Oak Road and Liqui Moly Make the Best Team
This year, 2021, Oak Road and Liqui Moly are teaming up to co-sponsor LOTS of cars. Racing Cars (Focus Cup), a Drifting Car, a bunch of Minis! (JCW Mini Challenge) and even a Kart for a local 5 year old. You can purchase Liqui Moly products direct from our website. Shop Liqui Moly Products Here’s what…
How to buy your next car
Covid 19 has certainly changed the way we do a lot of things, and it’s going to change the way you buy your next car. Whether you choose new or second hand, from a dealership or online or from Bob in the next village, there are some things you should consider when viewing the car…
Keeping your car Germ-Free
During these strange times, while Coronavirus/Covid-19 is running rampant around our country (and the world) and most of us are stuck inside except for those brilliant key workers that are helping to keep us safe, fed and well, it’s easy to forget that your car is a hotbed of germs! Go shopping…jump in the car…
Snow Joke for Cars
Our Top Tips on clearing your car when you wake up to find it’s covered in the white stuff! So some parts of the UK woke up to a blanket of snow today and there could be more to come. In light of this, we thought we’d pop together our top tips for clearing off…
Car Battery Care
We’re still in winter, officially, and that means it’s going to be cold. And batteries do not like the cold. It makes them inefficient and less effective at holding their charge. So what can you do to make sure your battery doesn’t let you down when you most need it? Check out our top tips…
Volvos and Chods
Not the catchiest of titles but when you read this you’ll understand! It seems like every movie and every TV show we watch features a Volvo. I was going to say ‘nowadays’ but actually it seems like every movie and TV show since the beginning of time features one. In fact I’ve started looking for…
Know your MOT
Do you know what your car goes through for it’s MOT? Well you should, because it could help you out. Chatting to a customer recently, we learned that they had a bulge in their tyre which has been there for a while. In fact, it’s been through a previous MOT and passed. When they put…
Getting a Real Tree home in your car
Oh December, here you are. I’m ready for my tree! Not everyone gets a real tree but for those of you who do, or who are getting one for the first time, here are our tops tips on getting the beauty home. We’ve also teamed up with Lynda from Girl Friday Solutions to give you…
Driving tests in the winter
Well I remembered something yesterday – it was 31 years since I passed my driving test! I took my test on a freezing, foggy November morning, in Cambridge where there’s a lot of bikes! Oh, and I passed, first time! But it got me thinking, sitting up here in the chilly and wet North East…
Winter Car Checks
It’s time for a Winter Overhaul for your car. Here’s our Top Eight Tips for getting your car winter ready Now that the Halloween fun is over, the clocks have changed and there’s a definite nip in the air, it’s time to give your pride and joy (or work car, whichever!) a good winter overhaul.…
Halloween Car Fun
It’s spooky October and All Hallows Eve is almost upon us. So we thought we’d help you take decoration to the next level and have ‘dug up’ some awesome ways to scare the pants off people with your car! 🚗 Coming up with the Goods When you’re deciding what to do you can go with a…
Cars and Floods
With all of the rain around lately and probably more to come, causing lots of horrible flooding, we thought we’d take a look at how best to deal with it. We’ve taken a few elements and looked into them a little closer. 🚗 Polluted Water A majority of flood water will be polluted, that’s just…
What happens if you get bad news while driving?
So you’re driving along, possibly having a sing song and enjoying life, when the phone rings in the car. Of course you’re hands free. You are, after all, all about safety when you’re driving. But what do you do when you answer that call and it’s the worst news you can think of? Obviously it’s…
5 Ways to Win at Back to School Car Trips
Here comes September and just like that the school run starts again (if you’re not lucky enough to throw your little darlings on a bus whilst in your pyjamas and head back into the house to wake up properly), along with the constant repetition of ‘get your shoes on’, ‘eat your breakfast’ and ‘get in…
8 Car Games for Long Journeys
We’ve all been there – facing a looooong trip in the car with littl’uns who will utter ‘are we there yet’ over and over followed by ‘I’m bored’ and ‘I need a wee’. Well, we can’t stop them saying it, and we can’t stop nature calls, but we CAN help with entertainment. Here are some…
Is the Traditional Car Mechanic a Dying Breed?
I’ve read a few articles lately about the ‘older’ generation of car mechanics finding it difficult to keep up with all of the changes of modern cars; one guy was 80 and only just thinking about giving up working in his family garage – impressive! The amount of technology in new cars requires completely new…
Essential items to keep in your car
We know you don’t want to keep a load of stuff in your car. You want to keep your vehicle tidy and have space for all of that shopping (grocery or otherwise!). But there are some things you SHOULD always have in your car, and they don’t take up much space; in fact you can…
Tips for new Drivers
You’ve passed your test and now it’s time to start being a motorist. You were fine with the test, confident even. You didn’t mind the written part either, all over that with your preparation. BUT are you actually prepared to be a car owner? Do you know what it takes to own and maintain a…
Five Essential Car Fluids to Check
Last time out we chatted about keeping your tyres in tip-top condition to keep you and other motorists nice and safe on the road, whatever the weather. There are so many elements that you can keep on top of yourself to keep your vehicle running smoothly, that will save you money at the garage and…
Tyre Safety
You know the importance of healthy and safe tyres on your vehicle so we’re going help you keep them in tip top condition, whether they’re on a car, van, caravan or motor bike! 🚗 Depth of Tread The 20p test is the quickest way to check your tread depth. According to Tyre Safe (who we…
Five Great Tips for Private Test Drives
If you’ve decided to sell your car privately (rather than trade it in, use an online car buying service or take it to an auction, which are your other options) there are a few things you should be aware of before offering a test drive to a perfect stranger. Follow these five great tips and…
Top five tips for beating the bank holiday traffic
Ah it’s May. And that means TWO bank holidays in the UK (according to my sources, it means EIGHT in France. We may have to relocate…). Bank holidays mean traffic. And lots of it. They mean slow lanes, accidents and kids peeing on the side of the road. To be fair that last one happens…
Atchoo! Hay fever and driving might not mix.
The sun is out, Spring is upon us and stuff is growing. That means there’s pollen galore around us and if you’re a hay fever / allergy sufferer then you’ll be hitting the antihistamines and bulk buying super soft tissues. But have you considered how having a runny nose, streaming itching eyes and the sneezes…
Car Easter Eggs
Nope, not the chocolate variety – we’ve been researching Easter Eggs of a different kind! New to the term? An Easter egg isn’t an actual egg, so forget thinking you’re going to get a nice chocolately treat in your new car or find one hiding in your glove box. You do have to look for…
What we learned watching the Australian Grand Prix
F1 is back and we’re excited! That’s it now, every other Sunday we’ll be glued to our screens watching the drama unfold between drivers and constructors, holding our breath as those fantastic cars come within a hairs breadth of each other and muttering under our breath when our favourites don’t cut the mustard. But what…
The Future of Cars
I have just read an astonishing sentence. Tech analysts are suggesting that in 20 years we won’t own cars any more. That might seem like a short timescale, to totally phase out the owning of cars and for electric driverless cars to take over, but consider that it took less than 13 years for the…
A Little Car Romance
Love is in the air! Ah, as it’s all about Valentine’s Day this month and as people everywhere start to freak about getting cards/gifts/any kind of love recognition, we have decided to lighten the mood a bit and give you something to smile about whether you’re single/in a relationship/it’s complicated. So sit back, grab a…
Frosty Morning Screen Clearing
Ah January, we’re glad you’re over at last. We’ve been paid after what feels like MONTHS, the nights are slowly getting lighter and there’s actually been some lovely sunny blue days. Well, there have up here! No snow, but those bright blue days have brought with them minus figures at night that lead to super…
New Year’s (Car) Resolutions
We all know that when Big Ben struck twelve on 1 January 2019 a million New Year’s resolutions were made that will, pretty much, all have been broken by now (15 days in!). Here’s our thoughts on a New Year’s Car Resolution you could make and stick to through 2019 to keep yourself, your passengers…
Brand Loyalty
How loyal are you to a car brand? As January approaches and the showrooms start the hard sell for the new 19 plate vehicles, we wondered how people view their purchase of a new car. Go for the same reliable brand they’ve always loved, hunt around for something similar in size but with better tech,…
Keep your cool on the Christmas Roads
This time of year is especially busy for cars and other vehicles on the roads. Add to that the sometimes dodgy weather (fog, rain, snow, sleet and a low sun) and the high emotions and stress levels of Christmas and it could easily be a recipe for disaster. And the one thing you definitely don’t…
Decorate your car for Christmas
Do you LOVE Christmas? Do you have Christmas EVERYTHING? So you must decorate your car then. No? Why ever not?! We wondered just what it would take to Christmasify your car, and here’s what we found – some of it is quite quirky. I want one of everything. 🚗 🚗 …
Top Tips for a safe fireworks night
We’re really big on road safety and keeping your loved ones secure, so continuing from our last blog about Halloween Safety and the mindset changes all drivers must consider making between the hours of 4pm and 6pm on 31st October every year, we are reminded that just a few days later the skies will be…
Halloween Safety
It’s spooky October and whilst it is lovely that the trees are turning gold and amber, shedding their leaves and their conkers, and that the air is turning cooler (although notes for history – it’s really quite a warm October in 2018, it’s 23c as I type!), our thoughts turn to little people dressed in…
Break Down Survival (Don’t Panic!)
There have been a few stories in the news, papers and on social media lately about people who break down on a motorway and their car is ploughed into by a passing lorry or other car. One woman was killed as she stood near her broken down vehicle as a Mercedes ploughed into it, another…
Cars of the Future
Remember Back to the Future and flying cars? Or Blade Runner with the Spinner that could drive on the road or take off vertically, fly and hover? During the 50s through to the 80s, and depicted in LOADS of movies, there was a total belief that by the time the 21st Century rolled around we…
Test Drives – worth it?
Thinking about a new car? Done your research, narrowed down your list and preparing for the test drive element of car buying? Well, for us taking a car out for 10 minutes is not a test drive. Thanks to Autotrader for the image. It links through to an article about the 12 best cars to…
Road Trip (aka Are We There Yet)
Ah the summer holidays are here and it’s highly likely that you’ll be bundling everyone into the car and zooming off into the sunset. Well, up or down the A1 at the very least. Road trips are meant to be fun, right? As a child, road trips meant a VERY long time in the car…
Which is The Best Car Era?
Cars have been around for a while now and boy, have they evolved. We were having a discussion the other day about which era could be considered the best in the history of the automobile. Now, bear in mind we are all different ages and genders, come from different backgrounds and have VERY different ideas…
Summer Car Tunes
Ah there really is nothing like zooming (at the a-hem speed limit….) along the open road, wind in your hair (ok, air-con on and windows closed) with your favourite tune blaring out of the sound system of your car. But what you listening to? We asked a bunch of people for their all-time favourite car…
Name that car
It’s reported that over a quarter of drivers name their cars. I was really surprised by that…I would actually have thought that figure would be higher. I have always had a name for my car. For the most part the name came quite easily, I didn’t really have to think about. The cars almost named…
Cars from the big screen
This is one of our favourites…there are so many iconic cars in movies and TV shows but we’ve dug out a few of the less conventional yet still awesome cars featured on the silver screen from across the decades. You won’t find Bond cars, Herbie or Minis in this but you might just find a…
Feeling a little ‘car’motional?
What is it about cars that elicits an emotional response in us? Is it the power we feel underfoot, power that reminds us we are actually in control of a dangerous machine if misused? Maybe it’s the memory of learning to drive and being popular because you were the one with the car? Or perhaps…
Cars fit for a (Royal) Wedding
As the wedding for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle approaches, chatter has turned to what kind of car she might arrive in and they might depart in. We loved the classic Aston Martin DB6 MkII belonging to Prince Charles that William drove Kate away in. It’s well known that the Queen herself is big into…
Oak Road gets a new website
We’re just about finished building our sparkly new website (you know ORMF is owned by a woman right….that’s where the sparkle comes in!). Pretty soon we’ll be bringing you monthly blogs on all things cars, car parts, accessories, driving, and of course, Miss Daisy Dog. We’ll also have some guest blogs from our awesome suppliers…