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This week the renowned Graham Hill in depth car review is focused on the new Mini alternative, the Audi A1. The Audi A1 is better. So there you have it, all you need to know when making that vital decision between the cars although I would say that personally I still prefer the shape of the Mini and the fact that it is built in the UK and although engine for engine the Audi is more powerful and economic than the Mini Read more »

If you see a car you like, now is not a good time to wait to see if the rate improves. With some Audi’s now having a delivery lead time quoted at 26 weeks there is far from an over supply out there. It now seems that the ‘bible’ used by leasing companies to predict future car values, CAP, may be as much as 10% adrift in its valuations which is likely to lead to some re-alignment of rates quoted by the leasing companies. Read more »

The key is – well, in the key, according to some road safety experts. We already have keys that chat away to the car’s engine management systems and record service information then transmit it to your local dealer. We now have an Alco-Lock which requires the driver to blow into the key and if they are over the limit the key won’t allow them to drive by locking up the immobiliser. Until the reading drops below the Read more »

Small businesses are finding it more difficult to finance vehicles using their traditional and most popular methods of finance, HP, business loans and overdraft. It seems that more are now turning to leasing, according to Fleet News, as it is easier to arrange the finance, reduces the risk and spreads the funding around. Last year, according to the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), financing new and used cars to Read more »

Auto Trader Compare, the insurance comparison site set up by Autotrader, the UK’s largest motoring website, carried out a survey to find out which drivers are considered to be the worst amongst motorists. The worst drivers, as voted by a massive 59% of respondents, are BMW drivers. They are accused of  various bad driving habits including – driving too fast (68%), overtaking in dangerous situations (66%), Read more »

A couple of weeks ago I told you which manufacturers and which cars were the most reliable. This week it’s the turn of the dealerships. The survey was carried out amongst 34 of the UK’s top leasing companies with 27 voting for the dealers in the top slot. Whilst Lexus often takes top honours amongst retail voters only 2 lessors put Lexus in the top 5 dropping them just off the top 10 dealers. The Germans seemed to Read more »

Under the new EU Block Exemption rules you can now have your car serviced at any recognised service garage provided the quality of service matches that laid down by the manufacturer. I still recommend that original manufacturer parts are used but this isn’t necessary provided they meet original spec. However, a problem exists with the service lights that warn you when a car is due for service. Some Read more »

Trade journal Fleet News has carried out a survey into reliability of cars by contacting the top 50 leasing companies and asking which manufacturer and which individual cars have proven to be most reliable over the last 12 months. BMW just pipped Honda to the post as the most reliable manufacturer with Audi coming in third, jumping from 7^th place last year. Audi was highest rated dealership network for Read more »

Over the last few months we have seen a great deal of activity in dealerships offering a greater variety of finance products to customers. Manufacturer provided finance facilities are offered through ‘captives’ that are either funded by the manufacturer or through a major finance provider. The funder provides the facilities on documents printed in the name of the manufacturer. As a result of increased competitiveness Read more »

Things are not getting any easier for us brokers or our funders. I heard yesterday that a large part of the Audi range is now on Feb/Mar 2010 delivery for orders placed now. Most funders will price fix for 3 months from the date of order which means that the monthly rate will be held as long as the vehicle can be delivered within the 3 months. However, if delivery is beyond this, rates may be subject to review as a Read more »