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A Fleet News survey has shocked many involved in the leasing industry but confirms my long held views that end of lease charges have been spiraling out of control. And this is just the tip of the iceberg because the survey has been carried out amongst the larger fleets only, the companies valued by the lessors and invariably looked after. When questioned the customers have complained that they have received recharges for stone chips and minor scuffs, the sort of damage that had been previously Read more »

Recently we have seen another couple of leasing companies amalgamate reducing the competition in the marketplace. This isn’t good news for the industry and it certainly isn’t good news for the customers as it continues to erode the competition. There are also fewer leasing companies dealing with brokers and the withdrawal of  consumer business by some, most notably Lombard, has resulted in a major contraction of the UK lease market and fewer great deals available. There has been an Read more »

During many of my discussions and presentations it is often clear that those using vehicle finance or personal loans think that there is some sort of master format that means they don’t have to bother reading it. Those that may understand that this isn’t the case may ask which terms are important, the ones they need to read? Whether it is only necessary to understand the terms in a lease as opposed to a personal loan. The fact is that EVERY term in a contract is important and should be read and Read more »

If you were to have some major surgery, I’m sure you would need to know that the person carrying out the work was a qualified and capable surgeon with a history of successful operations. If not you may end up a paraplegic or worse still not survive the operation, so I’d say that it was quite important to feel confident that you are using a professional who is good at his job. On the other hand you may have a faulty gas appliance and need a repair carried out. Who would you call in to carry out the Read more »

Auto Express recently carried a story, explaining how Stephen Larkin from Newcastle ordered a Skoda in March and was told that delivery would be delivered by early July at the latest. After passing this date he decided to cancel the order and wrote to the dealer saying he wanted to cancel the order as they hadn’t delivered the car and asked for his £1,000 deposit back. He sent numerous letters and calls to the dealer without joy along with no help from Skoda, all they said was that it was down to Read more »

Nissan ad execs must have been chuckling to themselves when they came up with the theme for their sports cars, the 370Z and the GT-R. They decided to take on the Germans, poking fun at their acceleration speeds, pointing out that the Z was faster than Audi, BMW and Porsche rivals. The posters read ‘Deutschland Deutschland Uber Rated’ while a blurred Read more »

I know it’s a subject I talk about a lot but as we run up to Christmas I’m onto drink driving. It was shocking reading for the Government, about to launch their Christmas campaign, that one in four drivers admit to drink driving recently. The survey was carried out on behalf of insurer Quinn Direct but the real shock was that nearly 80% of under 24’s said they had never driven under the influence of alcohol whilst 25% of the over 55’s admitted to driving whilst over the limit. 31% of men admitted to Read more »

I had an interesting chat with a lawyer friend of mine a few days ago. He had returned a lease car at the end of the agreement and received a bill for the repair work that he was angry about for a few reasons. As far as he was concerned, the work was either unnecessary, as a result of fair wear and tear, or the charges were too high for the work required. Read more »

I’ve been in this industry long enough to know that there are ways to get hold of dodgy MOT test certificates although since everything is on central computers now I believed that it wasn’t possible to fiddle certificates any longer. Well to prove me wrong a garage owner has been jailed for 6 months for passing 2,500 vehicles without failing a single one. Video evidence was collected against Noor Hussain for presentation at Preston Crown Court. It showed cars going in and out of the test bay in 7 Read more »

On the subject of health and safety the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) carried out a study into ‘in car’ distractions and found that reaction times were affected by what we listen to on the radio. It found that reaction times were 20% slower when listening to sport. The reaction times were found to be similar to those found when drivers had been drinking and driving. Whilst plenty of studies had been carried out on mobile phone use whilst driving, few studies had been carried out into the effects Read more »