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Considering the latest announcements relating to electric car production and the government emphasising its efforts to support electric cars by increasing incentives it was a bit of a surprise to hear Bosch announce that petrol and diesel cars will be by far the most dominant vehicles for the next 20 years. They went on to explain that this would be due to planned improvements that are due to take place in the internal combustion engine and as a result of an insufficient understanding of technology which has led to unrealistic forecasts about electric vehicles. Dr Bernd Bohr, chairman of Bosch Automotive group, predicted that Read more »

The RAC and AA have both warned drivers about the need for them to consider their roadside assistance cover. As more drivers are holding onto their cars for longer, during the recession, either by not replacing them or through lease extensions, they are forgetting to take out roadside assistance cover. Very often the car is covered from new for a period of three years but even if you car is only a year old you may find that the cover for years 2 & 3 is less than year one cover. This is often because Read more »

Last week I attended Motor Finance Europe 2009, one of the most important events of the year with regard to identifying how the European motor industry and the finance sector in particular is coping with the downturn. So I packed a couple of bottles of Paracetamol in the briefcase along with a couple of razor blades as I was totally convinced that by lunchtime I would be feeling more than a little suicidal and Read more »

Cloning is still on the increase but what do you do if you suspect that your car may have had it’s number plate cloned or you are in fact suspicious about any part of the car you are about to buy, is the registration document correct (V5C) or is the MOT certificate genuine? There is a new organisation that has been set up to combat vehicle fraud called the Vehicle Safe Trading Advisory Group. You can get lots of information and help by visiting their website www.vstag.co.uk By Graham Hill

Fuel prices seem to have settled for a while but concerns have been raised about the differential between petrol and diesel. In November 2007 the difference was 2.6 pence per litre. When the cost of a barrel of oil increased to $147 in July 2008 the price differential increased to 14 pence per litre. Whilst oil prices have dropped back to less than $50 per barrel the differential between the two fuels is still at 3 times the Read more »

A debate is going on about spare wheels and tyres fitted as standard. Should manufacturers continue to provide a full sized spare wheel, a skinny emergency wheel or fit run flat tyres that would enable manufacturers to not fit any spare at all? Puncture callouts to the RAC and AA are increasing, in 2002 the RAC was called out 160,908 times but by 2007 this had risen to 230,196, whilst the AA was called out 330,000 Read more »

Car crime statistics are misleading and could be causing drivers to be complacent according to vehicle security provider Cobra. Contrary to Home Office statistics which show car thefts falling, believed to be as a result of more cars being fitted with anti theft devices as standard, more surveillance cameras and more local community police, Cobra’s survey suggested quite the opposite with car crime still on the Read more »

As more consumers take out Personal Contract Hire and those that have Personal Contract Purchase end up with cars that are worth less than the final payment, more cars are being returned to the leasing companies at the end of the contract that must be in ‘reasonable condition for its age and mileage’. But what is reasonable? One lady wrote to me complaining that she had some unreasonable Read more »

One of the side affects of the current recession and the drop in value of used cars are  the poor settlement figures being offered by insurance companies as a result of total write offs compared to the settlement figure required by the finance provider. Another involves the early settlement figures being asked for by lenders when drivers wish to early terminate a finance agreement, this could be as a result of Read more »

I had a great response to last Friday’s FAQ’s which will now become a regular feature. Thanks for all the kind words and sharing my liking for Hob Nobs! I like to think that I am probably the UK’s leading expert when it comes to vehicle finance and I love to over deliver to my customers and friends by providing as much information as I can to help you make the best finance decision for your circumstances. I don’t Read more »