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There are now some wide fluctuations in monthly contract hire rentals as many factors come into play. Amid fears that the industry is predicting the collapse of one of the major contract hire companies before the end of the year and possibly the loss of a few smaller ones, the industry is in a mess with rates all over the place. It isn’t uncommon for rates to have a spread of £50 + VAT per month between the cheapest and most expensive rates on the same car. Fleet Operations have found that in the case of a Ford Focus the spread was Read more »

Years ago when I first started providing contract hire we would provide terms that would include 3 rentals in advance followed by 21 payments, if a 2 year deal, or 33 payments if a 3 year deal. This meant that there were no payments in the last 2 months. As a result many customers would set aside the money that they would normally pay per month in preparation for the initial rental on the next contract. However, some brokers and lenders realised that if they spread all the payments over the 24 months or 36 months they could Read more »

I have received a couple of words of warning about topping your oil up. The first is probably fairly obvious, make sure that the car is on flat ground when you check it. It may seem obvious but in cars where electronic sensors are fitted drivers often forget that when the level is checked the car still needs to be on flat ground. But the lesser known piece of advice is not to overfill the engine with oil. This is especially important with diesels as the oil can find its way into the exhaust and damage the particulate filter which can be very expensive to replace and would not be covered by the warranty. By Graham Hill

As drivers continue to feel the pinch of recession insurance groups warn about the dangers of not telling the truth when taking out car insurance. Every claim is now being closely scrutinised as a result in the upsurge in fraudulent claims, as explained in my recent crash for cash fraud item. As a result lies or mistakes made at the time of proposal is causing claims to be rejected so great care needs to be taken when completing proposals or you may not only find a claim rejected but Read more »

Internet searches for contract hire cars has show that German cars are the most popular amongst contract hire users with German cars accounting for 43% of all car searches since the start of 2009. I would say that great deals on Mercedes and Audi have helped this. By Graham Hill

Considering the latest announcements relating to electric car production and the government emphasising its efforts to support electric cars by increasing incentives it was a bit of a surprise to hear Bosch announce that petrol and diesel cars will be by far the most dominant vehicles for the next 20 years. They went on to explain that this would be due to planned improvements that are due to take place in the internal combustion engine and as a result of an insufficient understanding of technology which has led to unrealistic forecasts about electric vehicles. Dr Bernd Bohr, chairman of Bosch Automotive group, predicted that Read more »

Over the years I have put forward many reasons why you should opt for Dealer HP over a personal loan (contrary to all advice given in the media). Your legal rights are so much greater when you take HP. If you have read my book An Insider Guide To Car Finance, or been a regular reader of my newsletter, you would know the reasons that I put forward. However, I have just uncovered a new one that you may find useful if you, or a friend/relation ever find yourself in this situation. If you are a consumer (can also be a sole trader) and you purchase a vehicle outright you are deemed to have accepted the goods if you have had a reasonable time to inspect the goods and not rejected them. After this time your remedy for defects is restricted to Read more »

The RAC and AA have both warned drivers about the need for them to consider their roadside assistance cover. As more drivers are holding onto their cars for longer, during the recession, either by not replacing them or through lease extensions, they are forgetting to take out roadside assistance cover. Very often the car is covered from new for a period of three years but even if you car is only a year old you may find that the cover for years 2 & 3 is less than year one cover. This is often because Read more »

In the current climate there is lots of talk about guarantees and indemnities. Let’s be clear, before a lender considers a guarantor he must be fairly certain that the borrower can repay his debts. You may be someone who has never had credit before or you have had a credit card that has hardly been used, so you have very little credit history on which to form an opinion. But everything about you looks good, home, job, bank etc and you certainly have no adverse information stored on your credit file but for that extra bit of comfort the lender may be happy to Read more »

I read some daft things when researching the content of this weekly newsletter, the latest is the talking Mini that is to be launched by BMW. To celebrate its 50^th birthday BMW is using Smart technology to allow a special version of the Mini to say ‘Hello’, ‘Goodbye’ and ‘See you soon’ as well as offer a range of tips to make your driving safer and more economical. I understand that the car, which will be called the Camden, will suggest to the driver when it detects high speed ‘Take it easy and we’ll save fuel at the same time.’ Have you ever heard Read more »