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Our Government said that they would review some of our health and safety regulations with a view to reduce the ridiculous levels that some regulations have reached making it difficult for companies to function properly. After releasing his report Common Sense, Common Safety, Lord Young has been criticised for ignoring some of the improvements in conditions that health and safety regulations have introduced into the workplace. Whilst it was Lord Young’s intention to reduce bureaucracy Read more »

Recalls have been massive this year, we now have the biggest ever announced by Nissan. There are 2.1 million cars affected worldwide with 84,000 in the UK. Most of the cars affected are Micras built from 2004 – 06 with a few Pathfinders. The problem is a faulty relay in the engine control module which can cause the engine to stall. Nissan insist that this is simply precautionary and that no accidents have been caused by engines suddenly cutting out. Nissan are sending out notices to car owners Read more »

A new code of conduct is set to be launched this month by the Retail Motor Industry Federation, the association responsible for dealers and workshops. The scheme is set up to promote best practice and help to maintain standards for motorists, covering servicing and repairs. However, not everyone is impressed as there are already others operating similar controls, such as the AA, who argue that there are already too many in operation. AA technical specialist Vanessa Guyll said, ‘Multiple codes Read more »

Talk about left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing! VW has had some great deals towards the end of this year. Demand was great but they hadn’t realised that when they promote a car they should make sure that they can meet demand – sounds a bit logical to me. But no, that would be far too simple and obvious so now we have some very unhappy customers who are still not being told when they can expect to receive their Passat CC’s or Touareg’s even though they were originally told Read more »

I was talking to a client recently after he had been to a dealer for a test drive. Whilst there, he was shown a ‘pre-registered’ car that had just 10 miles on the clock and was £3,000 less than the list price. He was interested in the car and asked my advice and as this is quite a common occurrence I thought I would share the facts with readers of my blog. First of all there is no such thing as a pre-registered car with respect to dealers. This was made illegal by Stephen Byers at the time he was Trade & Read more »

I have always been mystified why the non wearing of seatbelts doesn’t attract points on the driver’s licence. You will receive a fixed penalty fine of £60 but no points for what is considered to be a serious road traffic offense. The Scottish Parliament thinks likewise and has now written to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, pushing for a change in the law claiming that 19 road deaths could have been prevented in Scotland during 2009 if belts were worn. Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, Read more »

What are the two most dangerous things that a motorist can do that could result in injury or death? Most people would assume this to be the two things that the government, media and safety organisations obsess over. Speeding and drink driving. We are about to be hit with a campaign regarding drink driving as we run up to Christmas and there seems to be a year round campaign to demonise those that speed. Read more »

If you ever drive into London along the M4 past Heathrow you will know only too well the frustration of sitting in a queue of traffic whilst the red bus lane is empty waiting for the odd taxi or bus to come zooming by. Of course if you dare to put a wheel into the bus lane a million cameras will provide the evidence necessary for you to receive a hefty fine. If this causes you frustration I have some good news for you Read more »

Dealerships and garages are still failing which means that whether you are buying new or used from a dealer you need to use the credit card technique that I recently explained in order to protect yourself between paying for a car and taking delivery. According to Experian 35 garages and related businesses failed in July this year compared to 50 last year. So whilst it is an improvement it’s not worth taking the risk and don’t forget that using the credit card technique could help to increase your Read more »

You’ll probably be pleased to hear that over the next 10 years there’s going to be a £32 billion programme of replacing ageing electricity cables and gas pipes across the UK. As a result the AA has proposed that the utility firms should be charged the moment they start digging up roads as a sort of lane rental in order to speed up the work and limit the inconvenience to road users. Edmund King, president of the AA said, ‘Governments have procrastinated for a quarter of a century. With £32 billion Read more »