The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

Do you know what elephant racing is? You have probably and irritatingly come across it whilst driving. Apparently it’s when one massive truck is overtaking another massive truck on a motorway or dual carriageway where the difference in speed is about 1 mph. Yep, experienced that one! Well the Highways Agency, probably as a result of being delayed for their dinner or tea break, have extended their Read more »

Kwik Fit have revealed the puncture capital of the UK, yep, it’s true they have actually carried out a survey and found that London is the capital, not only of the country but also for punctures. Amazing or what? In fact drivers in London are twice as likely to get a puncture than drivers in the East Midlands. 4 in 10 drivers in London had a puncture last year compared to 2 in 10 in the East Midlands. Nationally the Read more »

Online garage finder Motor Codes have been running a competition to find the UK’s number one garage providing the highest quality of service. Motor Codes polled 9,000 people to end up with a final 10 that only included 2 franchised dealers, Arnold Clark Renault of Paisley, Renfrewshire and SERE Motors of Lisburn, N Ireland. All other finalists were independents. The overall winner was family run Kinghams of Croydon. Other finalists were: 

• A1 Motorcare, Cardiff, Wales
• ABP Motorsport, Crewe, North West
• Anglo Continental Cars, Milton Keynes, Midlands
• Arnold Clark Renault, Paisley, Scotland
• Clive Woolford Motors, Tewkesbury, South West
• Fred Henderson, Durham, North East
• Kings of Witcham, Ely, East
• Prestige Services, Wakefield, Yorkshire
• SERE Motors, Lisburn, Northern Ireland  

Motor Codes runs a garage finder site where they say you can find trusted garages who all operated under a Government backed code of practice. Find them at: http://www.motorcodes.co.uk/ By Graham Hill

Warnings have been issued about the use of acid based wheel cleaners used by some roadside hand carwash outfits. The cleaner can actually damage the alloys as well as the brakes. The car washers can buy this cleaner for about £10 for 25 litres but it was only intended for building use, to clean brickwork. The car washers have to dilute the liquid but if it’s not diluted enough it can cause damage. If the wheel is in good Read more »

Auto Express have named their Driver Power 2010 top 100 cars. More of this next week but I can report that the Jaguar XF has been knocked off the number one position and replaced by, wait for it, the Hyundai i30. The survey was polled amongst 23,00 drivers with cars being assessed on 10 factors including reliability, comfort, build quality and performance. More of this breaking story next week but this week we are offering the i30 on special terms as our deal of the week – I don’t just throw these things together you know! By Graham Hill

the EU is planning stricter rules on MOT testing. This will immediately increase the cost of the MOT as more items are to be checked. This has resulted from the European Union passing a new set of stricter rules on minimum road worthiness. The EU ministers agreed that ‘modern electronic systems be included in the list of items to be tested’. This change along with others already planned will be introduced in Read more »

My aspirational car is an Aston Martin and I expect to announce in the not too distant future that I have one following the successful launch and growth of my new business. However, that was until I saw their latest venture, the Aston Martin Cygnet which is based apparently on a Toyota iQ. To me it looks like a Fiat 500, can you believe it? I’ll see if I can find a picture but I think I may have to re-think this whole Aston Read more »

‘I don’t mind what it is, I’m after something that does the job but doesn’t cost a lot per month.’ Quite a common request that I receive and so I have a bit of a rummage around and find a Kia on a really good deal or maybe a Hyundai or a Chevrolet. Suddenly the customer has become a bit more of a snob than even he thought he was but are we right to dismiss some of these makes? Martin Ward of CAP test drives cars all Read more »

Rows are a brewing when it comes to tyres amongst the manufacturers. All is harmony when it comes to trying to improve fuel efficiency, noise and safety but the rows are growing over minimum tread depth. Continental is fighting to increase the minimum from the current 1.6mm to 3mm, which it claims would result in a marked reduction in traffic accidents. But the claims are being challenged by Michelin and Read more »

Warnings continue to increase about the numbers of ‘accidents to order’ where fraudsters stage an accident then put in an insurance claim for the damage caused to their vehicle as well as any passengers. Some are known to drive the car on behalf of the owner, swerving in front of another driver causing the accident. Details are exchanged and the details of the owner are given along with his insurance details to the Read more »