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If you are looking to take out an aftermarket vehicle warranty (that’s a warranty that you take out when the manufacturer’s warranty has run out) you can check to see if the provider has signed into the code of practice provided by the auto watchdog Motor Codes, unless it’s an AA warranty and I can tell you that they aren’t. The code was set up to help customers by ensuring that the warranties provided by the warranty Read more »

As the economy bumps along showing minimal signs of recovery the CVO Survey shows that large companies continue to actively use contract hire as its main method of financing its company cars whilst SME’s continue to blindly use cash, loans and overdrafts. Why should this be? I would suggest out of ignorance. Far too little is understood about leasing for SME’s to make a considered choice so they end up Read more »

A good friend of mine, Dick Appleby (he lives on the Wirral – that’s how desperate I am to have friends), wrote to me recently regarding a situation that has arisen regarding a Mercedes that was returned 3 years ago to Custom Fleet, part of GE Capital. Out of the blue he received a charge for the month and a few days that the car waited on his drive for them to collect. That’s right, the car went back about 3 years ago and Read more »

You can forget going green with your next car in order to save fuel and kick out fewer CO2’s according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM – is it me or does that sound like a cat food?). They suggest that drivers and businesses could save much more by simply using better, more efficient driving techniques, such as advanced anticipation, intelligent route planning and speed control which if used together could Read more »

The number of employees using their own cars for business use, known as the grey fleet, has dropped from 42% a year ago to just 28% now. The findings were the result of a survey carried out by Enterprise Rent-A-Car amongst 400 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). No reason was given for this dramatic fall, clearly the increase in unemployment had something to do with it, along with the health and safety Read more »

With the banks currently announcing profits well beyond expectations the Government really needs to step in and start rattling their cages as they continue to lend to simply those that are safest but in many respects don’t need it as badly as those who have been struggling and whose credit history is less than perfect. I have never quite understood how someone (or company) who has experienced a problem and Read more »

The Graham Hill in depth review this week is the Citroen C4. I have to say I love the new styling. The manufacturers seem to be spending a lot more time on their lower models making them look more sophisticated on the one hand and more sporty on the other with better shaping and styling with great use of LED lighting. Like the new Astra the C4 is actually looking like the sort of car you’d want to drive rather than a Read more »

This week’s gadget isn’t so much a gadget as a product. Many of us will remember the days when a bit of paint fade or minor paint scratches could be easily removed through the ample application of T Cut that happily removed one of the many layers of paint on your car, scratch and all, leaving behind a better car than you started with. But the change of paint structure (no more lead allowed) and the more liberal use Read more »

Having a Thatcham alarm fitted on your car can reduce your insurance premiums, in some cases quite substantially. But questions have arisen about the quality of fitting of these alarms, which, if fitted incorrectly could invalidate your insurance if the car is stolen and due to faulty installation the alarm didn’t activate. In order to overcome this Thatcham have now introduced a new scheme to approve fitters that Read more »

If you read my detailed review of the new Aston Martin city car you’ll know how dopey I found the whole idea of an Aston Martin badge on the front of a silly small car. So I was shocked to see Ferrari follow suit with their new Fiat 500 based 695 Tributo Ferrari. Surely there won’t be buyers willing to pay £30,000 for a Fiat 500 with a Ferrari badge on the front? Would there? The car will have 183 bhp giving a 0-62 Read more »