The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

Guess which is the most expensive toll road in the world? I’ll give you a little clue – it’s the M6. Correct, the M6 relief road which charges drivers £5 each way is indeed the most expensive in the world. Now I must say I have been on it and for the cost of a fiver it’s a dream to drive on especially as you just know that cars are moving at about 2 miles per hour on the main M6 whilst I’m cruising at, um, 70mph. The Read more »

Auto Express have named their Driver Power 2010 top 100 cars. More of this next week but I can report that the Jaguar XF has been knocked off the number one position and replaced by, wait for it, the Hyundai i30. The survey was polled amongst 23,00 drivers with cars being assessed on 10 factors including reliability, comfort, build quality and performance. More of this breaking story next week but this week we are offering the i30 on special terms as our deal of the week – I don’t just throw these things together you know! By Graham Hill

My aspirational car is an Aston Martin and I expect to announce in the not too distant future that I have one following the successful launch and growth of my new business. However, that was until I saw their latest venture, the Aston Martin Cygnet which is based apparently on a Toyota iQ. To me it looks like a Fiat 500, can you believe it? I’ll see if I can find a picture but I think I may have to re-think this whole Aston Read more »

Warnings continue to increase about the numbers of ‘accidents to order’ where fraudsters stage an accident then put in an insurance claim for the damage caused to their vehicle as well as any passengers. Some are known to drive the car on behalf of the owner, swerving in front of another driver causing the accident. Details are exchanged and the details of the owner are given along with his insurance details to the Read more »

There has been a large increase in the number of cars fitted with run flat tyres over the last few years. However, many drivers, when renewing tyres have replaced run flats with cheaper alternatives in order to save money. But TyreSafe warn that by doing this drivers are changing the handling characteristics of their cars. Although, according to Michelin it can be done as long as the replacement tyres are Read more »

A warning from Warranty Direct suggests that turbo charged engines are more likely to break down than non turbo charged. Around 11% of their customers suffer an engine failure with a typical repair cost of £619 but turbo charged engines have a failure rate of  28% with an average repair cost of £875, worth considering if you are thinking about buying a used car. Don’t forget that most diesel engines, especially those fitted in larger cars, are turbo charged. By Graham Hill

Calls have been made for more information regarding driving abroad to be more easily available. As I have reported previously countries have different rules regarding insurance, breakdown cover, warning triangles, emergency fluorescent jackets, replacement light bulbs and first aid kits. But there are other rules regarding drink driving, speeding and parking that could result in some very heavy fines and even Read more »

Government figures show that up to 1 million scrapped cars are still being driven on the road. Whilst 2 million motorists told the DVLA that their cars were being destroyed only half were issued with a Certificate of Destruction, the proof that a car has been destroyed. Dodgy dismantlers have been exploiting a legislation loophole whereby the DVLA doesn’t need to see the Certificate before it registers a car as Read more »

Good news for Saab lovers as it has been announced that GM finally agreed a deal with Spyker and that production on the new 9-5 has already begun with cars expected to appear in dealerships later this year. It has been a difficult time for existing owners, dealerships and the manufacturer’s staff but David Pugh of Saab GB now feels that all the problems are now behind them and the future is starting to look good.. They are looking forward to the release of the new 9-5 which will mark the re-launch of the brand. Good luck to them, Saab has been one of our most popular makes over the years and I’m pleased that they have been given another lease of life. By Graham Hill

Dealers have not got the best reputations for being totally honest so we all make allowances when they make promises and commitments to our customers, in all good faith, and they let us down. But even our ‘allowances’ seem to be a little short of the mark of late as dealers get desperate to take orders. And to make matters worse we are back into the position of dealers making false promises regarding delivery of the Read more »