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VAT is about to increase as of 1^st January 2010. This means that there are going to be some very strange things happening between now and the end of the year in order to entice you to part with your dosh well in advance of your new car being delivered. If you are buying a new car for cash, that won’t be delivered until early next year, you may want to pay for the car in December in order to save some of the VAT. It is Read more »

Trying to get everyone to go green overnight and buy electric cars will simply not work. The view is now to take a piecemeal approach and start by getting people gradually into more fuel efficient cars that kick out fewer CO2’s. Drivers should first be made more aware of cleaner driving practices. Knocking 10% off your cruising motorway speed can improve fuel consumption along with controlled braking and less Read more »

There are many stories bouncing around regarding end of lease charges from excess mileage charges that treble per mile if you exceed 10% overrun, eg. the excess charge per mile is set at 4 pence per mile if you exceed 3,000 miles on a 30,000 mile contract, thereafter increasing to 12 pence per mile, through to the leasing companies charging for re-repair of body repairs that they consider to be sub-standard even Read more »

Fears are growing regarding the safety of cars on our roads as drivers put off service and maintenance work in order to save some money during the recession. There has also been an increase in employees either asking to be put on a cash for cars scheme or for their employers to introduce a scheme. It is felt the motives are purely financial with employees looking to downsize their car and pocket what equates to an Read more »

Whilst the Government has said that they would not be introducing road pricing until after the next parliament at the earliest, the Conservatives have kept the idea completely off its agenda and the Liberals of course would like action immediately the influential Committee on Climate Change has put road pricing  firmly back on the agenda for immediate consideration. They have dropped the idea of Read more »

After a year of successful growth in used car prices we are now starting to see prices level and, in some cases, slightly fall in auction. With fewer new car registrations, a reduction in rental car fleets and cars being scrapped the supply chain of used cars reduced significantly through the year. Businesses started to buy used cars instead of new as well as hold onto their lease cars by extending contracts turning the Read more »

In a recent case, exposed in What Car a lady experienced a sunroof leak in her 2 year old Mondeo. She made a claim on Ford under her warranty agreement but was told that water ingress was not covered by her 3 year warranty beyond the first year but they made an offer to cover 30% of the repair cost and the dealer was prepared to cut his labour rate. The suggestion from What Car was to push for a bigger Read more »

A reader of What Car, Carey Trewavas, wrote in to effectively confirm something I have been warning about since the recession started. He arranged to lease a car through a broker, known as Auto Dealer Direct. In August he sent a bankers draft for £2,511 as his deposit payment on the Audi A5 that he ordered. Since then he hasn’t been able to contact Auto Dealer Direct by phone, email or letter. According to What Read more »

It was earlier this year when I warned that money was tight in the vehicle finance sector that would mean only the squeakiest of clean business would be written. In some instances I heard that acceptances were down to just 20% of applicants, not because the vast majority of applicants were poor credit risks but available funds meant this was the maximum number of applicants that could be accepted. Many Read more »

There have been mixed feelings expressed over the Corporate Manslaughter Act that was introduced in April 2008. Basically, if you are an employer and you have failed your duty of care that results in the death of your employee or others you, or the director/partner in your business responsible, could face prosecution and a prison sentence as well as an unlimited fine on the company. Some have stated that the Read more »