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Underwriting is becoming a bit of a nightmare with lenders seemingly running out of money. It’s all very frustrating as I have loads of enquiries and proposals but far too many are being declined for credit, a situation that will only get worse. Applicants need to take more care over their credit and avoid any adverse or suffer the very severe consequences. Also consider the amount you are prepared to pay up front Read more »

So what do we think of the Mandelson bailout? Frankly not a lot although time will tell. The problem with all these packages seems to be that they get to the point of understanding the problems and seeking a solution but they don’t seem to then tell those to whom they are giving the money how they want it used. They gave money to the banks and told them to start lending again but they didn’t tell them when, how much Read more »

Do you ever feel that you are banging your head against a brick wall? How many times did I say before Christmas that some of the deals that are available may never return so take them whilst you can. But no, obviously I was lying or simply trying to pull a few deals in to pay for my extravagant Christmas and New Year celebrations. The truth is that I wasn’t. There was a huge effort on the part of some manufacturers to Read more »

At the end of 2008 we were inundated with great deals and offers as manufacturers looked at ways to clear their overstock of cars but since the start of the new year we haven’t had anywhere near the same number of deals or the great value that we saw previously. Part of the reason is the continued weakness of the used car market whereby even if the manufacturers were giving as much away in bonuses and Read more »

In my opinion leasing is by far the most cost effective way of funding a car provided you can be flexible and look for the best deals around at the time you take your new car. However, there is one major drawback to leasing and one that I write about regularly in my newsletter, trade press and national press. It is the one area that I receive most complaints about from buyers of my book. It is the end of contract charges. I Read more »

As car manufacturers continue to beat a path to the Chancellor’s door I ask myself what they are going to ask for? We already know that cars in the UK are overpriced so why not cut prices in order to stimulate sales. On the other hand, as Lord Mendelson has suggested, it is the funding that needs to be looked at in order to make it possible and affordable for the public and small businesses to drive new cars and Read more »

If you like to drive a prestige car and have thought that owning is a much better option consider the Bentley GT Coupe owner whose car is now depreciating at £500 more per week more than it did 12 months ago which means, according to trade newspaper Fleet News that it has depreciated by more than £67,000 in its first year, that’s a staggering 56% off its new price of £120,000. Who said that owning a car is the best option?? By Graham Hill

What would you really like to drive? Over the years I have helped many thousands of businesses and individuals to drive ‘better’ cars. For some a ‘better’ car has actually been the car of their dreams, for others it has meant a lot more car for their budget and for others the car they had planned on driving but for much less money. Every client has different aspirations and there are of course Read more »

Motoring organisations have warned motorists not to look to save motoring costs, in these difficult times, by not having their car serviced on time. Certainly shop around to get the best deal and don’t forget under the European rulings you no longer need to have cars serviced at main dealers to retain the warranty cover so you can use garages and fast fit service centres, charging much lower hourly rates than Read more »

Mini takes the prize for the car that holds it’s value best according to EurotaxGlass. After 3 years travelling average mileage the Mini diesel retains 63.3% of it’s original value although this is down from its high of 71% in 2007. The worst performer was the Alfa 166 which at the end of 3 years with 37,000 miles on the clock is worth just 12% of its original cost. Amazing! By Graham Hill