This past week I had a bit of a problem with an old junk car I have had parked in my rear garage at home. Oil started leaking out and it dripped down to the corner where my wife keeps her knitting kit – all her knitting stuff was ruined and I was sleeping on the couch! I am the type of guy that hates throwing things out, especially things like cars and gadgets. I remember last time I was over in Boston (and let me tell you if you ever need some quality used auto parts in Boston, contact me first) I had a chance to pickup some parts to fix this old junker but didn’t have any cash on me.

Next week I am heading down to my favorite quality used auto parts dealers in Syracuse, New York and this time I was going to bring a couple hundred bucks with me to buy some parts to fix the old junker but it seems fate has played me a cruel hand and if I want to get off the lumpy couch I need to finally send this car to the junkyard. Wish me luck!

I love traveling by car and have made three trips driving across the USA over the past decade. I usually go by myself but the last time I went with my oldest son (he was 17) and we had a blast. The one thing I have learned in my travels is that you must know some good used car part stops all over the place because you never know when your car will need something fixed. I have been using my 1992 Jetta for all the trips and have found some fantastic repair shops and some great auto recycling yards.

If I ever need used auto parts in Orlando, I am covered – used auto parts in Riverside, LA? Covered! Maybe I need some used auto parts in Mobile, Alabama, got that taken care of too. Really the list goes on and on, if you plan on taking a cross country trip and want to get hold of my list of over 40 auto business in 35 states then comment here and I will contact you.

Keep an eye out for part II and III coming shortly.

Can you believe there’s a chance to sell used vauxhall corsas for free?  I was looking over the new mini concept car when I was sidetracked…as usual!  I came across the Visit Cars website which allows you to buy and sell cars completely free.  As it happens, when I arrived there was a promotional day ongoing that was showing off some seriously cheap prices on used Vauxhall Corsa for sale in the UK.   So, if you need to buy or sell used Vauxhall Corsa’s for FREE, choose from thousands of car adverts for a used Vauxhall Corsa, then make sure you visit the Visit Cars website!

I was looking online yesterday for a place to book some driving lessons for my son when I came across this Teen Driver Education program for teenagers who want to get DMV Approved Teen Learners Permits.  Now I don’t know too much about this company but it looks like a great way to deliver a driving course.  If you take a look at this page and select your state, you can book your course.  It’s a fascinating concept and one I’ll have to read into more but for many of you out there who perhaps don’t have the full confidence to get involved with a driving instructor, this could be the perfect choice to help with your driver education.

It’s tough times for everyone here in the UK but the relentless price rises on unleaded petrol don’t serve anyone any good.  It’s such a big thing now that diesel cars are increasing in sales due to their greater fuel efficiency.  Larger cars with bigger engines are feeling the pinch as car owners consider fuel consumption as a key buying decision.  As such, the climate seems to be shifting towards smaller cars with cheaper running costs and as this was something I was considering for myself recently, I’ve put together my top 5 list of fuel efficient cars in the UK.

• Audi A3 Diesel Sportback 1.9 TDIe – 62.5mpg (combined)

I live in Canada and just discovered we have a really great new eco-friendly program called Retire your Ride. Retire Your Ride is an initiative of The Government of Canada, Clean Air Foundation and its partners, designed to enable people to get their high-polluting cars off the road and reward them for doing so. The program is committed to improving air quality by responsibly recycling vehicles and aims to retire at least 50,000 vehicles per year until March 31, 2011.

My brother is the one that put me on to this program and he said, not only did he give in his car and get $300 for it. He gave that money through a donate your car to charity program and get a tax receipt to use on his next income tax return. How about that!

I finally broke down and bought a new car last month and am thrilled with it! I did a lot of research and finally decided that a Mini Cooper would be the best car in its class to suit my needs. I did briefly consider the Honda Fit but I really liked the look of the Mini better. Besides, my favorite car site (cars.com) had some great things to say about it, “The Mini Cooper is a phenomenal car, which is to say a phenomenon. When you consider its solid feel, cult status and high demand, Mini could price it higher than it does.”

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In this day and age of plummeting GDP and almost everyone looking for cheaper ways to do things, its no surprise that smaller vehicles with cheaper running costs and buying costs are making waves. Waves, it seems, might be the most appropriate word for the latest range of 50cc and 125cc scooters to hit our roads because the word waves nostalgically conjures up images of the 60s and 70s wave, love and peace and all that jazz, and this new line of retro scooters filling our streets is both a statement of style and a testemant to where we’ve come from and just how fashion, always, always comes round again.

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