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A good friend of mine, Dick Appleby (he lives on the Wirral – that’s how desperate I am to have friends), wrote to me recently regarding a situation that has arisen regarding a Mercedes that was returned 3 years ago to Custom Fleet, part of GE Capital. Out of the blue he received a charge for the month and a few days that the car waited on his drive for them to collect. That’s right, the car went back about 3 years ago and Read more »

With the banks currently announcing profits well beyond expectations the Government really needs to step in and start rattling their cages as they continue to lend to simply those that are safest but in many respects don’t need it as badly as those who have been struggling and whose credit history is less than perfect. I have never quite understood how someone (or company) who has experienced a problem and Read more »

The Graham Hill in depth review this week is the Citroen C4. I have to say I love the new styling. The manufacturers seem to be spending a lot more time on their lower models making them look more sophisticated on the one hand and more sporty on the other with better shaping and styling with great use of LED lighting. Like the new Astra the C4 is actually looking like the sort of car you’d want to drive rather than a Read more »

What do you think the main reason is for having a row in a car? Halfords surveyed those that were on their mailing list and two thirds responded and admitted that it was poor navigation or the getting lost that led to the worst rows. Whilst 80% of women argued that it was the lack of planning by their partners that led to the row the same point was argued by 65% of men. The second biggest cause was the continuing Read more »

If you are a regular reader of my articles and newsletter you will know how I bang on about the benefits of the Electronic Safety Control (ESC or also called ESP). Car testers EuroNCAP say that all cars should be fitted with ESC now without waiting till they are legally obliged to do so. Only 60% of new cars are fitted with ESC compared to 99% in Sweden, 80% in Germany and 72% in Spain. If ESC isn’t fitted as standard on 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 »

Another report I mentioned earlier this year spoke about the likely move by drivers to winter or cold weather tyres following the severe weather last winter. Well the move has already started according to ATS Euromaster. No I don’t mean drivers are already fitting winter tyres in the middle of the summer. Orders are already being placed by ATS for winter tyres to the tune of £3 million. They already have forward Read more »

Another report I mentioned earlier this year spoke about the likely move by drivers to winter or cold weather tyres following the severe weather last winter. Well the move has already started according to ATS Euromaster. No I don’t mean drivers are already fitting winter tyres in the middle of the summer. Orders are already being placed by ATS for winter tyres to the tune of £3 million. They already have forward 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 »

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 »