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Warnings have come out again from the AA who have reported a 6% increase in callouts for miss-fuelling during the first 6 months of 2010. It all seemed to have settled down last year as filling stations made sure that pumps were more clearly marked and manufacturers made it more obvious as to what fuel needed to be pumped into the tank. But for no apparent reason we have suddenly had this increase. The AA Read more »

If you have a fairly recent BMW you will need to keep an eye out for low flying birds using your car as a toilet! There has been a lot of publicity recently about lime damage caused to BMW paintwork because of lime in the pooh, according to BMW. They go on to say that they will not pay for any re-sprays as a result of damage caused by bird’s mess as the damage is caused ‘as a result of outside influence’. Not good Read more »

My gadget of the week is a 5 second jump start that is capable of charging up a flat battery in 5 – 8 seconds, enough to get the car started. If it doesn’t the manufacturer, Powertraveller, claims that a further 10 – 15 minute charge should do the trick. In 2009 there were a total of 1,084,150 callouts to emergency services to revive flat batteries, that’s two a minute! This handy new product can be stored in the glovebox Read more »

There’s all sorts of confusion about the VAT increase from 17.5% to 20% next January. The increase affects vehicles in different ways. If, as a business, you buy a car outright you cannot claim back any VAT at all, there is a 100% block. Even if the car is a pool car and only available for use by employees for occasional personal use (and not necessarily used by them) the 100% block will be applied. Even if an employee Read more »

I can’t remember writing about the emissions based parking charges introduced by Richmond council in South West London although I seem to remember reading about it somewhere. Anyway, forget it as it’s just been scrapped. The scrapping of the scheme flies in the face of those that argue that local authorities and central Government use the ‘green argument’ as a means to screw more money out of the motorist when Read more »

I’ve already reported about the way that Ford increased its list prices during the scrappage scheme and, now the scheme has ended, has now decided to lower its list prices by up to 15%, quite a coincidence eh! But to make matters worse they say that even after reducing their prices that buyers should still negotiate the price further as dealers have the ability to provide additional discounts from 5% to 15%. But this is the Read more »

Considering the latest announcements relating to electric car production and the government emphasising its efforts to support electric cars by increasing incentives it was a bit of a surprise to hear Bosch announce that petrol and diesel cars will be by far the most dominant vehicles for the next 20 years. They went on to explain that this would be due to planned improvements that are due to take place in the internal Read more »

Over the years I have put forward many reasons why you should opt for Dealer HP over a personal loan (contrary to all advice given in the media). Your legal rights are so much greater when you take HP. If you have read my book An Insider Guide To Car Finance, or been a regular reader of my newsletter, you would know the reasons that I put forward. However, I have just uncovered a new one that you may Read more »

Warnings have been issued about dealers and manufacturers who refuse to carry out warranty work because the vehicle hasn’t been serviced by a main dealer. This is illegal and flies in the face of the revised EU Block Exemption rules that came into force in 2002. In a case taken up by What Car a lady, Nocola West, had a Vauxhall Astra that developed a radiator fault that ended up putting water in the gearbox. The dealer Read more »

 I know I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall when I explain to customers that they should never simply look for the lowest rate when it comes to leasing a car. Of course when you buy something for cash you will maybe look for the cheapest price. The car you pay cash for at a car supermarket will be the same as a car that you pay cash for at a main dealer (unless it’s a sub spec black market car). The car will Read more »