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As if to support my comments made over the last few weeks market analyst Datamoniter has recorded a growth in vehicle leasing in the fleet sector as more companies release cash tied up in their vehicles and reduce exposure to market conditions by selling off the cars they own and replace them with leased vehicles. New vehicle sales generally slumped further in August from the July drop of 7.3% to an unprecedented 15.6%. Consumers, unaware of the cash flow benefits of leasing new cars, have really Read more »

Now is the time to take great care with the funders, dealers and brokers, both online and offline, that you use to fund your next car. Things are getting tough and having lived through the last recession I know many of the tricks and scams that they all get up to in order to secure life saving orders. Cars are expensive items and great care should be taken over the selection of suppliers. I’ve been in this industry for over 25 years and I am Read more »

Motoring costs have increased by 19% in the last year according to the RAC’s Annual Cost of Motoring Index. The average cost of running a family car has increased to £2,435, an increase of £277. This equates to £47 per week or 20.3 pence per mile. The index found that depreciation, which is causing major problems for rental and leasing companies is on average £826 more per year. The happy bunnies at the RAC have predicted that costs will rise further with volatile fuel prices and the uncertain economic climate. By Graham Hill

Insurance giant Norwich Union has warned businesses with fleet insurance policies to avoid the practice known as ‘Fronting’. This practice allows people who are not directly connected to the company to drive under its insurance. Mike Smith of NU said ‘Fronting in most instances, will invalidate the company insurance policy, leaving the business to pay for any damage to their vehicle. Also if any other driver is involved in an accident, while the insurer will be obliged to meet any liability cost, they can seek recovery of any such payments from the policyholder.’ By Graham Hill

I mentioned the tax changes that will take place in April 2009 relating to company cars. However, some people are confused over the affects on leased cars whilst others still have concerns over their capital allowances after the changes have taken place. It would of course be wise to seek the advice of your accountant but in order to shed some light on a confusing situation – I hope this helps. First of all one thing will not change and that is the position with regard to ‘Low CO2 Emission Cars’. Whilst the threshold Read more »

Fuel is coming down, the sun is shining and the banks are lending again. Well 2 out of three can’t be bad! I think the email from the Government to the banks must have got lost in cyberspace somewhere or maybe they sent it in the post without a large letter stamp attached. Either way I am still waiting, as are most in the finance industry, for the glimmer of light that suggests that Chancellor Brown oops I mean Darling did the right thing for us common people or whether things will continue to deteriorate. The annoying thing is Read more »

Well having reported a few weeks ago that white cars have been making a comeback it would seem that used car buyers are not quite so keen according to Eutotax-Glass’s who report that some supercars and luxury grand tourers can lose as much as £5,000 compared to a popular metallic colour. Whereas some high performance and those fitted with sports kits do very well. To demonstrate the quirkiness of the market Read more »

Whilst we are pretty much ripped off in the UK when it comes to new cars compared to the US it sometimes has advantages. At the moment many leasing companies in the US have refused to take on any more leasing business as the risk is all on them and the current drop in used car values is costing them a fortune. In order to achieve cheap rates in the UK the manufacturers have to Read more »

Next year should see an upsurge in contract hire sales as the new tax rules kick in. Professor Peter Cooke of the Centre of Automotive Management at the University of Buckingham (and one of my fellow contributors in Motor Finance journal) warned that the tax changes, to be introduced next year, will have a profound impact on the way that businesses fund their cars. Next year will see Read more »

Fraud is on the increase as consumers and small businesses are driven to desperate lengths. Not only are applicants providing incorrect details and proofs, brokers are also falsifying documents in order to ensure that applications are accepted and they earn their commissions. There has also been an increase in premeditated motor finance crime with multiple applications being made in the expectation that Read more »