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What’s my car worth? I’m often asked this question by drivers who have the option to buy the car that they have been driving for the last 2 or 3 years from the leasing company. I have to say there is no definitive answer, to think that you can simply open a book, check the model and year, adjust the value for a higher or lower mileage than average mileage Read more »

Just as we were hoping to see more lease deals come through and rates start to drop CAP, the used car valuation company, has announced a weakening of the used car market and prices through auction starting to fall slightly. Mike Hind of CAP said that he wasn’t too concerned as ‘This is not the same dynamic as the panic of 2008.’ Although he went on to point out that the market is at its weakest for 12 months with no Read more »

Manheim, the large auction house and end of lease vehicle inspectors have identified over £12 million of end of lease damage charges over 90,000 inspections during 2009. 38% of the vehicles that were assessed had damage in excess of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association fair wear and tear guidelines resulting in an average charge of £350 per vehicle, up by 14% on 2008. Some of this was blamed on Read more »

As we can see from my BMW 7 Series deal of the week, things are starting to improve at the big end of the market. In a prestige, sporting and executive auction held at British Car Auctions in Nottingham 300 dealers attended with 216 bidding online resulting in top models achieving 114% of CAP clean price (that’s trade value to you and me). The rest made 100-104% which is excellent considering the fact that last year the Read more »

As we can see from my BMW 7 Series deal of the week, things are starting to improve at the big end of the market. In a prestige, sporting and executive auction held at British Car Auctions in Nottingham 300 dealers attended with 216 bidding online resulting in top models achieving 114% of CAP clean price (that’s trade value to you and me). The rest made 100-104% which is excellent considering the fact that last year the Read more »

 For years I’ve fought against those providing misleading advice on cars and car finance with many of the cons revealed in my book, An Insider Guide To Car Finance, my Friday FAQ’s and the new videos that will be launched very shortly. Having just read the same press release for the umpteenth time I’m now moved to make further comment on the announcement that Autoquake are very generously waving Read more »

More people are taking cars on lease as it saves money and improves cash flow. They are also wising up to the fact that cars have to be returned in a ‘reasonable’ condition which means any damage should be repaired or you could face some serious refurbishment charges if the leasing company assesses the work when the vehicle is returned. As a result many are turning to the cheapest alternative and that is the Read more »

We’ve heard that house prices have increased again but that we shouldn’t take this as a sign that the economy is recovering as it is simply a result of supply and demand. Few houses available with more buyers looking. I’m now hoping that the same rationale is being used when leasing companies view the recent drop in used car prices following nearly a year of increases. The improved returns through auction was Read more »

Thinking of selling your car and taking out a lease on a new car? Well, according to Manheim, the car auction house, now is a good time for you to sell you car as used car prices have been shooting up recently. An 8 month old ex rental car with less than 8,000 miles on is now fetching £2,200 more than it was a year ago. Manheim auctions increased their average sale price by 4% in July over June whilst British Car Auctions saw a 3% increase. Year on year prices are up by Read more »

Having revealed that end of lease charges have hit an all time high, according to auction house and de-fleeting company, Manheim, with charges up by 9% in the last 18 months, they have also explained that part of the reason for this unfriendly approach is lack of interest in the customers shown by the leasing companies. They feel that this may be because the customer retention rate is only running at 33%. But then if the leasing companies stopped charging such ridiculous amounts at the end of each lease maybe their customer retention rates would increase. Don’t you just despair sometimes? By Graham Hill