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Just about to travel to or through France, even on a day trip? Then please note that the French have a new piece of legislation making it compulsory to have a reflective jacket on board. In an emergency the jacket must be easily accessible by the driver and must be put on before leaving the car. You need a quick trip to Halfords or you could end up with a fine.

So you’ve been out and got yourself a nice environmentally friendly electric car for driving around London. Not only do you avoid congestion charges but also you get free parking. Oh no you don’t! Bonkers Boris has suddenly decided that by giving free parking to these little electric cars it discourages the use of public transport, walking and cycling so from the end of 2008 you no longer get free parking in an electric car. This will now cost those who hold free parking cards £2,000 as well as wiping 50% off the value of their cars. I agree with the spokesman from electric car manufacturer Nice who described the decision as ‘Barmy’. And we thought Ken was clueless.

Leasing companies are really starting to feel the squeeze from several directions. Interest rates are going up, new car prices are increasing, there are fewer customers and more importantly used car prices have taken a sudden dive resulting in losses on virtually every car that is being de-fleeted  forcing rates up further on new cars in order to balance the losses. However, in addition to the rate adjustments we have seen many leasing companies try to recoup losses from customers by making large Read more »

As the Government stands firm on it’s 6 year old Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) you should now consider the real benefits of paying for your own car personally and charging the business compared to having a company car. To remind you the AMAP rates are 40 pence per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25 pence per mile thereafter. The charge is tax and NI free but even 40% taxpayers are seeing the benefits badly eroded. The charge is to recover not just fuel but all Read more »

In my book ‘An Insider Guide To Car Finance’ I provide a great deal of legal advice, obviously if you find yourself in a dispute you should consult a qualified solicitor. However, by way of advice, in these times of high fuel costs suddenly the advertised MPG figures become all important. So what happens when the figures provided by the manufacturer/dealer are incorrect? I often receive complaints about this subject but as the cost of fuel was under reasonable control no one seemed willing to enforce their legal position, however that may well start to change. So in order to clarify your position I would suggest the following. Read more »

Now for a bit of a technology update: Mazda has started to trial a new vehicle to vehicle communications system that can warn drivers of approaching danger such as approaching traffic at blind bends and intersections. Maplin has produced a do it yourself reversing camera that is powered through your cigarette lighter socket. The screen changes from colour during the day to black and white at night to make the screen clearer. It costs £130. Unipart is currently developing a ‘black box‘ that can automatically alert the emergency services if your car is involved in an accident or stolen. Unipart claims Read more »

We are not in a recession – yet! But signs are that we are moving that way so now may be the correct time to consider leasing your car and take advantage of some of the deals that are about at the moment. It’s all about cash flow and contract hire will certainly provide you with the best cash flow and there is some even better news which I’ll talk about in a moment. If we look at the Audi A6 that we have on special at the moment the cost after 3 months payment in advance would be £329 + VAT per month (£387 per month inc VAT) but if you bought the car on HP over 4 years you would be paying close to Read more »

The Government is to tighten up on new car advertising as a result of pressure from the greenies to better advise the public about CO2 emissions. In future all literature including posters and all print ads must include CO2 emission information. This is now believed to conform to EU directives on the level of information that should be made available to car buyers. Strangely no such rules apply to used cars which are in the vast majority and kick out many more CO2‘s than their new equivalents. Or am I missing something?

We have finally had confirmation from the treasury that the tax changes mentioned in the last budget only apply to new cars. Not that anyone expected it to be otherwise but the statements should never have been so vague in the first place. Cars that are already in use by April 2009 will not be subjected to the new rules so this will no doubt spur on a lot of activity between now and next April as companies look to maintain their current beneficial tax Read more »

A long overdue code is being introduced against which quality standards of vehicle repairers will be measured. Garages that sign up to the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair commit to meeting certain standards, such as open and transparent pricing, invoices that match quoted prices and completing work as agreed. Whilst the code is not yet operational garages can already sign up to it. So far more than 5,500, about 25% of the market, has committed to Read more »