• Your rights as a consumer are much better as you rarely have any when buying privately.
•  You will probably benefit from a warranty.
•  Major faults will most likely be sorted before the dealer sells the car.
• You are always able to negotiate.
• They may have deals for you to take advantage of.
• You could possibly get a better deal if you offer part exchange.
• The finance options on offer to you will be much better and may include hire purchase and personal contract payment.
• If you’re buying a relatively new car you may find that you get some manufactures warranty still included.

• There could be restrictions to the warranty such as no cover on an engine or over a certain amount of miles.
• You need to be confident that you can barter and that you’re not paying over the odds at price.
• Sometimes the prices can be higher.

• You will probably pay a lot less.
• You can often negotiate a seller down on their price, especially if you are eager to sell.
• It’s always handy to meet the previous owner. It allows you to ask questions.

• You won’t receive any warranty unless you pay for an independent check. So insurance is an absolute must.
• Car finance is not an option. It would have to be a loan.
• You have next to no consumer rights, the car just needs to be ‘as described’ and road worthy
• You should do a lot of research.
• No part-exchange is available although sometimes you can fall on people wanting to swap.

• You can grab yourself a really good bargain, unbeatable prices compared to a dealership or privately.

• Once the hammer has gone down you are in a commitment and cannot back out of the sale.
• You probably won’t have any consumer rights, it’s worth researching it on each auction site as with some you do.
• It’s easy to get into a bidding war and overshoot your budget, especially if you’re a little competitive.

 

Becoming a parent, in many ways, is the shortcut to making you a better person. There's nothing more humbling and downright scary than being responsible for someone else in every aspect of their life. Naturally, this can pave the way for a lot of anxiety. While there's a lot of talk about postpartum depression in mothers, it happens in fathers as well. And when stress and anxiety rear its head, which is on a very regular basis, are there any simple things that we can do to keep a lid on this so we can be better parents?

We have to practice being calm. This can be quite difficult to achieve if we are forever wound up. This means that you need to focus on the quality of mental downtime. When we are stressed and fit to explode this heightened state can deplete us of energy that is better used in other aspects of our lives. But when you don't know where to begin, this can prove to be a difficult road to embark on. The best approach for anybody that's looking to be calmer is to switch off your fight-or-flight. You can do this easily, but it does take a lot of practice. There's a lot of talk about mindfulness and meditation these days. But the best place to begin is to practice our breathing. A lot of us, when we are stressed, tend to shallow breathe. By focusing on our breath and breathing deeper, ensuring that our diaphragm fills up as well as our lungs, and doing this whenever we have a spare 20 seconds throughout the day, we can slowly take control over our state.

You wake up in the morning and you need that first coffee. You feel that you can't do anything without it. But what we tend to do, if we feel that we've had a particularly bad night, is over-rely on these stimulants. We may have a second or third cup, and depending on our own individual tolerance to caffeine, this might tip you over the edge. It's about finding that veritable sweet spot when it comes to caffeine. It's always best, after your first coffee, to wait at least 20 minutes for it to enter your system. Remember, caffeine stays in our bodies for at least 12 hours, so if you have a cup of coffee at 2 pm, it's still going to be in your system in the middle of the night!

Maybe you don't sleep, or life is just getting on top of you, and you feel like you never have a moment to yourself. You're not alone. And if you are spending a lot of time to yourself, there are some excellent resources out there, even in podcast form, that can help. Abiding Fathers have a podcast for fathers that are looking to fine-tune themselves. And when we feel these peaks and troughs of emotion, the most humbling thing that we can do for ourselves is realize that we're not in it alone. There is no need for us to feel like we've got to push through because this is what will help us. Support, especially for fathers and men who aren't particularly keen on discussing their emotions, is out there in abundance! When you feel stressed, remember, this is a normal sensation.