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Very bad news if you have bought a car or are buying it on HP but great news if you are leasing! EurotaxGlass’s has warned that used car prices will fall by at least 12% between now and the end of the year as retail demand continues to ease and the supply of second hand cars exceeds demand. The drop is around three times the drop experienced Read more »

Not much has been reported for a while about speeding fines. Probably because the local authorities are carefully playing it down as latest statistics show that speeding fines have increased four fold since labour came to power. Home office statistics show that 1.8 million tickets are issued annually or 4,850 every day, compared to 713,000 in 1997. In 1997 the amount of money raised in fines was £28.5 million, in 2006 the figure had risen to Read more »

You can tell when we are in the silly season when normally sensible companies carry out silly surveys. The latest by Protyre discovered that one in ten motorists would like an in-car refreshment system for the summer. They would choose a fridge, ice cream machine, cold drinks dispenser or fully stocked bar (?!) as options for their new vehicle. Almost half said they would like a flat screen TV with games console or DVD player. See what I mean – bloody daft! By Graham Hill

Peter Hollinshead, head of vehicle finance at HSBC Bank has produced a report explaining why Contract Hire is the way for even cash rich companies to fund their vehicles. The same reasons can be used for explaining why small companies and consumers should consider leasing as it is the most predictable and cost effective way of funding cars according to Hollinshead. As he explains, not only have used car prices dropped considerably but it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell cars. He acknowledges the arguments Read more »

As the credit crunch continues to have an effect more brokers are reporting difficulties with underwriting. As many of my readers know I have a column with Motor Finance – the journal of the motor finance industry and many brokers that contact me, as a result of my column, have reported that lease enquiries are still running high but finance declines are running higher than ever as funders become more selective as they prepare for the anticipated recession. Read more »

Few people are aware of their obligations if they have medical problems. Gavin Jones, risk management expert at Masterlease pointed out ‘All drivers are required by law to notify the DVLA of any medical condition which may affect their fitness do drive but many drivers are failing to report this and could be using the road illegally.’ He added ‘When the DVLA is notified of any medical issues, a full investigation is carried out before the motorist is deemed fit to continue with their licence.’ If this is the case and drivers are driving Read more »

Diesel car sales are exactly the same as they have been since the beginning of the year. That’s my experience however if you believe press reports diesel and petrol car sales swing backwards and forwards like a pendulum. A couple of weeks ago when fuel reached its all time high the press reported the bottom falling out of the diesel market and everyone immediately turning to petrol. According to my sales and enquiries diesel demand was just as strong. A couple of weeks later and an unexpected drop in fuel prices sees Read more »

One in five of all reported road incidents involves a parked vehicle. There are 700,000 incidents costing an estimated £1.25 billion to repair. About 80% of the parked car incidents (PCI‘s) occurred on the street. The remainder were in public car parks. The cost of repair averaged £1,800. London topped the list of worst cities in the UK for PCI’s followed by Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Norwich. One in 10 PCI crashes handled by Accident Exchange were recorded in the capital. Main contributing factors to the PCI problems are increased congestion on residential streets and competition for car park spaces. The real fear is that with more information available identifying hot spots the insurance companies may increase premiums so much that residents are priced out of insuring their vehicles. By Graham Hill

You may think long and hard about using an Internet company but when considering which finance method to use you may carry out some research into the various options. The obvious route to go is to buy my book, ‘An Insider Guide To Car Finance’. But you may think that taking advice from such authorities as Glass’s Guide (EurotaxGlass), Sunday Times and Telegraph would provide the solution and offer up good advice. Well think again. I strongly criticised Read more »

As the credit crunch bites harder funders and brokers/intermediaries fight each other for the lowest rates on the Internet to encourage you to use them, sometimes as a result of lying and conning. So now is the time to be very very careful as to which company you use to provide your car if you want to avoid problems in the future. Probably the most important fact to be aware of is that the person you place your business with on the Internet is not working for the funder or the dealer – he is actually working for Read more »