Sunday, 20. March 2011
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Saturday, 19. March 2011
As I reported before anyone else Autoquake are now in administration and the administrators are trying to find buyers. One of the selling points, as has been widely reported is the number of visits made to their website, believed to be around 5.5 million last year. I have to stay that statistic is absolutely meaningless because if it meat that the company was successful why has it just collapsed? It’s a bit like saying you could put any shop in the middle of a high street which attracts lots of ‘traffic’ Read more »
Thursday, 17. March 2011
Online used car reseller Autoquake have officially gone into administration. A call to their offices confirmed that MCR have been appointed as administrators following the collapse of the company. I believe that somewhere in the region of 150 jobs could be lost unless a buyer can be found although it was clearly a model that could never work. They appointed highly paid executives in roles that were far too small for their ability. As I have worked with Carsite, the originator of the online used car Read more »
Monday, 14. March 2011
Last week I reported on the shambles known as the EU Consumer Credit Directive that would, without doubt, cause widespread confusion amongst consumers and small businesses (who were included in the Consumer Credit Act but not in the CCD). Trying to get the message across to customers in dealerships would result in the blind leading the blind Read more »
Sunday, 13. March 2011
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Online used car resale giant Autoquake has gone into administration losing its investors £19 million in the process as it’s unlikely that anyone would pay more than a couple of thousand pounds for a few cars, an award winning website and some goodwill. Their CEO was known for his arrogance and his despise of car dealers pointing out the error of their Read more »
Thursday, 10. March 2011
Do you know how long points stay on your licence for? Most people think 3 years but in fact speeding offences stay on there for 4 years and others stay on for longer. For example drink driving points remain on your licence for 11 years. Even though speeding points stay on your licence for 4 years they are only valid for 3 years.
So if you have 9 points on your licence after 3 years but clock up another 3 points in the 4th year you wont lose your licence under the totting up system. The expired points can be removed from your licence by the DVLA but you will have to pay a fee of £20 for a replacement ‘clean’ licence. Are you confused by the points system, let’s discuss? By Graham Hill
Wednesday, 9. March 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Years ago when run flat tyres were introduced they seemed like a great idea but drivers were then told that they couldn’t mix up run flats with conventional tyres and you couldn’t get a puncture repaired. Once the tyre had been punctures, whilst the run flat would get you home the bad news was that you then needed to replace the tyre. However, I have found out that this isn’t necessarily the case. It was highlighted recently when a lady driver managed to get a nail in her run flat tyre fitted to a Read more »
Tuesday, 8. March 2011
A few weeks ago I had a bet with an old friend of mine over one of the critical sectors that I believed had been omitted from the new EU Consumer Credit Directive (CCD) which came fully into force from 1st February. The question was over Hire Purchase. I knew that the sister product, known as Conditional Sale, was included but it was my understanding that Hire Purchase was excluded and was therefore simply controlled, as it always has been, by our existing Consumer Credit Act. Confused? It gets Read more »
Sunday, 6. March 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Drivers are travelling less miles according to figures issued by the Department for Transport for 2010. Provisional figures show that vehicle use is down by 3.3% since 2007 which means that we drove a massive 8.3 billion miles less last year. From 1993 to 2007 car use continued to rise peaking at 251 billion miles in 2007. However, 2010’s total of 242 billion car miles means that we are back to 2002 levels. If you include in the figures all vehicle types the total is 306.6 billion miles in 2010, also Read more »
Saturday, 5. March 2011
It seems that every week I read a similar story in Auto Express about a driver who has bought either a new or used car that has turned out to be a complete dog then struggled to get their money back. The fact is that the law is very clear on this point. If you buy faulty goods and a fault is found immediately or within the first 6 months you can return the goods and insist on a full refund. And the supplier must give you a full refund. On the other hand you can give the supplier the opportunity to either repair or replace the goods without losing your right to insist on a refund. In the latest case that Auto Express came to the rescue on a buyer of a new Hyundai i30 found the car starting to judder. The driver gave the dealership the opportunity to repair the fault which they attempted without success. The dealer and Hyundai offered a replacement but couldn’t guarantee that the fault would not exist in the replacement. This was 8 months later! The driver decided that he simply wanted his money back, which he received, after Auto Express stepped in – as a ‘gesture of goodwill.’ A gesture of bloody goodwill! It’s his legal right and he should also be entitled to compensation for the inconvenience. This infuriates me because dealers, supported by the manufacturers, feel they are above the law. It’s a disgrace but I really think that Auto Express should employ the services of a solicitor to bang off a formal letter each time they have a similar case to point out the driver’s legal entitlement and tell them to stick their ‘gestures of goodwill’ where the sun don’t shine. Have you experienced similar problems with a dealer not honouring your legal rights? Here’s a little graphic that I found on a Government website that may explain your rights a little easier than my wording:
By Graham Hill
