The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

It would seem that we are still waiting for some sort of bailout of the car finance sector in order to get people back into new cars but are the Government at risk of doing what they have done with banking and put the money in the hands of the wrong people. There are many lenders other than banks and they should have been helped before the banks who have simply bolstered up their balance sheets in preparation for Read more »

Whilst used car prices are having a negative effect on lease rates as they counter the bonuses given away by manufacturers there has been a mild glimmer of hope during January. British Car Auctions have reported on average a 6% increase in used car prices following several months of continued falls. At the same time they reported that the average price was £1,000 less this January than it was last January so the Read more »

As times become more difficult people turn to desperate measures. Fraud is therefore on the increase. I am hearing each week about many more scams being uncovered. Small used car dealers can no longer get what is known as stocking finance. In the past the dealer would buy say £500,000 worth of cars and a lender would provide the money, charging an interest of say half a percent per month secured against Read more »

As more consumers take out Personal Contract Hire and those that have Personal Contract Purchase end up with cars that are worth less than the final payment, more cars are being returned to the leasing companies at the end of the contract that must be in ‘reasonable condition for its age and mileage’. But what is reasonable? One lady wrote to me complaining that she had some unreasonable Read more »

One of the side affects of the current recession and the drop in value of used cars are  the poor settlement figures being offered by insurance companies as a result of total write offs compared to the settlement figure required by the finance provider. Another involves the early settlement figures being asked for by lenders when drivers wish to early terminate a finance agreement, this could be as a result of Read more »

We are entering a very strange period at the moment in the motor industry. Many manufacturers have reduced production of new cars. Some have stopped altogether for up to 4 months. This drop in production is the result of a corresponding drop in demand (sales of new cars have dropped by 30 – 40% over the last few months). So  could it be that consumers and businesses are switching from new to used cars? If Read more »

I had a great response to last Friday’s FAQ’s which will now become a regular feature. Thanks for all the kind words and sharing my liking for Hob Nobs! I like to think that I am probably the UK’s leading expert when it comes to vehicle finance and I love to over deliver to my customers and friends by providing as much information as I can to help you make the best finance decision for your circumstances. I don’t Read more »

Things are looking a bit bleak in the motor trade over here but in the US they suffered a drop of 37.1% of new car sales last month over January 2008. However, whilst their sales are dramatically down to the levels of 1992 the sales have been steady for the last 4 months which has drawn the conclusion from the various experts and manufacturers across the pond that sales have bottomed out and are set to rise as we Read more »

If you are still one of those that likes to own a car but is worried by the loss in depreciation – if you are then don’t buy a Maybach 62 which is reported by trade valuers Parkers to have lost £128,899 during 2008. However, downsizing and demand for city cars has kept used prices of smaller cars high producing the lowest cash losses in 2008. You should therefore ditch the Maybach, Bentley or Aston and replace with one of the following: Read more »

Fraud and forgery crime increased by 16% in the 3^rd quarter of last year blamed on the credit crunch. Attention has been drawn towards brokers that arrange mortgages and finance as some of the main culprits helped along by the increasing acceptance of the Internet. As I recently reported things are getting tough for most of us involved in the finance industry and as happened in the last recession desperation Read more »