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Used cars through auction in November saw a little upward glitch although the general trend, according to British Car Auctions, is a downward one with prices set to continue to struggle through 2009. Whilst the average price rose to £4,823 in November, the highest since July, the year on year value is down by £689. The interesting thing is that we all hear about the state of the used car market and we often hear of friends or friends of friends who manage to get a real bargain but where are these giveaways when we want one? Read more »

A warning has gone out from representatives of the car manufacturers about the use of Morrisons’ Bio Fuel called B30. It would seem that using this fuel could invalidate the manufacturer’s warranty. The warning was issued by service maintenance and repair expert Motorconsult about the new 30% biofuel. For those who don’t understand the expression biofuel this is Read more »

Unless you work in the finance industry you may not fully understand the term ‘credit crunch’. It is simply the running out of money to lend, hence the reason why the Government is having to step in to inject more money into the economy and provide money for the banks to lend – in theory. Of course all they are doing is using the money to bolster their balance sheet making the ‘cash in bank’ look a little healthier. The problem for you and me is the ability to borrow money, Read more »

It has been predicted that insurance premiums are set to rise by around 10% next year with further rises expected over the following 2 years. You really need to look carefully at your requirements and ways to protect your no-claims bonus. With all the hype surrounding the comparison sites don’t write off your local broker, I saved £70 per annum by switching to a local broker who provided Read more »

There is growing evidence that SME’s and consumers are moving over to leasing as a way to fund their vehicles. The old reasons still exist, having a fixed, known monthly cost, no risk in uncertain resale values and benefitting from hidden substantial bonuses provided by manufacturers to leasing companies but SME’s and consumers  have identified a new benefit. Read more »

It has been reported this week that many people do not see the distinction between credit crunch and recession. For those that lived through the last recession, as I did, you will know how hard things got before we turned the corner and things started to dramatically improve. And this was all down to a recession, which was pretty much left to run its course by the Government. Whilst it seemed pretty harsh at the time it was a way of streamlining business in the UK and weeding out the good from the bad. Sadly, Read more »

If you are a lover of 4 wheel drives now may be a good time to buy or lease one with rates and prices plummeting. You may find in the future a lack of choice and not for the reasons you may think. When the EU announced that all manufacturers in Europe were to be given CO2 targets across the whole of their production or face some substantial fines many of the manufacturers dismissed it and said Read more »

Is diesel still best? Research by GE Capital Solutions has shown a return to petrol power as petrol cars become more efficient and some diesel drivers find out, too late, that you have to take action to stop the particulate filter from clogging which, if not done, can lead to the filter requiring replacing at a not inconsiderable cost. In the meantime a clogged filter can lead to Read more »

Did the measures regarding VAT, announced by the Chancellor of the 24^th November, have any affect on drivers or the industry? Not much is the answer. The VAT drop on fuel has been balanced out by increased duty but will the duty come off again when VAT returns to it’s current level? It will also have the affect of putting up prices Read more »

As often happens I have found myself at odds with some leasing companies who are promoting either sale and rentback or sale and leaseback. The majority of company vehicles are still owned outright and with times getting tougher out there some lenders have been promoting a scheme known as sale and rentback, whereby you sell your company cars to Read more »