The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

After King Mandelson announced that he would not, under any circumstances, extend the scrappage scheme, which was a bit of a relief to all of us hoping for some substantial bonuses from the manufacturers for the last quarter of the year, the one with the white hair and bushy black eyebrows stood up at the labour conference and announced that the scheme was being extended by Read more »

As long ago as October last year I reported that Nottingham City Council was the first to consider charging for at work car parking (see my blog). Well they have now completed their deliberations and decided that they will go ahead with the levy which will now come into force from April 2012. Companies providing more than 10 parking spaces will be charged from Read more »

Big brother strikes again at a cost to the environment! No I’m not talking about the absolutely enthralling popular TV programme that keeps us on the edge of our seats for several weeks each year. I’m actually talking about Satellite Navigation systems. No doubt bored with watching people sleep in the hope that they may get up to some, under the covers, hanky panky the lads and lassies down at Continental Tyres decided to Read more »

Finally, it’s happened, a company has brought out an insurance policy to cover the ever growing end of contract refurbishment charges for cars and vans that will be returned to the leasing company at the end of the lease. The cost of the policy will range between £290 and £350 for a standard family sized car and it will cover vehicle damage over and above fair wear and tear up to £1,500. This may seem like Read more »

I have to say that I have a fantastic relationship with my customers, many of whom rely upon my judgement, but one of the dangers I’ve had to face over the years, is when I attempt to get a customer into a great value car but the customer, who bases his decision on cost rather than the whole package, hasn’t had a test drive in the car, only to find that the driving position is Read more »

Bad news! The dopey Chancellor has listened to all the anecdotal evidence and decided that the scrappage scheme should be extended, which has already helped nearly 300,000 people with old bangers to get into new cars, but done nothing to help ordinary people and small businesses that are struggling to finance their new car as the funders are running out of money. Whilst manufacturers continue to Read more »

 Contract hire is still by far the most popular method used to finance vehicles according to members of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association. Contract hire of cars has remained pretty static over the last 5 years, consistently hovering around 1.3 million mark. LCV’s (vans) have dropped slightly over the years from 180,000 to 176,000. Contract purchase and personal contract purchase have both dipped over the last year. So it seems that businesses and consumers continue to understand the benefits of contract hire, long may it continue. By Graham Hill

 Warnings have been issued, especially to companies who have a duty of care for those who drive on company business, about the new Government campaign to reduce the amount of drug-driving especially amongst younger drivers following research that shows 1 in 10 young male drivers admit to driving after taking illegal drugs. The £2.3 million campaign has been launched which will no doubt be complimented by increased police activity. Road safety charity Brake has also adopted the anti drink and drug driving theme for its Road Safety Week – Not A Drop, Not A Drag – taking place from November 23^rd – 29^th. By Graham Hill

 I am constantly banging on about the conmen out there anxious to take money from gullible customers seduced by low priced cars and low lease rates but it’s interesting to see that What Car has picked up on the problem also and warned its readers. Their first warning is to those buying a used car. You should take precautions against buying a cloned car. The first giveaway is Read more »

 If you are a regular reader of my articles you will know that I don’t regard those expert advisors that write in the media about car finance very highly. In fact I regard most as being daft as a house brick. But whilst an article that appeared in the Independent didn’t really change my views there were a couple of points over which I had to agree, as painful as it was! The reporter suggested that the scrappage scheme cash may run out by mid October which is a feeling shared and hoped for by Read more »