Tuesday, 9. November 2010
I was talking to a client recently after he had been to a dealer for a test drive. Whilst there, he was shown a ‘pre-registered’ car that had just 10 miles on the clock and was £3,000 less than the list price. He was interested in the car and asked my advice and as this is quite a common occurrence I thought I would share the facts with readers of my blog. First of all there is no such thing as a pre-registered car with respect to dealers. This was made illegal by Stephen Byers at the time he was Trade & Read more »
Sunday, 31. October 2010
We’re getting to that time of year when I’m sure I’ll have plenty of reports relating to tyres but before we get into the summer/winter tyre debates a question has come up regarding speed ratings on tyres. When a car is new tyres are often fitted by the manufacturer that have a speed rating much higher than the car is capable of travelling. For example a car may be fitted with V rated tyres, safe to a speed of 149 miles per hour. The question is should the same tyres be fitted when they are due Read more »
Friday, 29. October 2010
If you live in a rural area you could soon be getting more miles for your money as there are plans afoot to introduce a subsidy of 5p per litre in certain out of town areas. European competition rules mean that the proposal would have to receive backing from Brussels. Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, said motorists in the most remote parts of the country were being hit by a triple whammy of high fuel costs, poor public transport and having to travel long distances. The Read more »
Friday, 29. October 2010
Ford seems obsessed with their rear view mirrors. First (as I announced recently) they added an option to have a Sat Nav built into the mirror now they have the option of adding a rear camera with the screen in the mirror. Buyers of all models from the Edge to the Titanium will have the £475 option available that includes the camera, automatic headlamps and wipers, camera and rear parking sensors as well as the special rear view mirror. Good idea or potentially a distraction? What do you think? By Graham Hill
Thursday, 28. October 2010
Graham Hill’s gadget of the week is an app for iPhone and iPad. It provides traffic updates. The app provides details of congestion on the roads for a one-off fee. It is called UK Traffic and it sells for less than £2. It covers the whole of the UK with a map, route checker, incident list and traffic radio. You can search for delays en route, see them on a map and get info on how long the queue is, the length of the delay and even the cause. Live traffic radio can be paused and rewound to take a call or left playing in the background. Amazing value for money. By Graham Hill
Wednesday, 27. October 2010
What is going on? After recently reporting that Bentley’s had to be recalled because of problems with the flying B badges on the bonnet Rolls are at it and having to recall 6,705 Rollers from around the world as a result of a wider recall of BMW’s. The problem relates to the brakes fitted on all V8 and V12 models which includes Rolls Royce Phantom models. Other cars affected are BMW 5, 6 and 7 Series. The problem is a possible leak in the power braking system – nice! It reduces the amount of Read more »
Tuesday, 26. October 2010
Multi story car parks go 21st century in Birmingham. German creator, Wohr, has built a valet multi story car park, without a valet. Cars are driven in through one of four access points by residents and after activating the system with the use of a transponder fob, the car is taken away by the machinery and stored in bays spread over 3 floors, all automatically. When the driver retrieves his car it is returned on a dolly that even turns the car round to be driven straight out in about 2 minutes. UK MD Read more »
Monday, 25. October 2010
What are the two most dangerous things that a motorist can do that could result in injury or death? Most people would assume this to be the two things that the government, media and safety organisations obsess over. Speeding and drink driving. We are about to be hit with a campaign regarding drink driving as we run up to Christmas and there seems to be a year round campaign to demonise those that speed. Read more »
Monday, 25. October 2010
If you ever drive into London along the M4 past Heathrow you will know only too well the frustration of sitting in a queue of traffic whilst the red bus lane is empty waiting for the odd taxi or bus to come zooming by. Of course if you dare to put a wheel into the bus lane a million cameras will provide the evidence necessary for you to receive a hefty fine. If this causes you frustration I have some good news for you Read more »
