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If you are old like me you will remember the days when you used to collect empty beer and soft drink bottles, take them to the off-licence or local shop and get a few pence for each returned.

In those days, of course, the bottles were re-used so it was good for us kids, boosting our pocket money, and good for the environment. I’m not sure if the creators of Britain’s first recycling reward bins had this old idea in mind but the principle is the same.

Each plastic or glass bottle or empty coffee cup that you put into the recycle bin, installed in the services in Maidstone in Kent, earns you a 5p voucher towards your cup of coffee. Researchers have measured the litter levels in the Kent service centre over the last 4 weeks and will compare the impact of the machines over the next 6 months.

If successful we will see them installed at many more sites. The trial is being run by environmental charity Hubbub and has been backed by Highways England. The company has calculated that litter thrown out by motorists costs taxpayers £8 million a year.

Wayne Moore of Highways Agency is in favour of the initiative as he points out, employing people to pick up litter is not only dangerous, they can be a distraction to motorists and they could be used elsewhere more productively. Funny how some of the old ideas are still the best! By Graham Hill

I have been speaking a lot about the Real World emissions tests recently and the way that they have affected vehicle availability. The actual name of the tests is World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedures (WLTP) and frankly, it is confusing just about everyone involved.

One of the big problems is the way that the changed tests are finding that emissions are actually much more than the readings recorded previously. At the moment we are in a period of transition.

New and facelift cars in 2018 are tested and must conform to emissions levels before 1^st September but existing models have been given an extension with a formula applied to the old and new emissions to arrive at a new CO2 emissions figure.

In theory, CO2 emissions should have ended up roughly the same after applying the formula so that company car drivers weren’t suddenly hit with increased BIK tax bills.

In fact, the revised CO2 emission figures have increased on average by 20%. The problem is that all real-world readings come into force in 2020 which means that if a company took out a 3 year lease for an employee they could face a massive hike in BIK tax from year 2 onwards.

So many companies are extending their current leases to see if the Government will do anything to soften the blow for those paying BIK tax. Beyond that manufacturers are saying that the only way to reduce and control CO2 emissions is to change our attitudes.

First of all Kwik Fit have said that we will have to reduce the size of wheels that we fit to our cars in order to reduce the rolling resistance and in turn the CO2 emissions. Car manufacturers are suggesting that we will see a falling off of the small SUV’s as these are the least efficient cars and generate the most CO2.

The prediction is that we will revert to standard saloons and hatchbacks in place of the small, less efficient SUV’s. The shape of cars may well change also in order to make them more streamlined. Boring times ahead! By Graham Hill

The Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) has reported an imbalance in diesel demand which is causing all sorts of headaches with leasing and PCP providers.

New car demand for diesels has dropped through the floorboards causing manufacturers to scale up petrol production whilst dropping off production of diesel cars.

However, demand for used diesel cars is still running at the same level with no sign that it will drop soon. With fewer diesels finding their way into the used car market diesel prices will increase as times goes on.

This could start to make leasing and PCP costs for new diesel cars lower and more competitive again. New car supply has also had an effect on used car prices as people switch to used cars when they can’t get their new car quickly enough.

So there has been a slight increase in demand for nearly new petrol cars created by buyers who would normally buy new and who have decided to go for petrol this time around.

With lower running costs and better fuel consumption, experts feel that diesels are still here to stay even though some manufacturers have announced that they will be dropping their diesel engines fairly soon.

Personally, I feel that they have been a bit premature especially in light of recent reports that the ‘real-world’ emissions testing on petrol and diesel cars have found that there is very little to choose between petrol and diesel emissions.

We are still desperate for guidance from the Government. By Graham Hill

What Car has carried out a survey into car faults, a subject on which I have incredibly strong views. They start their report by reminding us of the attitude expressed by our parents (or could have been just my dad) that the more you add to cars the more likely something will go wrong.

Logically that has to be true, the question is – what is an acceptable level of faults and more important is when things go wrong how well do those responsible fix the problem? And that’s my issue, far too often drivers experience faults that dealers and manufacturers fight tooth and nail not to fix whilst totally ignoring driver rights and flouting their legal obligations. And with so few people knowing their legal rights dealers get away with murder.

However, I cover this in detail in my PCP report so I’ll get back to the findings of What Car. They found that 12% of faulty cars were off the road for more than a week with the most common problem being engine related which affected 28% of the faulty cars. When checking the classes of cars they found that 35% of luxury SUV’s and 31% of luxury cars suffered from faults.

At the other end of the scale 21% of city cars and 18% of electric cars suffered with faults. Interestingly cars fitted with diesel engines suffered from more faults than their petrol equivalents. 39% of diesel luxury SUV’s suffered faults whilst only 23% of their petrol equivalents had faults. 33% of diesel family saloons had faults whilst just 24% of their petrol equivalents had faults.

Worst for faults was diesel MPV’s followed closely by luxury diesel SUV’s. Petrol engine MPV’s weren’t much better than the diesels. Whilst petrol luxury SUV’s have problems with fuel consumption they fare better than diesel cars so the advice is to take a petrol rather than a diesel.

The top 5 brands for faults, i.e. the least reported faults were Lexus (10.7%), Suzuki (16.2%), Dacia (18.6%), Toyota (18.9%) and Honda (20.6%). At the other end, the worst cars were Land Rover (44.1%), Jeep (41.2%), Citroen (39.9%), Smart (39.5%) and Nissan (38.4%).

Not in my opinion a happy state of affairs – far too many faults for my liking. By Graham Hill

According to a special report in Auto Express we find out that there was a 56% increase in vehicle theft last year over the previous year. This sounds dreadful and of course it is, especially if you were a victim. But improvements in technology has actually had a very positive effect on thefts when compared to the 90’s.

In 1992 600,000 cars were stolen. This dropped to 56,000 in 2016 but in 2017 the number increased to 89,000, according to the Office of National Statistics. The first reaction is to blame the serious drop in police numbers and of course that hasn’t helped. But experts suggest that this isn’t the real reason, they blame it on the upsurge in Keyless Entry.

I’ve reported on how the thieves manage to steal your car with the use of technology so I won’t cover it again. But the fact is that we can exist without it. A keyless device it is transmitting all the time so as soon as you approach your car the car’s receiver picks up the signal and unlocks the door.

Once inside you can start the car by pressing the start button. Far too easy and frankly, in my opinion, unnecessary. In order to unlock my car I have to push a button on my ‘key’, and it works. I also have a keyring with my door key and a couple of other keys hanging from it.

If I had a keyless key I would still need a keyring! So I really don’t get it, especially as so many cars are stolen as a result of having a keyless device. By Graham Hill

A solution would be to stop the car when it senses that the key isn’t within range but this raises all sorts of safety questions. So the industry is working on ways to make keyless entry less vulnerable but I find myself asking why? OK, you can buy boxes and wallets into which you can place the device whilst at home to prevent scammers from picking up and relaying the signal but it’s too much fannying about in my opinion. Bring back keys!!

Most new diesel cars manufactured over the last couple of years have had a special liquid incorporated into the car in order to reduce the NOx gasses and conform to Euro 6 emissions. Euro 6 reduced NOx emissions by 67% from the previous standard, Euro 5.

Here’s the technical stuff in case you’re interested: Some manufacturers have found that the best way for them to meet the emissions levels is by Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). This system uses an exhaust fluid such as AdBlue. It breaks down the NOx gasses in the exhaust gasses into harmless elements before it’s expelled from the car.

Someone told me when the systems was launched that AdBlue was made up of urine! I thought it was a joke but it turned out to be true. It is made of Urea and de-ionised water. It is stored in a separate tank with small amounts being squirted into the exhaust gas when the engine is running turning the NOX into Nitrogen and Water.

Not all diesel cars are fitted with the AdBlue system so you will need to check the handbook and the dealer to see if it has the Adblue system. Some cars have ‘Blue’ in their name or SCR to indicate the addition of Adblue.

Tank sizes and usage varies. Most manufacturers have attempted to incorporate a tank that holds enough fluid to last between services so on low mileage you probably didn’t even know your car had it fitted. There is a warning light that warns you that the Adblue is running low. If the light comes on you should top up the fluid as soon as possible although you should still have about 3 litres or 1,200 miles still left.

It would be wise to find out where the filler is located. Some are by the diesel filler, some are in the boot or in the spare wheel well. Some fuel stations have AdBlue as part of their pump or you can buy it in containers either in the filling station or in an accessory shop or even online. In a container, it should cost about £1.50 per litre or at the pump about 60p per litre.

Adblue is non-toxic but is corrosive so can cause skin irritation and affect your lungs and eyes. Always wash your hands after handling and wear gloves provided in fuel stations. Whilst most cars let you continue to drive the car when the AdBlue tank is empty, when you stop the car it won’t restart until the tank has been topped up.

The AA reported 20,000 call outs last year to AdBlue related incidents. The recommendation is to top up the AdBlue whilst the engine is running if you run out. If you put AdBlue in the diesel tank or diesel in the AdBlue tank don’t start the engine and call out your breakdown service or misfuelling service provider immediately or risk expensive damage.

I hope that helps. By Graham Hill

Over the last few years we’ve seen changes in the law that have prevented children from sitting unstrapped in the back of cars, with very specific rules relating to baby seats and booster seats. Children over 12 years old or 135cm tall must use a seat belt.

There are weight and height restrictions that relate to different types of baby seats and booster seats, etc etc. The fact is that it is impossible to police. It’s illegal to smoke in a car with a child under 18 as a passenger and eating a sandwich, bar of chocolate or swigging a drink whilst driving can land you a fine of £100 if considered to be ‘dangerous driving’ by a policeman.

Again, unless part of an investigation following an accident, it is very unlikely you will ever be prosecuted so it makes you wonder about the effectiveness of setting down laws unless we have enough police to enforce them. Maybe by setting down the laws, there is an assumption that the rules will prick the conscience of drivers and stop them from breaking them. I would suggest that those with a conscience wouldn’t break the law in the first place.

I therefore question the benefit of setting down new laws to attempt to cut down on the number of young people if the laws are simply unenforceable due to the lack of policemen patrolling the roads. Theresa May has asked The Department for Transport to consider graduated driving licences. Changes could include a minimum supervised learning period and a restriction on the number of passengers.

Figures show that one in four young drivers are involved in  an accident within 2 years of passing their driving tests. Road safety charity Brake has called for a minimum of 10 hours of professional tuition before taking driving tests with restrictions in place for the following 2 years.

A similar system introduced in New Zealand dropped car crash injuries by 23% in 16 – 19-year-olds. What they don’t mention is the number of police patrolling the roads that might act as a deterrent amongst young drivers. I’m all for prevention but surely this sort of awareness should be taught at school along with other life skills. Introducing new laws with no police to enforce them is pointless. By Graham Hill

Since the tightening up of personal data stored about us on various sites the question has been asked about car telematics, the data that is collected and stored about us when driving our car, especially our company car. Clearly companies do it to make sure that their cars and commercials are being driven efficiently and not abused.

They can also check driving style to see if you are driving the vehicle in an economical way. Are you taking the best route in order to minimise fuel consumption and time? All of these things can generally be justified and included in your terms and conditions of employment.

But what about when you are using the vehicle for your own personal use? Some would argue that as the car is owned or leased by your employer he has a right to know where his vehicles are, where they travel to etc. However, most people believe that this is a breach of data protection.

It has nothing to do with the employer what you do and where you go in the company car when it is being used for pleasure as part of your contract of employment. If you are an employer and agree with this then you should consider Geotab as your next Telematics provider.

They have developed a new system that has incorporated a privacy mode for personal use. So when an employee is using his company car personally he can switch off the tracking. It is controlled via the MyGeotab App that comes with the tracking system.

There are mixed views from employers but it is certain that drivers would prefer to be able to control their privacy. What may not be appreciated is that many new cars have Telematics systems built into them to assist manufacturers to improve their car design and features. We currently have no say over the use of data collected by manufacturers. That will have to change. By Graham Hill

What a surprise, the crooked fuel suppliers, having seen that people are massively switching from diesel to petrol, have seen fit to increase the pump cost to its highest for 18 years. OK, you can’t help it if oil prices increase and the reasons given for the highest increase, according to the RAC, since their records began in 2000, is that crude has increased as a result of the weakening pound and the drop in production from Iran.

That might seem quite reasonable. However, I heard that the fuel providers have increased the cost at the pumps because they were hedging against the cost of oil going up further in the future as a result of  Trump ditching the Iran Nuclear Deal. So we’re paying for an increase that may or may not happen!

Immediately following the trashing of the Nuclear Deal crude rose as Iran decreased production but, according to experts, the pump prices have increased by more than that dictated by the increased crude price. You can draw your own conclusions, especially as Saudi Arabia has agreed to fill any production gaps left by Iran.

So supply should remain the same. In May the average cost of petrol increased from 123.43p to 129.41p. Diesel increased by more but that was still less than the highest increase that occurred in 2008. Simon Williams of the RAC said that crude oil has flattened off and that there is an OPEC meeting on the 22^nd June when they are expected to step up production so we could see a small drop in the cost of petrol and diesel. By Graham Hill

I have had a lot to say about PCP’s of late and my new revealing report is now complete – just waiting for the press launch. In the meantime, I’ve received a confidential note from a lawyer to a dealer he represents revealing an interesting twist.

Let me first explain how HP and PCP agreements work and the relationships they create. You may have spent your time researching your car, test driving models and finally making the decision as to what car you want. You may have even added options to the car and negotiated the price but what happens when you enter into an HP or PCP agreement?

Once you’ve been approved for finance the lender will ask the dealer for an invoice that agrees with the price on the order you placed for the car. In turn, you sign an agreement with the lender. At this point, having paid for the car the lender owns the vehicle.

The car never has been and won’t be your car unless you have made all your payments, per the agreement, and an option to purchase fee at the end of the contract term. Now, there is a rule that can confuse the issue which is the 14 day cooling off period rule applied to the finance.

You have a legal right to cancel the finance agreement, which is good news for those who believe they may not have taken out the most favourable finance or may prefer to use their cash to pay for the car. But supposing you decided that the car isn’t quite what you wanted or maybe you feel that your heart ruled your head and you committed to more than you wanted to spend. This is a different situation.

Whilst the law allows you to withdraw from the finance agreement you still have to buy the car, cancelling the finance puts you back to where you were having ordered the car but not taken the finance so you will need to find another way to finance the vehicle. You can still cancel the car order but you will be charged by the dealers for his losses.

However, the law firm has warned dealers that when the dealer sells the car to the finance company they enter into an agreement. Often these agreements are very long and quite complicated but tucked inside the terms is sometimes a clause that says that if the customer fails to accept/take possession of the car or cancels within 14 days of taking the purchase, you, the trader, agree to take back possession of the car and rescind the agreement. As they say, ‘Simply, the consumer can decide they’ve had a change of heart’.

This could be bad news for the dealer but good news for buyers if that clause is in the agreement so if you feel the need to exit the agreement and don’t want the car either you should speak to the finance company and not the dealer. I should finally add that this is not the same as ‘buying under duress’.

For example, you may have had no intention of buying a car but the salesman has put you under so much pressure that you end up signing an order and a finance agreement. In those circumstances, you need to speak to the finance company, Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Bureau and the Financial Ombudsman. This is known as ‘pressured selling’ and is illegal. You are protected under the ‘Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008’.

Always remember that whilst a vehicle is sold to the finance company your legal rights remain the same as if you bought the car for cash from the dealer. It must be fit for purpose, as described and satisfactory quality. So even if the dealer wrongly described the car you have a claim against the finance provider. By Graham Hill