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A Fleet News survey has shocked many involved in the leasing industry but confirms my long held views that end of lease charges have been spiraling out of control. And this is just the tip of the iceberg because the survey has been carried out amongst the larger fleets only, the companies valued by the lessors and invariably looked after. When questioned the customers have complained that they have received recharges for stone chips and minor scuffs, the sort of damage that had been previously Read more »

Recently we have seen another couple of leasing companies amalgamate reducing the competition in the marketplace. This isn’t good news for the industry and it certainly isn’t good news for the customers as it continues to erode the competition. There are also fewer leasing companies dealing with brokers and the withdrawal of  consumer business by some, most notably Lombard, has resulted in a major contraction of the UK lease market and fewer great deals available. There has been an Read more »

During many of my discussions and presentations it is often clear that those using vehicle finance or personal loans think that there is some sort of master format that means they don’t have to bother reading it. Those that may understand that this isn’t the case may ask which terms are important, the ones they need to read? Whether it is only necessary to understand the terms in a lease as opposed to a personal loan. The fact is that EVERY term in a contract is important and should be read and Read more »

Insurance and fuel duty increases have been blamed for the inflation busting increase of 6.3% announced by the RAC in their Cost of Motoring Index. The average cost has increased by £346 over last year’s cost taking it up to £6,000. Depreciation has also had an effect although some costs such as Vehicle Excise Duty (car tax) and car finance have dropped. The annual study assesses the running costs of 17 new cars from the Toyota Yaris to the Land Rover Discovery. Each model’s bills are weighted Read more »

Nissan ad execs must have been chuckling to themselves when they came up with the theme for their sports cars, the 370Z and the GT-R. They decided to take on the Germans, poking fun at their acceleration speeds, pointing out that the Z was faster than Audi, BMW and Porsche rivals. The posters read ‘Deutschland Deutschland Uber Rated’ while a blurred Read more »

I have had a number of clients put back their lease decisions until later next year which is of course their prerogative. However, as I’ve been pointing out, doing this is a huge gamble. First of all it’s important to point out that we will never return to the good old days of lots of cars sitting around in dealerships and import centres waiting for manufacturers to Read more »

I know it’s a subject I talk about a lot but as we run up to Christmas I’m onto drink driving. It was shocking reading for the Government, about to launch their Christmas campaign, that one in four drivers admit to drink driving recently. The survey was carried out on behalf of insurer Quinn Direct but the real shock was that nearly 80% of under 24’s said they had never driven under the influence of alcohol whilst 25% of the over 55’s admitted to driving whilst over the limit. 31% of men admitted to Read more »

I had an interesting chat with a lawyer friend of mine a few days ago. He had returned a lease car at the end of the agreement and received a bill for the repair work that he was angry about for a few reasons. As far as he was concerned, the work was either unnecessary, as a result of fair wear and tear, or the charges were too high for the work required. Read more »

There was a programme on the BBC on Thursday 25^th November called Rip-off Britain. In the first part a couple bought a used car that broke down within a few miles of driving it off the forecourt. This is clearly wrong and the buyer was entitled to his money back but it seemed that lack of assistance from Trading Standards meant that the buyer accepted what the dealer said and sold the car on at a loss. It’s a disgrace. The RMIF representative stated that there are 9 million used cars changing hands Read more »

I’ve been in this industry long enough to know that there are ways to get hold of dodgy MOT test certificates although since everything is on central computers now I believed that it wasn’t possible to fiddle certificates any longer. Well to prove me wrong a garage owner has been jailed for 6 months for passing 2,500 vehicles without failing a single one. Video evidence was collected against Noor Hussain for presentation at Preston Crown Court. It showed cars going in and out of the test bay in 7 Read more »