Thursday, 17. March 2011
Online used car reseller Autoquake have officially gone into administration. A call to their offices confirmed that MCR have been appointed as administrators following the collapse of the company. I believe that somewhere in the region of 150 jobs could be lost unless a buyer can be found although it was clearly a model that could never work. They appointed highly paid executives in roles that were far too small for their ability. As I have worked with Carsite, the originator of the online used car Read more »
Thursday, 17. March 2011
There’s no such thing as a free lunch! What a load of bull, of course there is, I’ve had plenty over the years and I’ve not been expected offer my body up as a sacrifice or pledge in blood only to use the generous host’s product for ever more but more people are understanding the significance of the expression when applied to lease rates. Go with the cheapest Read more »
Wednesday, 16. March 2011
As people look for ways to save money they are certainly looking to prevent the bane of any driver’s life, the end of lease recharge. Many individuals and businesses have called in the services of the smart repairers to put their vehicles in an acceptable condition for return to the leasing company only to find the repair rejected and be faced with a full Read more »
Monday, 14. March 2011
Last week I reported on the shambles known as the EU Consumer Credit Directive that would, without doubt, cause widespread confusion amongst consumers and small businesses (who were included in the Consumer Credit Act but not in the CCD). Trying to get the message across to customers in dealerships would result in the blind leading the blind Read more »
Sunday, 13. March 2011
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Online used car resale giant Autoquake has gone into administration losing its investors £19 million in the process as it’s unlikely that anyone would pay more than a couple of thousand pounds for a few cars, an award winning website and some goodwill. Their CEO was known for his arrogance and his despise of car dealers pointing out the error of their Read more »
Saturday, 12. March 2011
According the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) we are about to see and increase in the number of banks re-entering the car finance market which would be great news for all. Although this optimism is not shared by all including me. I have seen some funding enter the vehicle finance sector, not from banks but from investment Read more »
Saturday, 12. March 2011
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When I was training as an accountant one of the subjects I had to cover was statistics. At the start of the course we were shown a graph of the stork population in Sweden over a 5 year period. We were then shown a graph of the baby births in Sweden during the same period and the two graphs were virtually identical. As more storks were born more Read more »
Friday, 11. March 2011
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Even though we know the Government is hell bent on converting us to electric cars I’m still not convinced. When it was announced that the Government was going to put £5,000 across the bonnet of electric cars to encourage drivers to buy them and Boris was going to put a free electric charging point in every parking bay making it the world’s leading Read more »
Thursday, 10. March 2011
Do you know how long points stay on your licence for? Most people think 3 years but in fact speeding offences stay on there for 4 years and others stay on for longer. For example drink driving points remain on your licence for 11 years. Even though speeding points stay on your licence for 4 years they are only valid for 3 years.
So if you have 9 points on your licence after 3 years but clock up another 3 points in the 4th year you wont lose your licence under the totting up system. The expired points can be removed from your licence by the DVLA but you will have to pay a fee of £20 for a replacement ‘clean’ licence. Are you confused by the points system, let’s discuss? By Graham Hill
Wednesday, 9. March 2011
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Years ago when run flat tyres were introduced they seemed like a great idea but drivers were then told that they couldn’t mix up run flats with conventional tyres and you couldn’t get a puncture repaired. Once the tyre had been punctures, whilst the run flat would get you home the bad news was that you then needed to replace the tyre. However, I have found out that this isn’t necessarily the case. It was highlighted recently when a lady driver managed to get a nail in her run flat tyre fitted to a Read more »
