The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

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 »

The new road fund licence rules come into force on the 1^st April. For some it is good news as those with low emission cars will see the cost of their RFL or road tax reduced, in some cases to zero, but a big row has broken out because drivers have to renew before the 1^st April to ensure that the car is taxed at all times but because the DVLA was having a cup of tea they couldn’t be arsed to change their computer Read more »

A few months ago I announced proposed changes to insurance claims procedures that should speed up undisputed insurance claims. The good news is that the new rules come into effect from April 30^th. The new rules should speed up payout and reduce legal costs on personal injury claims between £1,000 and £10,000 resulting from a motor accident. This covers around 80% of all personal injury claims so good Read more »

The OFT has hit out at used car dealers, who they claim are letting customers down and not taking their legal responsibilities seriously. They are saying that more needs to be done to make customers aware of their legal rights and dealers aware of their legal responsibilities. Dealers are avoiding their responsibility to have vehicles checked prior to sale or to fix problems when pointed out by customers. Following a 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 »

Manheim, the large auction house and end of lease vehicle inspectors have identified over £12 million of end of lease damage charges over 90,000 inspections during 2009. 38% of the vehicles that were assessed had damage in excess of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association fair wear and tear guidelines resulting in an average charge of £350 per vehicle, up by 14% on 2008. Some of this was blamed on Read more »

This week I was going to open with an amazingly interesting piece about the Budget and the effect on the motorist and how we are going to have things a little easier than we had thought but that one was pretty much buggered 2 minutes after the Chancellor stood up. We’ve managed to get the fuel duty hike spread over the year and um er, that’s about it really. Oh no I think he mentioned something about Read more »

I know I seem obsessed with potholes at the moment but they are such a pain and costing motorists a fortune. The Germans came up with a solution in the village of Niederzimmern near Leipzig. They sold their potholes for 50 Euros which the council filled with asphalt and a metal plaque which carries the owner’s name or a tribute to a loved one. Of course not wishing to miss an opportunity the Brits are planning 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

A group of companies including Ricardo and Volvo Cars are working on new technology that will allow for road trains to be created whereby regular users of a motorway can lock onto each other forming a train of vehicles kept at a constant speed and distance enabling the drivers to get on with other things such as work and phone calls. Much of the technology is already available such as sat nav, distance sensors and Read more »