Tuesday, 16. March 2010
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 »
Sunday, 14. March 2010
As we can see from my BMW 7 Series deal of the week, things are starting to improve at the big end of the market. In a prestige, sporting and executive auction held at British Car Auctions in Nottingham 300 dealers attended with 216 bidding online resulting in top models achieving 114% of CAP clean price (that’s trade value to you and me). The rest made 100-104% which is excellent considering the fact that last year the Read more »
Saturday, 13. March 2010
From the middle of 2011 all new cars must have tyre pressure monitor systems fitted as standard. No clear indication has been given as to what the systems must consist of but currently there are systems that monitor each individual tyre with a display showing any drop in pressure down to the most basic which sounds a warning buzzer if the tyre pressure drops on any individual tyre, you then have to check them all – not a bad thing! Of course this will add a cost to the car but it could help to save fuel and even a life. By Graham Hill
Saturday, 13. March 2010
There has been an increase in the number of employees who have either opted for cash for cars or been expected to use their own cars for business in exchange for a cash payment. Either way there is a responsibility on the employer to ensure that the vehicle is roadworthy and properly maintained as well as properly insured for business use. There is a grey area for employers who, in the event of an accident, in Read more »
Friday, 12. March 2010
The new car market is in total confusion. As the extended scrappage scheme finally comes to an end I have predicted that the manufacturers will turn their attention to the fleet market and offer incentives to fleet buyers and leasing companies. Unfortunately experts don’t share my optimism, they feel that manufacturers will still be cautious and unlikely to offer more incentives than are already available with increased Read more »
Thursday, 11. March 2010
Whilst the number of new cars fitted with Electronic Stability Control (ESC), also known as Electronic Stability Program (ESP), is increasing, following a push by inventors Bosch and the Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), to inform car buyers of the benefits, more private buyers are having the safety device fitted than fleet buyers. Department for Transport research suggests ESC equipped vehicles are 25% less Read more »
Wednesday, 10. March 2010
Toyota finally looks as though it is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel after what must have been the worst start to a year in its history. So far this year 188,500 cars have been recalled, the majority of which require replacements to their accelerator linkages (180,000) and 8,500 Prius require modifications to their braking systems. The accelerator linkage repairs take about 30 minutes to complete. Whilst Read more »
Tuesday, 9. March 2010
According to tyre provider, Protyre, pothole damage is increasing whilst local authorities are unwilling to carry out repair work until the bad weather is over, for fear that any work done now will be wasted if the cold weather continues and re-pops out the filler. Protyre suggest that 300 new potholes are being identified in Britain every day with hundreds of pounds of damage being caused to tyres and suspension. Read more »
Monday, 8. March 2010
From the 1st April 2010 the new showroom tax is being introduced to severely penalise the most polluting cars. In addition the annual road fund licence (tax) increases also. In essence the showroom tax includes the first year’s road fund licence. The bandings run from A to M with A representing cars with CO2 emissions of less than 100 g/km with M representing cars emitting 265 g/km or more. For vehicles emitting Read more »
Sunday, 7. March 2010
During this bad winter the number of car insurance claims have sky rocketed. From crashes to pothole damage, it’s been a disaster. As a result we are likely to see a hike of between 7% and 11% in premiums making it even more important to shop around when it comes to renewing your car insurance. Increased oil prices are going to add to the pain by adding up to 5 pence per litre with predictions that fuel will Read more »