The Best Car Finance Blog In The World

Service intervals have crept out with some cars not needing a first service until it is 2 years old. Some of the earliest first service intervals are still a minimum of 12 months but there is a problem with this. You see years ago, by the end of the first year, your car would have had 2 or 3 services with the first after just 1,000 miles to have an oil change and remove the swarf that had built up in the bottom of the oil sump. Read more »

There is something I feel guilty about as a broker and that is test drives. Customers need to test drive a car before they take them from me but we are unable, as we used to do years ago, to arrange for a car to be sent to the client from the manufacturer for him to test drive. So the client has to visit a dealer knowing that the car won’t be supplied by him, as we have volume arrangements with specific dealers or the Read more »

We are all being forced to consider greener cars and the manufacturers have to be seen to be actively developing more environmentally friendly engines or face some hefty fines. So you may be forgiven for thinking that the cars being marketed as ‘green cars’ are much more fuel efficient than standard cars. Well according to latest research the differences can be minimal. For example the Skoda Octavia Greenline is Read more »

I like to bring you hot news every week. You will recall my summary of the last budget. With notepad in hand I was watching Darling on TV but unfortunately I fell asleep leaving me nothing to report. However, this week I’m determined to make amends. I want to give you an insight into the latest developments and of course an in depth report on all the major features of the very latest models to be launched by the manufacturers. So in that informative vein I’m announcing the launch of the all new Ford Focus – it looks like an Astra! By Graham Hill

Oh dear! I reported a few weeks ago that Aston Martin were soon to launch a new city car, the Cygnet, based on the Toyota IQ. The likely price when it will actually go on sale later this year is £30,000 for those dopey enough to want to spend this ridiculous amount of money for what is really a Toyota IQ with a few extra bits on, including the famous, and all important, badge on the bonnet. If all this wasn’t ridiculous Read more »

We expect to see some changes in ownership of car manufacturers as we come out of recession, the latest of which is the increased ownership of Chrysler by Fiat. The deal will include Jeep and Dodge. Fiat took a 20% stake in ailing Chrysler last summer and have announced an increase in their stake to 35% if targets are met over the next 2 years. Chrysler registrations were down by 42.8% last year over 2008. Future Read more »

If you are a regular reader of my newsletter you will know that I go banging on about Electronic  Stability Control (ESC) also known as Electronic Stability Program (ESP). It saves lives and should be fitted as standard on all new cars already and yet only half of cars that are going to be used for business were sold last year with it fitted. By 2011 all new cars must be fitted with ESC and by 2014 every car must have Read more »

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 »

The recent major recall by Toyota, as a result of their brake and accelerator problems, has given rise to some knee jerk reactions amongst drivers when they now receive recall notices. As I recently pointed out, recalls are fairly common but not all faults that are in need of attention are life threatening so there is no need to stop using the car and start taking the bus to work the moment a recall notice arrives in Read more »

Good news for Saab lovers as it has been announced that GM finally agreed a deal with Spyker and that production on the new 9-5 has already begun with cars expected to appear in dealerships later this year. It has been a difficult time for existing owners, dealerships and the manufacturer’s staff but David Pugh of Saab GB now feels that all the problems are now behind them and the future is starting to look good.. They are looking forward to the release of the new 9-5 which will mark the re-launch of the brand. Good luck to them, Saab has been one of our most popular makes over the years and I’m pleased that they have been given another lease of life. By Graham Hill