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Over the years I have put forward many reasons why you should opt for Dealer HP over a personal loan (contrary to all advice given in the media). Your legal rights are so much greater when you take HP. If you have read my book An Insider Guide To Car Finance, or been a regular reader of my newsletter, you would know the reasons that I put forward. However, I have just uncovered a new one that you may Read more »

Warnings have been issued about dealers and manufacturers who refuse to carry out warranty work because the vehicle hasn’t been serviced by a main dealer. This is illegal and flies in the face of the revised EU Block Exemption rules that came into force in 2002. In a case taken up by What Car a lady, Nocola West, had a Vauxhall Astra that developed a radiator fault that ended up putting water in the gearbox. The dealer Read more »

 I know I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall when I explain to customers that they should never simply look for the lowest rate when it comes to leasing a car. Of course when you buy something for cash you will maybe look for the cheapest price. The car you pay cash for at a car supermarket will be the same as a car that you pay cash for at a main dealer (unless it’s a sub spec black market car). The car will Read more »

Now to Graham Hill’s famous car review. This week the new, yet to be launched, Range Rover baby get’s put under the spotlight. The car, called the Evoque, will come with a tiny 2.0 diesel or petrol engine and has a bit of a Nissan Qashqai look about it. It has little slit windows but the car I’ve seen has a panoramic glass sunroof so maybe if that becomes standard it won’t seem quite as dark and dingy as it looks. Do I Read more »

Our ‘gadget’ this week is an iPod App that finds parking spaces for you. A group of drivers, fed up with getting parking tickets, came up with the solution. They have joined forces with the AA to come up with parkopedia. The app asks where you want to park then gives details of  street, metered, covered and private parking spaces then uses google maps to find the exact location. It also provides cost of parking in each Read more »

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of driving through the centre of London during rush hour you will appreciate that pedestrians are total loonies. They stream across traffic lights clearly believing that should they be hit by a car travelling at 10 miles per hour it wouldn’t hurt or they have mysterious clothing that is tougher than pressed steel with a tonne of material thrusting it forward controlled by a person with red Read more »

Did you know that there is an engine of the year award? Well there is and this year it has gone to VW for its small size but big powered 1.4TSi petrol engine now fitted into not only the smaller cars such as Polo and Golf but also the Passat, 7 seater Touran and even the 4WD Tiguan. VW have received this award two years running and shows, according to the judging team, that engine downsizing is here to stay. VW have Read more »

New tyres must meet European standards for safety and a raft of other basic regulations covering grip, economy, speed etc. British standards cover re-treads and remoulds as well as puncture repairs so many motorists look to replace their current tyres with the cheapest they can find, believing that all tyres that are sold meet basic standards and that the standards mean that whilst the cheepo tyres might not last quite Read more »

A friend of mine was once clamped in a car park for not having a ticket displayed in her windscreen (she accidentally put it in her purse – daft as). As a result another friend came to the rescue at 2.00am with his tool box. After about 4 hours and several hacksaw blades later she was finally free to drive home. Not something I approve of, obviously, but it made me a little more cautious about where I park my car and I Read more »

Autoglass carried out a survey to see what distracted motorists most. Whilst not top of the list and it depends who and when the survey was carried out children in the car distracted a high number of drivers, in fact 36%. The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) reported that back seat brawls reduced reaction levels of the driver to that of those driving on the drink drive limit. Direct Line commissioned the study which Read more »