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Leasing companies are really starting to feel the squeeze from several directions. Interest rates are going up, new car prices are increasing, there are fewer customers and more importantly used car prices have taken a sudden dive resulting in losses on virtually every car that is being de-fleeted  forcing rates up further on new cars in order to balance the losses. However, in addition to the rate adjustments we have seen many leasing companies try to recoup losses from customers by making large Read more »

As the Government stands firm on it’s 6 year old Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) you should now consider the real benefits of paying for your own car personally and charging the business compared to having a company car. To remind you the AMAP rates are 40 pence per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25 pence per mile thereafter. The charge is tax and NI free but even 40% taxpayers are seeing the benefits badly eroded. The charge is to recover not just fuel but all Read more »

Now for a bit of a technology update: Mazda has started to trial a new vehicle to vehicle communications system that can warn drivers of approaching danger such as approaching traffic at blind bends and intersections. Maplin has produced a do it yourself reversing camera that is powered through your cigarette lighter socket. The screen changes from colour during the day to black and white at night to make the screen clearer. It costs £130. Unipart is currently developing a ‘black box‘ that can automatically alert the emergency services if your car is involved in an accident or stolen. Unipart claims Read more »

We are not in a recession – yet! But signs are that we are moving that way so now may be the correct time to consider leasing your car and take advantage of some of the deals that are about at the moment. It’s all about cash flow and contract hire will certainly provide you with the best cash flow and there is some even better news which I’ll talk about in a moment. If we look at the Audi A6 that we have on special at the moment the cost after 3 months payment in advance would be £329 + VAT per month (£387 per month inc VAT) but if you bought the car on HP over 4 years you would be paying close to Read more »

A long overdue code is being introduced against which quality standards of vehicle repairers will be measured. Garages that sign up to the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair commit to meeting certain standards, such as open and transparent pricing, invoices that match quoted prices and completing work as agreed. Whilst the code is not yet operational garages can already sign up to it. So far more than 5,500, about 25% of the market, has committed to Read more »

It’s not often that I feel the urge to support our French neighbours but their government recently made a proposal to reduce fuel taxes to ease petrol and diesel price increases across the EU, something I feel is urgently needed. However, the finance ministers within the Eurogroup – those countries that insist on using Euros rather than very sensibly sticking to their currency of origin like us Brits, have blocked the proposal. I’m sure our government would have blocked it also but they weren’t invited to participate as we don’t conform to Read more »

You couldn’t make this up. Apparently in the USA where fuel prices have rocketed to about 30p per litre, thefts of fast food fryer oil has run out of control. It is now being traded on the commodity markets at $2.50 a gallon. The oil can be turned into fuel for cars and trucks using a conversion kit. Recently, police arrested a man for stealing Read more »

The Government has announced that it will not be adjusting the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) which are paid to 4 million employees who drive their own cars for work even though we have seen some swingeing increases in fuel costs since the rates were introduced at the current level 6 years ago. After a 12 month review HM Revenue and Customs announced that the rates would remain the same at Read more »

For those that lease diesel cars they aren’t aware that the cost of a diesel car is generally still more than a petrol equivalent as the higher cost of the car is more than offset by the much higher resale value of a diesel car at the end of the lease making the diesel cheaper in monthly costs than the petrol equivalent. However, we are starting to see a change as used diesel cars fall out of favour as the difference between petrol and diesel at the pumps continues to increase. Backing this up is research by EurotaxGlass (Glass’s Guide) which shows Read more »

Car driving in the UK can be some of the toughest in the world as a result of the spectacular differences in road conditions. Our cars and tyres have to cope with sub zero temperatures in the winter to road temperatures of 35C in the summer. Sudden bursts of rain can cause aquaplaning and the temperature can move by 10C in an hour and yet we expect our cars to cope with all this and never let us down. The sad truth is that the cars can and do let us down as was proven by a recent analysis of breakdowns carried out by the RAC on company car drivers. They also pointed out that Read more »