• Road Tax
• A V5 registration document
• Car Insurance
• An MOT (if the car is over 3 years old)

Road Tax is renewed every 6 months or annually. You usually recieve a reminder from the DVLA about 2 weeks before your tax runs out. However it your responsibility to ensure your car is taxed. Car tax is available from the post office. You need to take along a valid MOT certificate and your certificate of car insurance. Alternatively you can now purchase your tax online(if you have a new-style computerised MOT) and this electronically checks your MOT and insurance. The link for that is http://www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc

Your V5 Registration Document(also known as your logbook) should have come with your car. DO NOT BUY A CAR WITHOUT ONE. This proves the car's identity and also that the previous owner is the registered keeper of the car ie. it is not stolen. It is your responsibility to ensure your car is not stolen and it could be taken off you if it is. If you lose it or your car does not have one you can apply online at http://www.dvla.gov.uk

Car Insurance must be bought for your car before you use it and before you can tax the car. It is illegal to drive a car without insurance. Car Insurance is available at three different levels. These are Third Party only, Third Party Fire & Theft and Fully Comprehensive. Third Party pays to damage caused to someone elses car if you are involved in an accident. Fire & Theft would add a payment of the market value of your car if it caught fire or was stolen. Fully Comprehensive covers all this plus would pay for damage to your car/give you a market value payment for your car if you have an accident. There are very high fines for driving without insurance and also up to 8 points on your driving licence. Some fully comprehensive ploicies allow you to drive other cars but not all. YOU MUST CHECK POLICY DETAILS FOR WHICH CARS YOU CAN DRIVE. You usually have to be over 25 to drive another car and if you do it only covers you for third party risks so should only be used in an emergency. Premiums(prices) of car insurance can vary significantly between insurance companies and for different people. For example, just because an insurance company is good for your parents you may find it is not good for you. Also Pass Plus can lower your premiums especially if you are young. I offer a Pass Plus course. If you are unsure about savings you can ask inurance company/search for insurance with and without pass plus and compare quotes. The best way to find insurance is to do an internet search of the market. I have one above for you. Click the above bold text.

• All lights and indicators MUST BE WORKING. It is an offence for them not to be. Check them daily.
• Tyres must be safe and legal to use. You can be fined £1000 per illegal tyre. They can cause an accident if over/under-inflated, if in bad condition or if the tread is too low. Look in your handbook for tyre pressures. The legal requirements of tyre safety are the they should have no cuts or bulges and that there should be a continuous band of tread around the central 3/4 of the tyre which is at least 1.6mm deep.
• Fluid levels. You should check the levels of your oil, coolant(water), screen wash and brake fluid weekly. While the is not a legal requirement the car can be seriously damaged if these aren't correct. Oil is checked using the dipstick. Other fluids by using min/max markings on the side of the tanks in the engine compartment. Check your car manual for details. A car can use up to 1 litre of oil every 1000 miles so make sure you check inbetween services even if your car is regularly serviced.
• Registration plates must be clean, in good condition(not badly cracked) and lit at night. They must also be in the correct format.
• Windscreen wipers must be in good condition and clean the windscreen effectively so you can see to drive.