Tuesday, 20. July 2010
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 »
Monday, 19. July 2010
There are some very dangerous roads in the UK. In fact a study published by the European Road Assessment Programme showed that half of all fatal collisions occur on one tenth of all British roads. The safety report showed that 10% of motorways and trunk roads have an unacceptable high risk. Interestingly the report shows that spending money on roads would not only make them safer and save lives but also Read more »
Monday, 19. July 2010
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 »
Sunday, 18. July 2010
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 »
Sunday, 18. July 2010
 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 »
Saturday, 17. July 2010
Now to Graham Hill’s famous car review. This week the new, yet to be launched, Range Rover baby get’s put under the spotlight. The car, called the Evoque, will come with a tiny 2.0 diesel or petrol engine and has a bit of a Nissan Qashqai look about it. It has little slit windows but the car I’ve seen has a panoramic glass sunroof so maybe if that becomes standard it won’t seem quite as dark and dingy as it looks. Do I Read more »
Saturday, 17. July 2010
Our ‘gadget’ this week is an iPod App that finds parking spaces for you. A group of drivers, fed up with getting parking tickets, came up with the solution. They have joined forces with the AA to come up with parkopedia. The app asks where you want to park then gives details of street, metered, covered and private parking spaces then uses google maps to find the exact location. It also provides cost of parking in each Read more »
Friday, 16. July 2010
If you’ve ever had the misfortune of driving through the centre of London during rush hour you will appreciate that pedestrians are total loonies. They stream across traffic lights clearly believing that should they be hit by a car travelling at 10 miles per hour it wouldn’t hurt or they have mysterious clothing that is tougher than pressed steel with a tonne of material thrusting it forward controlled by a person with red Read more »
Thursday, 15. July 2010
Did you know that there is an engine of the year award? Well there is and this year it has gone to VW for its small size but big powered 1.4TSi petrol engine now fitted into not only the smaller cars such as Polo and Golf but also the Passat, 7 seater Touran and even the 4WD Tiguan. VW have received this award two years running and shows, according to the judging team, that engine downsizing is here to stay. VW have Read more »
Wednesday, 14. July 2010
New tyres must meet European standards for safety and a raft of other basic regulations covering grip, economy, speed etc. British standards cover re-treads and remoulds as well as puncture repairs so many motorists look to replace their current tyres with the cheapest they can find, believing that all tyres that are sold meet basic standards and that the standards mean that whilst the cheepo tyres might not last quite Read more »