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I’m confused! I could understand the bailout of the banks, we can’t allow the banking system to collapse. And whilst the VAT cut was never going to have a significant effect on the economy in terms of kick starting expenditure it was a small step in the right direction but why are the Government listening to the car manufacturers? Of course it’s terrible when people lose their jobs and making loyal and good workers redundant is one of the hardest things Read more »

It wasn’t long ago when I advised drivers to check the settings of their head restraints in order to prevent one of the most common driving injuries, whiplash. Well it now turns out that EuroNCAP, the body that checks the safety of every new car, now has a new test that it carries out on seats to check their ability to prevent whiplash. It showed that 8 new cars launched in 2008 failed the new test including some surprises, Ford Kuga, Citroen C5 and Peugeot 308CC. These cars were given a ‘red rating’ which meant Read more »

Let me give you a scenario. You buy a car for £10,000 which you finance over 3 years either by HP or a personal loan, either way you own the vehicle at the end of the 3 years after paying back the £10,000 along with the interest charges. You then sell the car for its market value. I, on the other hand, decide to buy exactly the same car for £10,000 but finance it using a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP). The man in the dealership has told me that there is a final figure allowed on the car of £4,000 which I can either pay to own it or Read more »

The Dutch government have taken the lead by guaranteeing a 1.5 billion Euro package for car leasing company Lease Plan. This is part of a 200 billion Euro rescue fund set up by the Dutch. Lease Plan is the first company to take advantage of the rescue fund which, according to Finance Director, David Stickland will provide additional funding for Lease Plan UK. Read more »

Used cars through auction in November saw a little upward glitch although the general trend, according to British Car Auctions, is a downward one with prices set to continue to struggle through 2009. Whilst the average price rose to £4,823 in November, the highest since July, the year on year value is down by £689. The interesting thing is that we all hear about the state of the used car market and we often hear of friends or friends of friends who manage to get a real bargain but where are these giveaways when we want one? Read more »

A Europe-wide road behaviour survey by AXA has revealed 92% of British drivers feel safe driving on roads in their country compared to a European average of 72%. The study involved 800 drivers from 9 countries. I really don’t know why I include this stuff although I should imagine the average was brought down dramatically by the Italians who feel that the horn is as important as the steering wheel and must take their lives in their hands every time they get behind the wheel, oops I mean horn. Besides that as we all know it just isn’t natural driving on the wrong side of the road! By Graham Hill

A warning has gone out from representatives of the car manufacturers about the use of Morrisons’ Bio Fuel called B30. It would seem that using this fuel could invalidate the manufacturer’s warranty. The warning was issued by service maintenance and repair expert Motorconsult about the new 30% biofuel. For those who don’t understand the expression biofuel this is Read more »

By way of an update and a warning I mentioned a few weeks ago about the likely increase in car finance fraud as the recession leads to desperation and potentially fraudulent actions by dealers and brokers simply to survive. I also mentioned the case of a lady who was hiding away an Audi in her garage, too frightened to drive it as bailiffs were trying to repossess it, following the collapse of Read more »

It has been predicted that insurance premiums are set to rise by around 10% next year with further rises expected over the following 2 years. You really need to look carefully at your requirements and ways to protect your no-claims bonus. With all the hype surrounding the comparison sites don’t write off your local broker, I saved £70 per annum by switching to a local broker who provided Read more »

Mercedes are set to launch Attention Assist in its new E Class next year. This new system will help drivers to combat tiredness whilst driving and will put Mercedes at the forefront of this new technology. They expect to have the new system available throughout its range over the next 2 to 3 years. The system uses highly sensitive sensors to detect patterns in Read more »