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The number of dealerships in the UK is dropping, as one would expect in a recession. The number of franchised dealerships 10 years ago stood at 6,139 but has now dropped to 5,077, a 17% loss. For those that are still trading this of course isn’t all bad news because it has meant that they have increased their average sales across all franchises from 442 in 1999 to the current level of 502. Less than 10 new cars per week per franchised dealer, that doesn’t seem a lot does it? By Graham Hill

Many of you have read in the past my mention of the Gwent Fleet Management fraud which left many customers out of pocket and in many instances without a car. This case is just the tip of the iceberg and has been so public because so many customers were caught up in it but serious fraud is being committed all over the country daily. However, because the cases are spread so thinly no one type of fraud is hitting the headlines, causing consumers to be Read more »

Shell has announced the launch of a new engine oil which it claims reduces fuel consumption by up to 2.2% per annum. The oil, called Helix Ultra E, is a synthetic low viscosity motor oil aimed at reducing friction more effectively than conventional mineral oils. Shell also claims that it can cut a car’s carbon emissions by up to 72kg of CO2 per annum. By Graham Hill

Sorry about this but it all seems like bad news this week. Manheim DeFleet, the defleeting arm of the major auction house, has reported that average end of lease refurbishment charges have increased from £265 a year ago to £290 this year. As they explain contract hire companies see damage recovery as a mainstream activity. A few years ago they would budget to collect around 35% of all charges whereas these days they look to collect around 70%. David Mercer of Manheim DeFleet Services said Read more »

Years ago when I first started providing contract hire we would provide terms that would include 3 rentals in advance followed by 21 payments, if a 2 year deal, or 33 payments if a 3 year deal. This meant that there were no payments in the last 2 months. As a result many customers would set aside the money that they would normally pay per month in preparation for the initial rental on the next contract. However, some brokers and lenders realised that if they spread all the payments over the 24 months or 36 months they could Read more »

In the current climate there is lots of talk about guarantees and indemnities. Let’s be clear, before a lender considers a guarantor he must be fairly certain that the borrower can repay his debts. You may be someone who has never had credit before or you have had a credit card that has hardly been used, so you have very little credit history on which to form an opinion. But everything about you looks good, home, job, bank etc and you certainly have no adverse information stored on your credit file but for that extra bit of comfort the lender may be happy to Read more »

Trying to get more drivers off the roads and onto public transport won’t work if we continue to be charged ridiculous fares on the trains. A recent study revealed that UK rail travellers pay more than anywhere else in Europe. I bought a return ticket to London today and it cost just under £40 to take a round trip of about 70 miles, it’s ridiculous. By Graham Hill

Calls for a total mobile phone ban have come from safety experts following a landmark case. Lynne-Marie Howden, a director and head of sales at business consultancy Insights was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. But she was found guilty of the lesser charge of careless driving which resulted in a 12 month ban and a fine of £2,000. Ms Howden was talking on her hands free phone to a works Read more »

If you are a business you need to be aware of the tax changes coming into force in April. I have been through this before but as we are now nearly there let me refresh your memory: 

• Cars with CO2 emissions of more than 160g/km will be written down at 10% on a reducing balance basis. Read more »

Hopefully as we move into spring we will see some warmer weather but following one of the coldest winters for years many local authorities now have the job of sorting out the damaged roads left behind. The increase in potholes has resulted in an increase of 13% in pothole related axle and suspension damage. Insurer Warranty Direct suggested that the repairs may be slow to fix with some roads being left as there is Read more »