Do you get worried when a black cat crosses your path? Are you horrified if you break a mirror? Are you dreading March the 1st 2013, when all new registrations will contain the unluckiest of numbers?

 If you are, then you might be pleased to know that the DVLA are going to allow people to keep using the 62-plate which will be available from the beginning of next month.

However, it will be treated like a personalised registration plate, so you’ll have to fork out at least £250 for it.

Nevertheless, although I don’t believe that the number 13 has any properties which will directly cause bad luck – like failing to get a good car insurance quote – I do think that superstitious motorists could experience some misfortune if they have a number 13 registration plate.

It’s all to do with psychology. If someone believes that they have an unlucky car, they’re probably going to be a little on edge when behind the wheel. As a result, this might actually cause them to be involved in a crash – just because they were driving in a nervous manner.

Still, for some, having the number 13 in their registration will be a blessing. Many people actually believe the number to be lucky instead of cursed, so I expect that they’ll be looking forward to building up their no-claims bonus and passing all their MOT’s with full marks.  

Labels: 13, bad luck, black cat, break a mirror, car insurance quote, crash, DVLA, March, MOT, motorist, no-claims bonus, plate, registration, superstitious

One American farmer has done his next car insurance quote no favours at all after taking his zebra and his macaw for a drunken spin. Yes, you read it right the first time, zebra and macaw.

As if to make the whole scene even more surreal, the two animals were actually front seat passengers. Yes, that’s right, front seat passengers.

The farmer made it all sound as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I said, 'Let's go for a ride.' I ain't been away from the farm for almost two months because I've been planting corn and everything else. So I opened the door, the zebra jumps in, the macaw loves to go for a ride, so we went for a ride.” Right then…

The farmer said that he regretted drink driving and was about to let a passenger take over (it’s not known whether this would have been the zebra or the macaw) when he was stopped by traffic police.

I would venture that the farmer’s actions are definitely something you should not be looking to parrot, particularly if you want to earn your car insurance stripes.

Here at duck2water we’ve used our connections in the avian world to get an exclusive copy of one of the police mugshots.

Labels: car insurance quote, front seat passengers

One cat in Italy is going to have no trouble meeting the costs of his catmobile car insurance quote after this month inheriting £10 million to become the third richest animal in the world – what, £10 million and he’s only the third richest.

His inheritance comes after his 94-year-old owner died, leaving him with a vast portfolio of homes, villas and investments.

The windfall marks a huge upturn in fortunes for the former stray feline, who was adopted by his testatrix only a few years ago.

However, the cash-happy cat is going to have difficulty inheriting the fortune, as under Italian law, cats are not allowed to inherit. As such, a "worthy animal association” is set to benefit, according to lawyers, which will make the moggy the world’s greatest feline philanthropist.

"To be honest the cat doesn't need all that money, he is happy with a saucer of milk and some biscuits,” said lawyers, perhaps a little presumptuously.

The richest animal in the world is the regally-named Gunter IV, a German shepherd worth more than £90 million.

What we’d give to have that fortune!

Labels: car insurance quote

Thinking about saving money by buying a second hand car instead of a brand new one? Well, you definitely won’t be making any savings if you choose the world’s oldest running car! The 127-year-old steam-powered vehicle is expected to sell for a huge £1.6 million.

The 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout, nicknamed ‘La Marquise’, is set to be auctioned off in early October and was manufactured twelve years before Henry Ford assembled his first car.

As well as being problematic to find a car insurance quote for, the vehicle could prove to be impractical for long journeys with a forty-five minute wait for it to generate enough steam to get going (yes – it’s steam powered) and a maximum speed of 38 miles per hour.

Finding a fuel top-up mid-journey is likely to be tricky too as the vehicle is powered with paper, wood, and coal.

It’s fascinating to see how much cars have progressed over the years, we really are spoilt for choice today with so many different brands, colours and sizes to choose from.

The long life of La Marquise is certainly impressive, but here at duck2water we will be spending our money on more recent models of cars.

Labels: car insurance quote, Ford, fuel, second-hand, used

Are we fed up of the credit crunch yet? I don't know about you, but I'm definitely tired of reading about money saving motoring tips; how pumping your tyres up will save you 8% fuel costs, or how riding a bike to work could reduce your travel expenses by £33.70 a week. However, it seems that in the cheap car insurance world is now gripped by a need to educate the driving community with pearls of wisdom on penny pinching at the petrol station and handy hints to reduce your car insurance quote.

For a while in the car insurance business there was relatively little news to tell about motor cover deals and car driving revelation, as all media interest was focused on churning out as many ways as possible of saying, "Money - we're stuffed!"

Now, several months into the financial furore of money munching cash catastrophe, and all alliteration spent, we're apparently possessed by a sudden urge to teach people how to drive in an economically prudent fashion, and suddenly it's a good idea not to get a motoring conviction because that will keep your car insurance quote down.

I'm sorry, but for me, it's always been a good time not to get a motoring conviction. Credit crunch or no credit crunch, the thought of having a policeman stop me and say, "Do you realise you just drove through a red light, madam?" fills me with legs-to-jelly dread.

There has been the odd occasion in my two decades of driving that I have mistaken speed cameras for roadside objets d'art and not taken my foot off the accelerator quickly enough, and this has inevitably been followed by several weeks of agonising as the postman approaches. I imagine that his thoughts of my social standing will plummet when he spots a letter from the police (or whoever it is that issues speeding fines) and there you have the crux of my point; on the three or so occasions that I have gone through a speed trap over the speed limit, I have not once been issued with a fine. Now is that luck, or are speed cameras just a vague governmental hope at deterring people from driving recklessly?

Anyway, it matters not as they are apparently being phased out in favour of "average speed" cameras, that will encourage drivers to travel at the appropriate speed for more of the time. And guess what, this will alleviate the environmental effect of the hard acceleration that occurs after the braking that inevitably happens before for a GATSO speed camera. So, it's a win-win situation for the government - slower driving and reduced fuel emissions all rolled into one revenue making scheme. I can see the slogan now - "Average speed cameras are good for our financial and your physical health."

Hurrah, our monetary worries are over and they've cured global warming to boot. So, drive on friends, and just in case you didn't know already, shopping around for your car insurance quote could also save you a few quid, or have we in the car insurance providing world already mentioned that one.

Labels: car insurance quote, cheap car insurance, credit crunch, motoring costs, speed cameras