🚗 Car ownership checklist

Three lists in one: buying it, keeping it legal, and keeping it running. The renewal dates are the part worth putting in a calendar the day you take delivery.

40 items

1. Before you buy
2. Set a total budget including insurance, tax and fuel
3. Check the insurance group before falling in love with a model
4. History check for finance, write-offs and theft
5. Registration document in the seller's name and address
6. Service history and the last test certificate
7. Mileage consistent with the paperwork
8. Test drive from cold, including a motorway stretchCold starts reveal what a warm engine hides. Never test drive a car the seller has already warmed up.
9. Tyres, including the spare, and the tread depth
10. Every electrical thing switched on once
11. Making it legal
12. Insurance in place before you drive it away
13. Road tax
14. Ownership transferred and confirmed in writing
15. Roadworthiness certificate valid, with the date noted
16. Breakdown cover
17. Keep a copy of the sale receipt
18. Keep in the car
19. Insurance details and the breakdown number
20. Warning triangle
21. High-visibility vest
22. Jump leads or a jump pack
23. Tyre inflator or the spare and jack
24. Ice scraper and de-icer in winter
25. Phone charger
26. A torch that works
27. Monthly and seasonal
28. Tyre pressures, including the spare
29. Oil level
30. Screenwash topped up
31. Coolant level, engine cold
32. All the lights, with someone walking round
33. Wipers before winter
34. Battery health before the first cold snap
35. The dates
36. Insurance renewal, with a reminder a month early
37. Road tax renewal
38. Annual test booked before it expires, not on the day
39. Service due by date or mileage, whichever comes first
40. Warranty expiry