The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

Whilst the Scots finally decided to stick with the rest of the UK we are now left wandering at what cost? Like many things that the Tories have done since coming into power with the Lib Dems the whole thing was poorly thought through and panic took over at the thought of losing our good chums north of the border.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Like most I’m pleased that we haven’t lost Scotland, at least we stand a chance at the next Olympics but what have we had to agree to behind closed doors? There was an expression that was bandied about as the whole of the UK Government joined forces to try to convince the Scots that we were ‘Better together’, if Scotland decided to stay in they would be given ‘tax raising powers and further fiscal devolution.’

I heard that said by all parties and even agreed to by Gordon Brown, not sure what authority he had to agree to that on behalf of the UK government but anyway, he did. The problem is that the expression is so glib it passed most of us by but like free tuition fees in Scotland but not in the rest of the UK what is this likely to mean?

Whilst many believed that they could chuck an extra few pence on fuel and booze (except whiskey of course), and maybe increase tax on some of the petrol companies who are busy emptying the big (or possibly small) pools of oil under the North Sea to enable them to give every Scottish kid an iPhone we were fairly disinterested. But should we have been?

There is already talk of income tax rates that could vary by up to 15% compared to the rest of the UK. OK you may think, that is just one area of tax and not that important to the rest of us. After all road tax, NI and capital allowances were supposedly not on the table but a tax expert and good friend of mine, Alistair Kendrick, pointed out that if the Scottish Parliament starts messing about with tax rates and bandings it could affect the Scots and the amount of benefit in kind (BIK) tax they pay on their company cars.

And this is just one likely change, God knows what else is likely to come out as we fully appreciate the cost of consequential damage following increased devolution. What was Cameron saying – ‘We’re all in it together’ Hmmm interesting times ahead. It won’t be long before we all troop up to Scotland to buy our cars, have them serviced, MOT’d and fill them up with fuel. Watch this space! By Graham Hill

I was quite shocked to read that crooks no longer need to break a window to get into your car and forget about the tea leaves that  break into your house to nick your car keys along with the family silver and the contents of your fridge.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Apparently the new techie toe rags can get into your car in less than 10 seconds with a computer or special gadget. Software or special gadgets that you can buy online fool your car’s computer that a smart key is present or it can be plugged into the car’s ECU to produce a ‘blank key.’

Not quite sure how you do that without breaking into the car in the first place? Anyway, it would seem that 47% of all car thefts in London last year were carried out using this method. That’s 9,870 out of 21,000. But the worst is yet to come.

When the police were asked how this type of crime could be prevented their only suggestion was to have a Thatcham approved tracking device fitted which operates separately to the ECU enabling the police to track and recover. Is that it? No fancy blocking device or an alarm that senses when an outside device is connecting to the ECU that isn’t approved? A bloody tracker!

What good is that after the event when some thief has driven your pride and joy like a bat out of hell for 5,000 miles? Worrying – very worrying! As a PS I have found out that manufacturers are more than aware of the problem and are addressing it – so there you have it.

I’m a bit of a guru when it comes to Internet dating. I’ve had a lot of successes and a few disasters but in the meantime a lot of fun! Internet dating is the second best thing ever invented behind chocolate and I am fortunate enough to have dated women from all backgrounds and ethnicities both young and old (mainly young – what?).

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

My last serious girlfriend was from the Philippines and in her 20’s. We met online and chatted for a year before we started dating and we dated for around a year. It was great. I met her on Plenty of Fish, a great free dating website, however I wouldn’t meet her today because the Canadian owner has decided that you can only chat to women (or men) plus or minus 14 years of your age.

How ridiculous is that? Women on dating sites can ignore anyone approaching whom they believe to be inappropriate and ultimately they can block them so why impose this arbitrary rule? It’s just this sort of big brother attitude that gets me angry (for obvious reasons). What has this to do with cars?

Well Apple have just applied for a patent that would allow them to lock out their smartphones if they detect that they are being used whilst driving. They will prevent you from sending text messages and using apps whilst behind the wheel. How big brother is that? Whilst I totally disapprove of drivers phoning, texting or playing games on their mobiles (do they actually do that) whilst driving it should just be made illegal not a patent pending!

My somewhat youthful ex girlfriend loved playing something called candy crush on my mobile. Does that mean that whilst the phone could detect movement it would prevent her using the game? I have friends who pass their phones over to their kids whilst driving to entertain them.

Apple Classic Logo Web 2.0 (Photo credit: Alistair Israel)

If they can no longer do that the kids would become ten times more distracting than a text message. Good grief can’t these people think through to the consequences of their actions? By Graham Hill

A couple of weeks ago I attended a conference, discussing the world and European car markets. One of the speakers said that he believed that the geeks would soon take over the car industry. We are already seeing Google developing a driverless car but unlike BMW and Audi, who are also developing driverless technology, the Google car will be packed full of amazing geek stuff.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

At the time I pretty much dismissed what was being said as pie in the sky and years away. Then I read about a new car stereo being launched by Alpine, the CDE-185BT. It looks like a normal stereo head (that’s the display to the uninitiated) but you then start reading what it can do. First off you can control everything with your smartphone.

It connects with facebook and keeps you up to date on the go. You don’t have to read anything it reads the updates out loud to you. You can even ‘like’ posts. Through its unique Tunelt feature you can custom tune from bass levels to speaker output and it can all be done via an app on your mobile phone, available as an Android or iPhone app.

You can stream music through Bluetooth, you can operate phone functions using hands free or talking through the head unit. There are loads of connection options through the front and rear of the unit. A USB connector is incorporated into the removable faceplate, ready to play music stored on a memory stick. There is also a 3.5mm mini jack aux input. The clever way that the unit is powered means it won’t switch off when the engine of a stop/start car switches itself off.

You can even buy extra cabling to connect up the unit to the car’s remote steering wheel controls. Finally it has variable RGB illumination. This means that you can have over 150,000 different lights behind the buttons and inside the two line LCD screen. And to think I thought it was just another stereo. Car manufacturers take note! By Graham Hill

Image via CrunchBase

Researchers at the Polytechnic School in Montreal, Canada have developed a soft polymer based fibre that can be woven into fabrics to be virtually undetectable. So what I hear you ask in amazement? This means that it will be possible for say a car seat to become a touch pad. Touching the seat will enable you to move the seat or open and shut Read more »

Image via CrunchBase

Modern technology is managing to tie things together when it comes to social networking, if you are posting something on your blog you can have it simultaneously appear on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many others and vice versa. Post an entry on Twitter and you can have it simultaneously appear on your blog or on Facebook etc. Go to the toilet Read more »

Having recently had a run-in with Zurich over what should have been a very simple claim following an accident with my laptop, more of this in greater detail later as I might end up going to court with them, it would now seem that you are more than likely seen as guilty in an accident and end up having to prove your innocence. So it might be useful, if Read more »

Garmin, manufacturer of sat nav’s has come up with a new device that will alert you via the sat nav if a car moves out of a pre-determined area acting as a tracking device. You can be alerted by text message or email. The new GTU 10 system can be self installed and self monitored. The kit links to any nuLink enabled Garman Sat Nav so you don’t have to be near your computer to check the units status. You can edit your preferences via your computer and view a history of where your car has Read more »

If you are into your apps there’s a new one from Toyota that keeps a check on your driving through a glass of water. Not real water but an app glass of water for your Apple device. You put your iPhone into the cup holder (get it) and it shows a glass of water which you must attempt not to spill. Clearly the smoother your driving the less chance there is of spilling it. The app records key information such as journey distance, time, fuel returns and water spilled. As a result Toyota claims that drivers could save as much as 10% of their fuel. To get the app log on to www.aglassofwater.org What do you think, worthwhile or just another novelty? By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Graham Hill Gadget Of The Week – Amazing! (thebestcarfinanceblog.co.uk)