
I've just got a provisional licence.(Today)

It might sound stupid but I genially don't know anything about cars

What do I need to own a car? A Car
Whats a MOT? Minster of trains
What does insurance mean? You are allowing some people to earn lots of money.

What do I need to own a car?
In terms of licence.How it works and what does it mean by points on licence.You also need a license. You get 1 point for every civilian you hit, and three points for every pink car you crash into.

Say if I got my full licence by July.
Do I just need to pay for a car then?
(MOT,insurance )each year
Roughly how much does it cost.
If I bought a car for £750
No ones ever told me so I actually don't know


See quoted section.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by 061194
I've just got a provisional licence.(Today)

It might sound stupid but I genially don't know anything about cars

What do I need to own a car? A full licence, to have bought it & signed the dvla papers, car insurance, make sure its got an MOT, Tax, parking permit if needed
Whats a MOT? It's a yearly test given to cars older than 3 years to make sure its roadworthy
What does insurance mean? Essentially its for when you are in an accident caused by yourself, the insurance covers the cost and claims by others from the accident. Accidents have a cost, which can go into thousands and thousands of pounds and its there to protect you in a way. The Insurer will generally handle it all and pay out these sums.


What do I need to own a car?
In terms of licence.How it works and what does it mean by points on licence

Say if I got my full licence by July.Do I just need to pay for a car then(MOT,insurance )each year
Roughly how much does it cost.
If I bought a car for £750
No ones ever told me so I actually dont know


Once you get a full licence, you can buy and then drive any car. In your first 2 years there is a limit of how many points you can get, believe its 6 and your licence gets taken away. After that period I believe its 12 points or more within a 3 year period.
Points are essentially like strikes on your licence, depending on what you get caught doing, such as speeding is usually 3 points and a fine, sometimes they let you do a speed awareness course.

When you buy a car currently, you need to buy the Tax as Tax no longer passes over to the new owner.
Insurance, MOT, Tax is yearly.

Insurance depends on the car, the individual, the area you live in, etc
Tax again, depends on the car, the more environmentally the car is the cheaper the tax and parking permits. MOT price depends on the garage and can be as high as £54.85.
Reply 3
An MOT is a test that makes sure your car is safe. It doesn't check things like the engine, so it doesn't matter if the car can go. It just ensures that the car is legal and no bits will fall off. Your car needs to have an MOT once a year.

You need insurance. Generally, this will cover you to drive a certain car. You can get insurance that covers driving multiple cars, or any car, but this is more expensive - and is unnecessary unless you have lots of cars you may drive. Note that this doesn't cover you to drive a certain type of car, but is literally only one car - you put the registration number in, and that's it.
Insurance means that if you have an accident, certain costs are covered. There are different levels of cover which cover you for different things.
Third party cover means that in an accident, they will cover the third party - ie if you crash into me, my car will be repaired (I am the third party, or other person) but you are liable for your own costs.
Third party, fire and theft means you have third party as above, but you also will be covered if your car is damaged by fire or theft. Personally, I would say this is the minimum you should be going for.
Fully comprehensive means that all damages are covered. So if you crash into me my car will be repaired, but also your car will be too.
You can also get optional extras on insurance, like a free hire car whilst yours is being repaired. This will vary between policies.
Insurance costs vary so much.It depends on how much of a risk you are, so is based on your age and where you live and other factors. Some people on TSR post that their insurance is around £2000 a year. Mine is currently £190 a year, and at its highest was £490. My partner's is around £700.

It's a good idea to get some breakdown cover. I'm with the AA. This means that if your car breaks down, they will come and rescue you. There are different levels with this, too - they might not rescue you within a certain distance of home, or might only cover certain repairs. This is very much like "first aid" - they may only come and put a plaster on your car, as it's more to make sure you're safe. Policies start from about £30 a year. This is optional but if you travel long distances I'd recommend it.

You get points on your licence by being bad. Most commonly this is speeding. If you obey the rules you don't need to worry about this. I have always had 0 points and therefore have no idea what I'm talking about - I think the maximum number is 12, with half for new drivers, but you'll want to check that. I think you get 3 for speeding. If you get too many points your licence gets taken away :frown:

So, a list of what you need to drive
a driving licence (either full, or if provisional you need a supervising person over 21 with their own licence for 3 years)
a car (either your own, or permission of the owner)
a valid MOT
insurance

You will get a V5C when you own a car, which is essentially its adoption certificate. It tells the DVLA (driver and vehicle licensing authority) who owns that car, so if the car is caught doing something it shouldn't like parking in the wrong place or speeding then the DVLA knows who to go to for information.
Reply 4
To *own* a car, you don't need anything other than some money. I bought my first car before I had a driving licence.

To drive it is quite another matter...

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