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If you are an F1 fan you may be interested to know that the DVLA are about to release the series of F plates for sale from F1 to F20 followed by 3 letters. One of the expected quickest to go when the sale starts on 7^th October is F1 DAD (get the pun?). Log onto their website to see what numbers are available. By Graham Hill

Warnings have been issued by the AA about the increase in theft of Catalytic Converters due to the sharp increase in scrap value of the precious metals housed in the units, platinum, palladium and rhodium. It is estimated that a stolen cat is worth about £150 in scrap value. Cars particularly at risk are 4WD cars and vans with a high ground clearance making it easier for thieves to saw off the cats. They warned that drivers of vulnerable vehicles should protect their insurance no claims discount as a claim could end up costing the driver £000’s. By Graham Hill

Over the years I have often found myself locking horns with accountants over the benefits of leasing. Most accountants fall into one of two categories, they either ‘get it’ totally or are totally clueless. Of course all of my accountant readers ‘get it’ totally. It was highlighted last week once again when I couldn’t get a potential client’s accountant to appreciate that by taking a lease his client would save around Read more »

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 »

Maybe we need the RAC to spell out the obvious when a third of the country doesn’t know what APR is and according to www.honestjohn.co.uk and British Car Auctions (BCA) a third of the public don’t know how to tell the age of a car by its number plate. Well strangely I can’t tell the age of a car by its number plate either. And I don’t consider myself to be as daft as a brick! For example, 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

Some good news on the ESC (Electronic Stability Control) front. The EC has moved to make ESC compulsory on all new cars. The bad news is that the system will only be phased in from 2012 and made compulsory from 2014. You will recall that this is the system that checks your speed vs angle of steering and slows you down if you are about to go into a skid, it also applies power and/or braking to the wheels that are gripping. It’s an amazing system that was Read more »

If you are the sort of person who still likes to own your car then at some stage you will need to sell it again but according to contract hire company Lex it depends where you live as to how much you will get for your old car. If you have gone green and now own a hybrid or electric car you will be better off in the South especially around London as a result of the affects of congestion charging. Conversely Read more »

Much has been written recently about ‘wholelife costs’ when comparing purchase methods to leasing of cars because the one most important element of the equation is the value of the car in 2 or 3 years time. The problem is that most people are far too optimistic and this throws the whole calculation out of kilter. Take for example a Renault Scenic 1.6 Dynamique S costing £18,000 including metallic paint. In a straw poll I asked several people what they thought the car would be worth in 3 years time on average mileage. Their estimates ranged from Read more »