The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

I don’t normally comment on new cars in these ramblings but I recently saw the new Nissan Cube and feel that it’s just a step too far! Have you seen it? What a load of old sh*t! as Catherine Tate playing the part of ‘nan’ would say! It has to be the dopiest car I’ve ever seen. It is actually offensive to look at, nearly as bad as driving past a field with your car full of kids who ask why a horse is trying to get on the back of Read more »

Hindsight is great isn’t it? We can identify exactly where we went wrong and occasionally where we went right! When the recession started to bite, many businesses and individuals, who were leasing their cars and due to change, decided to extend their leases. Not such a bad thing if the lease was only 2 years in the first place but many of those that extended from 3 years to 4 years have maybe regretted that decision. And Read more »

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

My Mercedes is being a bit of a pain. Since I got it a year ago the dealer has had two tries at sorting out two warning lights that came on unexpectedly, one related to the tyre pressures and the other the ESP system. I asked if I could drive the car safely and they pointed out that as the warning lights were orange and not red, as long as I checked my tyre pressures all should be ok till I could get the car in for repair a Read more »

 Some more great news in my opinion, Bosch have announced that the number of new cars fitted with my favourite safety device, ESP, increased in 2009 by 3% to 59%. This is still not good enough, it should be 100%, which it will be over the next few years but as ESP is a proven lifesaver the sooner all cars are fitted with it the better. By Graham Hill

Confusion is going to reign over the many issues that will surround the use of electric cars as company vehicles. Already manufacturers are developing their new electric cars with some such as Peugeot already taking reservations on their new cars. But who pays for the fuel? Cars will need to be charged at the driver’s home as well as at work so who foots the bill and how will it be proportioned between business and Read more »

Contract hire companies are becoming more difficult when it comes to end of lease condition. Also, whilst new cars retain their warranty, when they are serviced at non franchised garages (dealerships), you need to be certain that the servicing meets the manufacturers recommendations.  So in the case of cars having body repairs carried out you need to know that they are repaired properly to avoid the Read more »

A report from the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) showed that their members financed £5.6billion of consumer expenditure on new cars in 2007 and a third of total expenditure on cars throughout the year. Interestingly, new car finance was named by FLA consumer finance members as the most important use to which consumers put their funds, with used car finance the 4^th most important Read more »