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Sep26
Finding cheap insurance – Students
When you’re a student you need to save as much money as possible, as that student loan isn’t designed for a jet set lifestyle. If you’re lucky enough to be a student with a car, then there are two downsides – firstly, it can be immensely difficult to find a quote for cheap car insurance and secondly, all your mates will want to use you as a taxi to get them to lectures on time!
Young drivers have their work cut out when it comes to finding a cheap quote for their car insurance, because younger people are statistically more likely to have an accident, so the premiums are much higher, especially if this is your first car.
So, just how do you go about finding a cheap student car insurance quote? Are there any ways to bring your premium down? Here are a few tips to help you get a cheap car insurance quote.
First of all, get the cheapest quote you can using comparison sites – this will give you an idea of how much your premium is likely to be. Many insurance companies who specialise in student car insurance will be included on these comparison sites, look out for companies like Endsleigh Insurance, who have policies that are designed especially for students. These premiums mean that you only have to pay for what you need, not all those fancy extras that you’ll never use. You can also try going direct to these companies to see if they will give you a cheaper quote by going directly through them.
There are also some ways that you can help to bring your premium down. If you’ve just passed your test, opt to go for the extra courses, like Pass Plus, which will prove to insurers that you’re a responsible driver and you’ve had experience driving on motorways. Also, opt for a car that’s cheap and unmodified. There are several economical cars in the lowest insurance band, so it’s worth finding out what these are before your buy.
Aug28
Skyjet SJ-125-23 – Problems
It seems that Lexmoto has recently released the Skyjet SJ-125-24, an updated version of the Skyjet SJ-125-23, similar to many imported motorbikes under different manufacturers. However, because of the numerous amount of problems with the 125-23, there seems to be little hope for the new version; it seems almost an impossibility that all of its problems will be fixed in one quick update. My brother owns a Skyjet SJ-125-23, and consequently, I was able to test it out.
However, typical of the build of many Chinese imports, after traveling 6000 miles, the gearbox has blown. Later this week I will be stripping Skyjet SJ-125-23 of its engine and tuning it up to make sure it will run properly. I will also be replacing all the screws and bolts, because I find that once you take them off, they never go back on without breaking/snapping.
Lexmoto hasn’t had any new information released to its suppliers about the previous problems with the SJ-125-23. All 125-23’s are made the same way, with the same parts, regardless of the manufacturer. Nothing new has been said about the bad quality of the parts, or the constant rattling of the engine that makes riding so unbearable. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that the problems still exist, and the only thing that has changed is a superficial revision in the design of the bike.
Personally, I have been begging my brother to scrap this piece of junk and buy a CBR 125 or YZF-125, but he still wants to ride the Skyjet SJ-125-23 and later transition to a car when he is ready. Of course, this decision is lazy as well as costly. The Skyjet SJ-125-23 is prone to breakdowns, which means I’m responsible for repairing the devilish monstrosity. Repairing the Skyjet sometimes requires days, if not weeks of work, depending on what has broken and how long it takes to receive the new parts after ordering them online. Normally I receive them within three business days, but sometimes it could take up to a week to receive all the parts.
Take my advice: stay away from the CBR replicas. I have tried many imported scooters and bikes, and don’t get me wrong: most of them are fine. But when companies try to replicate a good racing bike such as the Honda CBR 125, they run into problems. Simply put, they cannot keep up with the performance of the real bike, using cheap parts. Higher end imports that you buy locally guarantee the best performance, while buying online could result in you buying a damaged product, often returned and resold. When you buy online, you have no one to complain to when things go wrong (and believe me, you are guaranteed to get even a slight problem in functionality).
Aug26
Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 VXR Review
The Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 VXR can truly be called a ‘hot hatch’: it sports a sleek, sexy interior, and the Corsa’s cabin has several pluses. We at Car-Advise like the clarity of the dashboard, think the standard-fit Recaro front seats (complete with side airbags) are superb, and appreciate the strong basic packaging of the three-door Corsa bodyshell, including its roomy rear seats and boot.
However, some of the minor details, most of which have been applied in the name of VXR branding, are less successful. The deeply naffed VXR-logoed gear lever and the gimmicky flat-bottomed steering wheel, which neither looks nor feels anything like the steering wheel of a Golf GTi, is among them.
Then again, you can’t really argue against the VXR’s showroom appeal, its basic value for money, OR the level of standard equipment it provides compared with similarly priced rivals. You get air conditioning, those beefy Recaro front seats, and a high-end stereo as standard for your £15,595. Yes, that makes the VXR almost £500 cheaper than its key rivals from Renault and Mini, neither of which is as well ornamented.
At the heart of the VXR is a 1598cc turbocharged engine that produces 189bhp at 5850rpm and a maximum of 192lb ft from 1980-5800rpm for 15-second bursts. Even without overboost, the engine still has 169lb ft. All this is sufficient to propel the 1255kg Corsa VXR to 60mph in well under 7.0 seconds, to 100mph in 16.8 seconds, and to a top speed of 136mph.
In the higher gears at middling revs it has more urgency than the 197, and you only need to look at the 50-70mph times in top for the proof.
Of course, all of this would amount to nothing if the VXR didn’t handle, ride, stop and steer properly, especially since these are areas in which previous VXRs have done poorly in comparison to their rivals. Vauxhall’s engineers have, in their own words, “gone to town” on the VXR’s underpinnings.
The ride height, for instance, is 19mm lower at the back and 12mm lower at the front due to stiffer springs and uprated dampers. The anti-roll bar is 25% stiffer than a regular Corsa’s, the brakes are ENORMOUS by comparison (308mm ventilated discs at the front, 264mm discs at the back). Even the ESP system has been completely recalibrated to allow a small amount of leeway; and if you turn it off completely, says Vauxhall, the chassis has been set up to allow a degree of “controllable” lift-off oversteer that should please the wannabe McRaes.
The most disappointing feature of the Corsa is, unsurprisingly, the steering. The speed of the steering rack (and its level of power assistance) varies between 11 and 13.1, depending on how fast you’re travelling and how rapidly you turn the wheel. The VXR might have super-light steering at parking speeds, but on the move it’s neither as precise nor as well weighted as it could be.
On the other hand, the VXR does have a very natural, well judged sense of balance mid-corner when you’re going for it. Plus, it provides superior comfortability over virtually any road surface. However, in its attempt to liberate the Corsa VXR from some of the Astra VXR’s less desirable traits, Vauxhall may have gone a step too far. Other than a small amount of torque steer, the Corsa is almost too well behaved for its own good.
To be fair though, the faster the speed, the better the Corsa VXR behaves, and that’s only achieved because the chassis is so well balanced. Around a smooth, fast, flowing corner, the amount of grip on offer is genuinely eye-opening. And because the rear is so well tied down you can exploit the grip, you’re safe in the knowledge that when the tires start to give in, they do so progressively and only at the front in the form of mild understeer.
Lurid lift-off oversteer simply isn’t in this car’s vocabulary, no matter what Luton’s engineers may wish you to believe, and mostly that’s a very good thing. Once again, the ‘feel’ of the pedal is not a particularly strong point, but there is no arguing with the power of retardation on offer. Neither can one argue with how the anti-lock system operates so subtly in conjunction with the ESP.