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I have been quite frustrated this week as a result of the plight of a lady who has a major problem with a finance company. As a court case is pending I cannot comment on the details but suffice to say that I am doing everything to help. The lady had a arranged a car through Gwent Fleet Management of Abergavenny who are now under investigation by the police but as a result of their actions the lady now has a battle with a finance company called Mallard Finance, who are, Read more »

Yet another suggestion as to how you can reduce your fuel costs – don’t fill up at motorway services unless it’s an emergency, then only put in the bare minimum to get you to where you want to be and find a supermarket forecourt. The average price of motorway fuel is 10 pence per litre more than supermarkets which adds about £5.50 to a tank full of fuel according to Read more »

A campaign, involving more than 45,000 petrol stations across Europe, has started to distribute leaflets advising drivers how to increase fuel efficiency. The Save More Than Fuel Campaign is being led by the European Petrol Industry Association – Europia with the support of the EC. Of course it is – and I’ll be advising clients shortly as to how they can avoid cars altogether by riding a bike or taking public transport! As if! Duh! By Graham Hill

I came across an interesting piece of information from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that showed we produced 574,257 cars and 82,256 commercial vehicles in the UK in the first 3 months of this year, most of which were destined for abroad. Considering that most people think that we don’t produce vehicles in this country any more and think that all Mercedes are made in Germany (many are made in India and Brazil) that looked like some amazing statistics. By Graham Hill

I certainly notice less drivers using mobile phones whilst driving, possibly as a result of more prosecutions and fines, but we now see local authorities turning more of their attention to smokers in company vehicles. Whilst some issue warnings many are starting to issue more £30 penalties. A recent case saw a self employed painter and decorator, Gordon Williams fined £30 by his local council for smoking in his van, even though it is privately owned and he wasn’t working at the time. Read more »

As more people understand the benefits of leasing over purchase Tesco have announced the launch of a staff leasing scheme in association with Lombard Vehicle Management. They have launched a pilot website under the name of Tesco Cars. This is the supermarket giant’s latest handle on the service industry where it already sells finance, insurance and warranty. Could this be their inroad into car leasing plus Tesco points? Under the new scheme Tesco will Read more »

Peter Hollinshead, head of vehicle finance at HSBC Bank has produced a report explaining why Contract Hire is the way for even cash rich companies to fund their vehicles. The same reasons can be used for explaining why small companies and consumers should consider leasing as it is the most predictable and cost effective way of funding cars according to Hollinshead. As he explains, not only have used car prices dropped considerably but it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell cars. He acknowledges the arguments Read more »

As the credit crunch continues to have an effect more brokers are reporting difficulties with underwriting. As many of my readers know I have a column with Motor Finance – the journal of the motor finance industry and many brokers that contact me, as a result of my column, have reported that lease enquiries are still running high but finance declines are running higher than ever as funders become more selective as they prepare for the anticipated recession. Read more »

You may think long and hard about using an Internet company but when considering which finance method to use you may carry out some research into the various options. The obvious route to go is to buy my book, ‘An Insider Guide To Car Finance’. But you may think that taking advice from such authorities as Glass’s Guide (EurotaxGlass), Sunday Times and Telegraph would provide the solution and offer up good advice. Well think again. I strongly criticised Read more »

As the credit crunch bites harder funders and brokers/intermediaries fight each other for the lowest rates on the Internet to encourage you to use them, sometimes as a result of lying and conning. So now is the time to be very very careful as to which company you use to provide your car if you want to avoid problems in the future. Probably the most important fact to be aware of is that the person you place your business with on the Internet is not working for the funder or the dealer – he is actually working for Read more »