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Insight Part 2: Whilst I’m in the mood to expose some of the trade secrets that lay behind contract hire rates let me delve a little deeper into the area of vehicle pricing and depreciation. Fleet News recently reported some incredible increases in new car costs, mainly as a result of the exchange rate against the Euro. Since January 2008, according to Read more »

If you are a regular reader of my postings you know that I rage on about simply taking the cheapest lease rate. In a recent article in Fleet News I found that I wasn’t the only one holding these views, most of the leasing companies do also. In fact it seems that the reason why many large lessors have pulled out of the broker market is that they don’t Read more »

Whilst I hear many a complaint in the pubs and bars about the fact that you aren’t charged the half percent bank base rate interest when you take a loan or HP, most people understand the reason why. If lenders were to charge half a percent interest they would soon go bust as that wouldn’t cover the cost of the documents let alone all the other costs Read more »

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We have heard of run-flat tyres, they effectively have a hard wall that enables you to continue driving with a puncture as the tyre wall holds up the weight of the car enabling you to drive about 50 miles at 50mph. However, Michelin now have a new tyre that they are about to re-introduce, the self-heal tyre that was a bit of a disaster in a previous launch as Read more »

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Been a busy week for me this week, had a board meeting of the NACFB, of which I’m a director on Tuesday 28^th followed by a lovely dinner, hosted by an old friend of the association, Bob Lefroy, editor of Business Money. This all took place at the Birmingham NEC Hilton Metropole and what a hotel that is. Amazing in size and activity. Add in a Neil Read more »

None of us particularly likes to deal with finance, except me of course but then I’m a bit nuts! But finance is like a critical ingredient in a delicious cake. Get it right, choose the right ingredient used in the correct way and magic happens. Get it wrong and all that time and effort and expense results in a total disaster. When customers come to me many haven’t heard Read more »

I’m going to send out some training soon, much of which will address some important car finance issues. One of the main subjects is APR, what it is, how it works and why it’s a complete waste of time. I am on a mission to change the way we look at finance in the UK and why I think that it is important to change attitudes. To give a little taster APR is Read more »

What’s my car worth? I’m often asked this question by drivers who have the option to buy the car that they have been driving for the last 2 or 3 years from the leasing company. I have to say there is no definitive answer, to think that you can simply open a book, check the model and year, adjust the value for a higher or lower mileage than average mileage Read more »

Let me tell you a story about an accountant who used to introduce clients to me about 12 years ago. He was a Chartered Accountant and according to the charter he couldn’t be paid a fee for arranging anything financial for his client. In other words if he had recommended a client to a financial advisor, who in turn arranged a pension or a Read more »

Following on from my campaign to remove number plates from used car adverts online, something considered unnecessary by so called experts, the police reported that £500,000 of fuel was stolen from forecourts in the London area last year by cars fitted with false number plates. Maybe time for a re-think! Have you had your car number plate cloned and received a call from the old bill or a fine that isn’t yours? Let us know? By Graham Hill