Yes. A flat tyre is a roadside call: the spare goes on, or a temporary fix, or a tow to a tyre shop. Add TYRE REPLACE and up to five new tyres a year are paid for.

No excess. Labour and fitting at the roadside are covered. Parts, fuel and a new battery are charged unless you hold the matching extra.

Say so when you send. Assistance animals ride in the recovery vehicle; other pets stay in the car being carried, at the owner’s risk.

No. Roadside cover is separate from insurance, so a call-out never touches your no-claims.

Yes, at the same level as a car, with a bike trailer or low loader if it needs carrying. Scooters and mopeds over 49 cc too.

Multi-car covers up to three on one price. More than that is business cover, one to ninety-nine vehicles.

Roadside and at-home cover can start today. Towing across the country and onward travel start after 24 hours; tyre, battery and key extras after 7 days.

Any age. Cars, vans up to 3.5 tonnes, hybrids, electric cars, classics, motorbikes. Caravans and motorhomes with the caravan cover.

Tyre pressure and tread every month. Oil on the dipstick. Coolant between the lines. Washer fluid. Every light, front and back. Wipers that clear, not smear. Brakes that do not pull or squeal. A battery over three years old tested before winter. Belts with no cracks. Half a tank in winter, always.

Red - stop as soon as it is safe: oil pressure, engine temperature, brakes, battery charge. Amber - drive gently and get it looked at: engine management, ABS, tyre pressure, low fuel. Green or blue - just telling you something is on: high beams, cruise, indicators.

Both cars off. Red lead: dead battery + first, then good battery +. Black lead: good battery −, then bare metal on the dead car’s engine - not the battery. Start the good car, wait two minutes, start the dead one. Remove leads in reverse. Then drive twenty minutes. If it will not hold a charge, the battery is done.

Do not start the engine - not even to move it. Starting pulls the wrong fuel through the whole system and turns a drain into a repair bill. Push it clear if you can, then send for a fuel drain.

Plug in the block heater below −15 °C, three to four hours before driving. Keep the tank above half. Winter tyres below 7 °C. A shovel, a blanket, a candle and a tin, boots, and a charged phone in the car all season.

Shaking at speed is usually a wheel out of balance or a tyre; juddering under braking is a warped disc; a jerk on pull-away is often a plug, coil or clutch. A puddle: clear is water from the air-conditioning, green or orange is coolant, brown or black is oil, red is transmission fluid. Coolant or oil on the ground - do not drive far.