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‘I don’t mind what it is, I’m after something that does the job but doesn’t cost a lot per month.’ Quite a common request that I receive and so I have a bit of a rummage around and find a Kia on a really good deal or maybe a Hyundai or a Chevrolet. Suddenly the customer has become a bit more of a snob than even he thought he was but are we right to dismiss some of these makes? Martin Ward of CAP test drives cars all Read more »

Rows are a brewing when it comes to tyres amongst the manufacturers. All is harmony when it comes to trying to improve fuel efficiency, noise and safety but the rows are growing over minimum tread depth. Continental is fighting to increase the minimum from the current 1.6mm to 3mm, which it claims would result in a marked reduction in traffic accidents. But the claims are being challenged by Michelin and Read more »

Warnings continue to increase about the numbers of ‘accidents to order’ where fraudsters stage an accident then put in an insurance claim for the damage caused to their vehicle as well as any passengers. Some are known to drive the car on behalf of the owner, swerving in front of another driver causing the accident. Details are exchanged and the details of the owner are given along with his insurance details to the Read more »

Lease rates will have to increase for some of the larger ‘gas guzzlers’ as a result of the new showroom tax. However, there are some winners. If your new car spits out less than 130 g/km of carbon dioxides then you will pay no showroom tax and low road fund licence (car tax). The highest showroom tax is £950 for vehicles throwing out over 255 g/km of carbon dioxides. Aimed at discouraging large environmentally Read more »

There has been a large increase in the number of cars fitted with run flat tyres over the last few years. However, many drivers, when renewing tyres have replaced run flats with cheaper alternatives in order to save money. But TyreSafe warn that by doing this drivers are changing the handling characteristics of their cars. Although, according to Michelin it can be done as long as the replacement tyres are Read more »

According to reports by trade valuation guides, Glass’s Guide and CAP, the setting of residual values will become more difficult this year due to future uncertainties. Last year values increased as a result of the scrappage scheme, which removed cars from the system, fewer new cars were registered and more lease cars had their leases extended forcing up used car values in the middle of a recession because supply fell Read more »

Even without the full increase in fuel duty we are seeing a constant increase in fuel cost. Petrol rose by 23% (21 pence per litre) last year whilst diesel increased by 13% (13 pence per litre) and we have already seen fuel increase by about 8 pence per litre this year. On average petrol increased every 2 weeks and as the increase was spread over the year it hasn’t led to serious discontent. But with fuel set to rise Read more »

Who are EuroNCAP? Do you know? Well it turns out that far too few people do so they are on a mission to become more visible. They are a group formed in 1997 by the Transport Research Laboratory and they are the organisation that crash tests every new car to award it safety stars from the driver’s perspective, passenger perspective and pedestrian perspective. Over the years many companies have insisted upon Read more »

A warning from Warranty Direct suggests that turbo charged engines are more likely to break down than non turbo charged. Around 11% of their customers suffer an engine failure with a typical repair cost of £619 but turbo charged engines have a failure rate of  28% with an average repair cost of £875, worth considering if you are thinking about buying a used car. Don’t forget that most diesel engines, especially those fitted in larger cars, are turbo charged. By Graham Hill

Great news, Ford are dropping their prices! Hopefully this is just the start and we will see other manufacturers joining the party and we will start to see some lease rate drops! But hang on a minute, whilst they have dropped the price of some models by 10% – 12% isn’t this coinciding with the end of the scrappage scheme? I noticed a trend last year of manufacturers increasing their prices at a time of virtually Read more »