The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

OK now I’ve filled you with doom and gloom let me give you the good news. Whilst this new superleasing company (Lloyds/TSB Lex) will dominate the market, because of the scale of their operation they will have to concentrate more on the large fleets rather than the SME and consumer sectors, thereby increasing competition amongst the smaller players. As a result contract hire companies such as Leaseplan, Lombard, Masterlease etc will concentrate on model specific deals. Whilst the superlease company will arrange Read more »

Whilst the city shakes to the after effects of the Lloyds TSB/HBOS takeover no one has yet mentioned the effect on the car leasing industry as the new company will not only result in control of the mortgage industry but it will also give domination over the car leasing industry. In May 2006 HBOS took total control of Lex Vehicle Leasing (LVL) by buying out the 50% shareholding owned by Aviva. This gave HBOS Read more »

Autoglass has warned that many replacement windscreens could have been avoided if drivers acted more quickly when their screens suffered a chip as chips will nearly always become a crack. A straight forward chip repair takes about 20 minutes compared to nearly 2 hours for a replacement screen. The cost of windscreen replacement is rising rapidly due to the complexity of the glass used and the skill and Read more »

If you are an F1 fan you may be interested to know that the DVLA are about to release the series of F plates for sale from F1 to F20 followed by 3 letters. One of the expected quickest to go when the sale starts on 7^th October is F1 DAD (get the pun?). Log onto their website to see what numbers are available. By Graham Hill

Warnings have been issued by the AA about the increase in theft of Catalytic Converters due to the sharp increase in scrap value of the precious metals housed in the units, platinum, palladium and rhodium. It is estimated that a stolen cat is worth about £150 in scrap value. Cars particularly at risk are 4WD cars and vans with a high ground clearance making it easier for thieves to saw off the cats. They warned that drivers of vulnerable vehicles should protect their insurance no claims discount as a claim could end up costing the driver £000’s. By Graham Hill

Hertz have announced their entry into the Car Club market as companies and consumers look at ways to reduce their car costs both throughout Europe and in the US. Locations are being selected throughout the UK and they expect to launch later in the year. Following existing models that are working they are expected to charge a monthly membership then the use of the car by the hour. The expectation is Read more »

Over the years I have often found myself locking horns with accountants over the benefits of leasing. Most accountants fall into one of two categories, they either ‘get it’ totally or are totally clueless. Of course all of my accountant readers ‘get it’ totally. It was highlighted last week once again when I couldn’t get a potential client’s accountant to appreciate that by taking a lease his client would save around Read more »

On the subject of scams there is a lot of evidence of  an old favourite amongst the more unscrupulous brokers returning. It was used a lot in the last recession and will no doubt be used even more as we have the added ‘bonus’ of a credit crunch as we move in the direction of another recession. It’s based on the deal that doesn’t exist, the sort of thing that dealers used to do a lot in the past by advertising a really cheap car to undercut all the local competition then telling the customer Read more »

I have been quite frustrated this week as a result of the plight of a lady who has a major problem with a finance company. As a court case is pending I cannot comment on the details but suffice to say that I am doing everything to help. The lady had a arranged a car through Gwent Fleet Management of Abergavenny who are now under investigation by the police but as a result of their actions the lady now has a battle with a finance company called Mallard Finance, who are, Read more »

Maybe we need the RAC to spell out the obvious when a third of the country doesn’t know what APR is and according to www.honestjohn.co.uk and British Car Auctions (BCA) a third of the public don’t know how to tell the age of a car by its number plate. Well strangely I can’t tell the age of a car by its number plate either. And I don’t consider myself to be as daft as a brick! For example, Read more »