Car Glossary terms
16V – 16 Valves – the more valves, the more air and exhaust flow which equates to more power
4WD – 4 Wheel Drive – power is supplied to the front and rear axles at the same time
4WS – 4 Wheel Steering
3DR – 3 door – 2 doors and a boot
5DR – 5 door – 4 doors and a boot
5SPD – 5 Speed
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “A”
A/C or Air Con – Air Conditioning
ABC – Active Body Control – keeps the car as level and stable as possible in all driving conditions
ABI – Association of British Insurers
ABS -Anti-locking Braking System – means you can brake and steer at the same time without the wheels locking up
APR – Annual Percentage Rate – the cost of the loan you take out on your car
ASU – Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance
AUTO – Automatic
AWD – All Wheel Drive
A/Wheels – Alloy wheels
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “B”
BHP – Brake Horse Power – a unit of measurement of the engine’s power
BIOFUEL – Biofuels include corn-based ethanol and rapeseed-oil biodiesel
BIODIESEL – Fuel recycled from organic oils and fats
BIOETHANOL – A mixture of petrol and ethanol
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “C”
C/LOCKING – Central Locking
CAT – Catalytic Converter
CATI (2) – Alarm (Immobiliser)
C/CONTROL – Cruise control
CLIM/CONT – Climate Control
CNG – Compressed Natural Gas
CO2 – A waste product produced by running your car. How much CO2 a car produces determines the tax band it sits in, so the less polluting your car is the less tax you pay
COUPE – A two door vehicle usually with 4 seats (definition varies between manufacturer)
CVT – Continuously Variable Transmission
CLOCKING – Turning back the odometer reading that shows how many miles the car has done, making it seem like it had covered fewer miles, affecting the car’s value
CONTRACT HIRE – Rather than buy the car you rent the car over a set period
CYLINDERS – A cylinder is the principal working part of an internal combustion engine, the space in which a piston travels. Cylinders are usually arranged side by side in a bank.
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “D”
DEPRECIATION – It’s a sad fact that your shiny new car will be worth less the moment you drive it for the first time, that’s depreciation. If you’re buying a used car it’s worth researching which cars depreciate the least, since these are better value. Even those cars which depreciate the least will loose around 50% of their value after 3 years
DERV – Diesel Engined Road Vehicle
DI – Diesel Injection
DOHC – Double Overhead Camshaft
DOWN PAYMENT (DEPOSIT) – The money you pay upfront for a car to reduce your monthly payments
DSC – Dynamic Stability Control
DSG – Direct Shift Gearbox
DVLA – Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. You need to let this agency know any changes of vehicle ownership, including your address.
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “E”
EBD – Electronic Brakeforce Dsitribution. this spreads brake pressure evenly between the wheels, which reduces the chance of skid
ECU – Electronic Control Unit
E/F/W – Electric Front Windows
E/M – Electric Mirror
E/S/R – Electric Sunroof
E/SEATS -Electric Seats
ESP – Electronic Stability Program. Detects differences in the driver’s actions and the response of the car, auto correcting if there’s a difference, so it improves vehicle stability and reduces over or understeer, especially on icy or low grip surfaces
ESTATE – A five door vehicle that provides a much larger boot space due to the roofline being extended. Usually an estate car has easily folding rear seats to create even greater load capacity. Some manufacturers use the names station wagon or tourer to describe the same body shape
EURO NCAP – European New Car Assessment Program. An independent scheme which assesses the safety features of each new car, rating each from 1 to 5, 5 being the safest
E/W – Electric Windows
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “F”
F/F/S/R – Factory Fitted Sunroof
FDSH – Full dealer service history
FLA – Finance & Leasing Association
FSH – Full Service History
FWD – Front Wheel Drive
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “G”
GPS – Global Positioning System. A navigation aid
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “H”
H/L – Head Light
H/R/W – Heated Rear Window
H/SEATS – Heated Seats
H/TOP – Hard Top
HATCHBACK – A three or five door vehicle. The boot is counted as a door since it opens into, and provides access to, the main interior space of the car (unlike a saloon where the boot is completely enclosed).
HGV – Heavy Goods Vehicle
HYBRID – A vehicle that has an electric motor and an engine. at the moment these cars are the most environmentally friendly and fuel efficient available
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “I”
INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION – Each wheel on the vehicle is sprung separately so when any one wheel goes over a bump it doesn’t affect the whole vehicle
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “J”
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “K
KIT CAR – A car built from a collection of parts
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “L”
LEASE – A form of finance where you take the car for a predetermined period of time and make payments based on the difference between the retail price and the value of the car at the end of the term, at the end of which you return the car to the leasing company
LHD – Left Hand Drive
IMMOB – Engine immobiliser
LPG – Liquid Petroleum Gas
LWB – Long Wheel Base
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “M”
MAN – Manual
MET – Metallic
MOT – Ministry Of Transport (Roadworthiness certificate). Every car over 3 years old has to pass an annual test to get a roadworthy certificate
MPG – Miles Per Gallon. The number of miles the car can run on a gallon of fuel. Manufacturers tend to give these figures based on simulated ‘urban’ and ‘motorway’ ideal driving conditions, so they’re not exact but they give you an idea of how efficient the vehicle is, the higher the MPG number the more miles you’ll get to the gallon
MPH – Miles Per Hour
MPI – Multi Point Injection
MPV – Multi Purpose Vehicle
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “N”
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “O”
O/D – Over Drive
OHC – Overhead Camshaft
O.I.R.O – Offers in the region of
ONO – Or nearest offer
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “P”
P/X – Part Exchange
PAS – Power Assisted Steering
PCP – Personal Contract Purchase. The vehicle is leased over a set period of time with a milage limit and the option to buy or return the vehicle at the end of the term
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “Q”
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “R”
R/CASS – Radio Cassette
R/H/R – Rear Head Restraints
R/W/W – Rear Wash Wipe
RESIDUAL VALUE – What a vehicle is worth after it has depreciated in value
RFL – Road Fund Licence – also known as car tax or Vehicle Excise Duty (DVLA)
RHD – Right Hand Drive
RPM – Revolutions per minute
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “S”
S/R – Sunroof
S/TOP – Soft Top
SIP – Side Impact Protection
SOHC – Single overhead camshaft
STEERING RATIO – How far you have to turn the steering wheel compared to how far the wheels actually turn
SUV – Sports Utility Vehicle
SWB – Short Wheel Base
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “T”
T & T – Taxed & tested (MOT)
T/GLASS – Tinted Glass
TCS – Traction Control System
TD – Turbo Diesel
TORQUE- The amount of turning force an engine can generate. More torque means faster acceleration and more pulling power
TURNING CIRCLE – The radius of the smallest turn that the vehicle is capable of making.
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “U”
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “V”
V5 – Vehicle Registration Document – Log Book. The log book is essential to register the vehicle so you shouldn’t buy a vehicle that doesn’t have one
VCA – Vehicle Certification Agency
VED – Vehicle Excise Duty aka Road Tax or Road Fund licence – duty paid to legally allow your car to travel UK roads
VIN – Vehicle Identification Number. This is the information on where and when the car was built. The VIN must match the number in the V5 (log book)
VRM – Vehicle Registration Mark
VTS – Vehicle Tracking System
VVC -Variable Valve Control
VVT – Variable Valve Timing
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “W”
WHEELBASE – The distance between the centre of the front and rear wheels
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “X”
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “Y”
My Motoring Trader GLOSSARY – LETTER “Z”
ZEV – Zero Emissions Vehicle. A vehicle that produces no harmful emissions when it runs, e.g. an electric car
Keywords
BMW, Mercedes, Ford, Toyota, Honda, jaguar, selling cars, buying cars,
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