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Following on from the news that windscreen replacement company, Auto Windscreens, has gone into liquidation we hear that our roads are in the worst condition ever, despite an extra £600 million being spent on them last year. The information regarding the condition of our roads comes in a report called the Highways Condition Index (HCI) released by the Department for Transport. The report shows that only 68% of the roads were classified as ‘Good’ whilst 26% were ‘Reasonable’ and 6% were Read more »

With new car deliveries stretching out all the time and 4 month delivery becoming the norm rather than the exception, many are tempted to go the used car route, often paying over the odds for a car less than 12 months old simply to get a fairly new car. I’ve mentioned the dangers in the past but with so many people being forced to take a used car because their current leased car cannot be extended, it’s worth mentioning the dangers again. I explained that servicing costs increase with age but Read more »

If you are a regular reader of my blog and newsletter you will have read my recommendation that if you are applying for insurance online that you change the parameters around when you state whether your car is parked in a garage, on a drive or on the street. We found that many applicants lie about their garage, which is full of kids toys and the freezers, but thinking that a garaged car would save money say that the car is usually in the garage overnight. Or at worst parked on their drive. In Read more »

Monday 20^th December has turned out to be the worst day for insurance call outs this winter. Claims rose by 60% on the day. The treacherous conditions led to 500 separate cases being registered with the AA making it the second busiest day of all time. The busiest was 561 registered last January. On a normal Monday there are 330 calls. According to the AA drivers were slipping and sliding all over the place, running into lampposts, bollards, running up kerbs and colliding with other vehicles. And Read more »

As you know, I try to report some of the most dopey things that happen in the motor industry. This week insurance companies come under fire. As I have reported on several occasions there is a strong move towards having two sets of tyres, one set for the summer and another set for the harsher winters we seem to be experiencing. For some it seems to make sense and I must say in the last dumping of the white stuff I’m sure that if I had winter tyres fitted I would have been able to drive my care Read more »

During the recent cold spell a new type of crime has emerged causing the police to issue a warning. They are advising motorists not to leave their cars unattended whilst they wait for the screens to defrost, following a spate of incidents whereby cars have been stolen whilst left unattended with the engines running. The latest case was a Vauxhall Corsa stolen from a drive in Merthyr Tydfil when the owner left the engine running whilst he went back into his house. In another incident in Thurrock, Essex a man was de-icing his Peugeot when a thief got in and drove it away. The thief crashed the car causing £500 of damage, then ran off. The police have warned that motorists that warm their cars up this way are making it easy for thieves. Known as ‘frosting’ this type of theft will also leave drivers potentially without insurance cover as insurance companies may argue that the driver was not taking reasonable care. Heated windscreens will help to cut the number of frosting incidents but for those who want to clear the frost the best way is with some de-icer rather than leaving the engine running. Do you leave your engine running whilst clearing the ice off the windscreen? By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Car owners warned against ‘frosting’ car crime (money.marksandspencer.com)
• Mother clings to steering wheel after thief steals car as she scrapes ice from windscreen (dailymail.co.uk)

One of the most staggering things I reported recently was the running costs of used cars versus new cars, it was cheaper to run a new car than a used car. Now to add to the pain of used car motoring, statistics from secondary warranty suppler, Warranty Direct, shows that one in three repairs carried out on cars from 3 years old to seven years old is as a result of wear and tear. The small print in most of these warranty policies excludes such items so whilst motorists who take out these policies 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 »

Do you ever wonder why some friends, relations or work colleagues drive a better car than you? There is a very good reason – because they know more than you do! Want to know more than them? Then download my book and you could be one step better than them! You deserve to drive a great car. By Graham Hill

I was talking to an insurance broker recently and he was explaining that because of the competitive nature of the comparison sites the insurance companies are doing everything to keep premiums as low as possible. One of the tricks they use, I reported a couple of weeks ago, has been to vastly increase charges and fees so that they don’t have to increase premiums, the other is of course to avoid payouts wherever Read more »