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I’ve already opened this week’s email with some of my views on the legal implications but aside from those PCH is definitely gaining traction. It took quite a while for consumers to get their heads around PCP with the idea of either handing their car back to the finance company, buying it or using it as a part exchange. With over 5 million live PCP contracts running it is clear that people are getting it.

However, of those who took out PCP’s on new cars, not willing to consider any other alternative because they still had the option to buy the car at the end of the lease if they wanted to, they then felt that they were misled by the dealer. They believed that there would be some equity in the car at the end of the agreement which could be used as part of the deposit on the replacement car. In many cases drivers have ended up giving back the car to the finance company because the car wasn’t worth the balloon payment let alone providing some equity.

In fact according to themoneysavingexpert.com 80% of those who take out a PCP hand the car back at the end of the agreement. So having had that experience they then realise that they could have saved a considerable amount of money by taking out PCH with no option to purchase. So whilst PCP looked great on paper it isn’t surprising that there has been a massive growth in PCH over the last 12 months whilst PCP has dropped for the first time ever.

I will be explaining much more over the coming weeks so watch this space as I reveal some of the closely held secrets of the industry. By Graham Hill

The usual headlines appeared as soon as the new car sales figures were announced. Headlines such as New Car Sales Fall Off A Cliff made it seem like new car sales had dropped by 50% from the previous year. They didn’t, the drop was 7% or 100,000 cars dropping from just over 2.5 million in 2017 to just under 2.4 million in 2018. So not the disaster that reports would have you believe.

With an average of 200,000 new cars being registered every month keeping us in second place to Germany in the EU is hardly a major disaster. Believe it or not Jaguar increased by 4% but then their problems, along with their sister marque, LandRover have suffered from a drop in demand in China, the US and Middle East.

It seems that the main drops were amongst the volume producers such as Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan and Audi. Changes to the emissions regulations threw a massive spanner in the works. Manufacturing slowed as some manufacturers struggled to meet the emissions levels with some stopping production altogether. Then having sold off all the pre-emissions tests cars there were no new cars in stock to sell so drivers either extended current agreements or took on a used car.

So my feeling, given the circumstances is that new car sales in 2018 were pretty buoyant. My real concern was over alternative fuels. But first a few words about diesel cars. 62% of new cars bought in 2018 were pure petrol cars compared to 32% pure diesel. You may think this is a good thing given the reports about emissions and the need to get diesel cars off our roads. The fact is that it is old diesel cars that we need to get off the road. New diesels are virtually particulate (soot) free and whilst NOx emissions are a little higher CO2 emissions are lower so in terms of damage there is very little to choose.

The question that never seems to be raised is that of mileage. Clearly, if people drove their cars less they would reduce emissions irrespective of the fuel used. The sad news is that just 5% of new cars registered in 2018 were either diesel/electric or petrol/electric hybrids. And even worse for the environment was that just 0.7% were pure electric cars. This of course wasn’t helped by the Government removing the grants completely from hybrid cars and reducing those on electric cars.

The car industry was in good shape last year but the move towards a better environment is flagging badly! Something needs to be done and the Government needs to give better direction to diesel/petrol drivers as we are about to see warnings in the press again about the Ozone layer as a result of the increase in petrol car drivers increasing CO2 emissions. By Graham Hill

Before you think I’m getting all political – I’m not. I’m talking about one of the major successes of EU membership and that is safety systems on cars. Across the whole of the EU safety standards have been set to protect drivers, passengers and other road users – very successfully. But will this still be the case after Brexit when we take over the rules and regulations ourselves?

My hope is that we will continue to maintain the high standards that, like many EU laws, we were responsible for in the first place. If you drove around Spain or Italy in the 70’s and 80’s you would have taken yours and everyone else’s lives around you in your hands the moment you got behind the wheel.

But with the introduction of consistency throughout Europe when it comes to car safety you can feel relatively safe in every country you drive in. But will this apply moving forward? There have been times when the UK manufacturers have questioned some of the enforced safety features imposed upon us by the EU but will that mean that there will be two levels of safety applied when we build cars in the UK?

Safety costs money so if the car manufacturers can save money – will they do so, especially if the safety feature doesn’t count towards the global NCAP safety tests. If we export to Europe we will need to meet the EU standards but will they apply in the UK especially as we are more and more price driven? As an example take the Indian car market where above all else cost is the main factor followed by cost to run, mileage and performance.

Safety is way down the list of priorities so manufacturers manufacture to meet the needs. And that includes European manufacturers. In a recent case a VW Polo was reported to be given 0 stars on the global NCAP test without it affecting sales. I believe they improved the safety of the cars and as a result achieved a higher score but that was a good case of car manufacturers meeting demand. In the UK Polos achieve either 4 or 5 NCAP safety stars.

By removing ourselves from Europe I sincerely hope that we don’t remove ourselves from some of the good things they were responsible for. I wouldn’t like to think that it would be safer to drive a new car in Europe than in the UK. By Graham Hill

£500 Overspend On Petrol: Drivers can spend £500 per annum more than necessary depending on where they fill up.

Daily Insurance Claims Hit £33m Per Day: Car insurance payouts ran at £33m every day in 2016 whilst premiums hit a record high.

1.4 Million Drivers Attended Re-Training Courses: Drivers who were caught committing motoring offences attended courses raising £54 million for the police in the process

9,050 Drink Drive Casualties: The highest on record since 2012 with 2016 7% higher than 2015.

Council Parking Revenue Up To £1.58 Bn In 2017: New figures revealed that this produced a surplus of £819 million.

1,024 Children Banned From Driving: Even though they weren’t old enough to drive

39% Drop In Phone Penalties: Motorists caught using a mobile phone whilst driving dropped from 49,694 in 2016 to 30,470 in 2017. This was put down to fines and points doubling. Or maybe it’s down to fewer police and hands-free fitted to more cars.

109 Driving Instructor Investigations: The DVSA cracked down on inappropriate relations between driving instructors and students.

Superfluous Road Signs: 4.3 million road signs were shown by the Department for Transport to be superfluous.

15% Of Motorists Report Being Blinded By Headlights: According to research carried out by the RAC

The Average Fine For Car Theft Was £198: With 80% of crooks receiving a fine rather than a jail sentence.

The Average Age Of Cars On UK Roads Is 8.1 Years: The Department for Transport revealed that the average age increased from 7.8 years in 2015 and 6.8 years in 2003.

8,000 Crooked Car Washes: The CarWash Advisory Service estimated that 8,000 of the 20,000 hand car washes are involved in illegal activities.

5.65 Million Parking Tickets Handed Out In 2017: The Government has pledged to clamp down on private firms.

Pothole Claims Run At £1million Per Month: The AA revealed the scale of the claims.

89,000 Vehicles Stolen In 2017: Vehicle theft went up from 56,000 in 2016 to 89,000 in 2017. Blamed on police cuts and thieves managing to crack keyless technology.

80% Of New Cars Were Bought On Finance: According to Auto Express I gave tips on PCP deals along with revelations. An influencer!

London Reduced Speed Limit: Sadiq Khan said that all roads managed by Transport for London would have a 20mph speed limit

Drivers Overspend £3.4bn On Repairs: Green Flag indicates that drivers spend £3.4bn more than they need to.

20% Reduced Reaction Times: University of Bath reported this drop in reaction time as a result of a hangover.

£106 million Government Investment In EV’s: This investment in vehicle and battery development was matched by £500 million investment from industry.

27% Of Those Killed On Our Roads Were Not Wearing Seatbelts: 1,793 people lost their lives on the roads in 2017, 27% were found not to be wearing seatbelts.

Audi Fined £700m For False Emission Figures: German authorities imposed the fine on Audi for ‘deviations from regulatory requirements’ over V6 & V8 diesel engine emissions.

Diesel MOT Failures Hit 238,871: Following new MOT rules – a fourfold increase.

2.3 Million Cars Clocked: One in 16 cars display a false mileage reading with the Local Government Association calling for the ban of mileage correction devices.

So there you have it – some of the major issues and statistics of 2018. What will 2019 bring us – well we will find out soon enough! By Graham Hill

Then you probably need to read the findings of Warrantywise when they surveyed claims made on used cars revealing the most and least reliable cars.

Most & least claimed-against brands:

Most & least claimed car models

So if you’re thinking of buying a used car and you want one that is least likely to go wrong and potentially cost you money in repairs choose from the least claimed list. On the other hand you could take out a lease on a new car and benefit from a new car warranty. By Graham Hill

If you were told this by the manufacturer of your car and that he would fix the problem if you popped it into your nearest dealer for free, why wouldn’t you go? Or if you needed to check a website to see if your car was one that had the fault wouldn’t you check it?

Well in 2013 this problem was identified. Takata airbags were fitted to 66 global models and all could have the fault so a massive recall got underway. In the UK 2.9 million cars were affected but to date, 991,333 cars remain unrepaired – could yours be one of them?

You may recall in 2015 Vauxhall hit the headlines as a result of their Zafiras built between 2005 and 2014 possibly having faulty heating components fitted causing the cars to catch light. The affected cars were identified and recall notices were sent out to 234,000 drivers. 30,686 have still not been repaired so any of those could catch fire at any time. Might be a good idea to check your car out if you’re driving a Zafira.

As with the Zafira, BMW issued a recall in 2018 on their 3 series built between 2004 and 2011. Again faulty heater wiring could lead to a fire but of the 279,104 cars affected 197,352 remain unrepaired. According to the DVSA there are still 2.39 million cars subject to safety recalls that have still not been repaired, an estimated 1 in 13 cars.

According to Auto Express, Edmund King – AA President, said that ‘Generally the recall system in the UK works quite well…’ What? A third of cars that have a potential fault that could result in shrapnel being fired into the face of the driver or passengers doesn’t suggest to me that the system is working quite well!

As a result of this highly dangerous situation, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is proposing to align two of their systems, the recall register and MOT test records. They propose that if a car is subject to a recall it is noted in the advisory section of the MOT certificate. If it appears the following year the car should fail the test.

Personally, I don’t feel this goes far enough, the recalls should be aligned with road fund licence and if the car hasn’t been repaired the driver can’t renew the tax – surely if the car is a danger to the driver, occupants and other road users they should not be allowed on the road. If we rely upon the MOT test the car will be 3 years old before the note is made on the certificate.

If you would like to check to see if your car has a recall go to: https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/   By Graham Hill

There are many drivers who would never entertain driving a new car – usually for all the wrong reasons. ‘They depreciate quicker than a used car’ – not necessarily so if you go for a nearly new used car! I’ll have a training video for that! They cost more to service! Some new cars can be 2 years old before they need their first service which is just an oil and filter change. And a new car certainly doesn’t cost more to maintain and is covered for at least 3 years, 60,000 miles by the manufacturer’s warranty.

But even worse than this is the number of used cars that are ‘clocked’. This is the name given to the practice of reducing the miles showing on the car’s odometer. It is illegal to do so then sell the car on with the customer believing that the mileage on the clock is genuine.

The Local Government Association (IGA) which represents 370 councils in England and Wales found a large surge in the number of vehicles that had been clocked. In fact 0ne in 16 cars are clocked according to the IGA at a cost to buyers of £800 million every year. This is the difference between the value of cars on their genuine mileage and the value on the clocked mileage.

But more important for me is the potential danger of driving a car that has had the mileage adjusted. Many service and maintenance alerts are mileage based so by winding back the mileage it can throw out the alerts which means you could be driving a car that is seriously dangerous not only to the driver and passengers but also pedestrians and other road users.

This situation has been in existence since before I learned to drive with my dad and that was a very long time ago. And the same loophole still exists in the law. It is technically illegal to sell a car that has had the mileage clocked it is still legal to alter the mileage of your car. The EU was to introduce a law in May making it illegal to advertise the electronic devices used to clock cars but that legislation has been delayed.

Councillor Simon Blackburn from the LGA said ‘Car clocking is a major rising fraud, that not only rips off motorists but can have dangerous implications. The proposed EU ban on mileage correction services needs to be made part of UK law as soon as possible’. Automotive data company, HPI, found one in 16 cars had a mileage discrepancy, with the number of clocking incidents rising by 25% between 2014 & 2016. Something needs to be done urgently – lives could be at risk.

In a final piece of research I have found a warning from Autonet Insurance Group saying that if you buy a car that has been clocked, so the declared mileage to the insurer is incorrect, you risk making your insurance cover invalid. So you need to make sure you take every precaution to ensure that the mileage is correct. You have been warned. By Graham Hill

In May this year, we saw some major changes to the MOT test, the biggest of all was with regard to emissions. If the tester saw any smoke emitting from the exhaust he was obliged to fail the car. Something that most people felt uncomfortable with as it’s a tad arbitrary relying on the discretion of the tester.

As a result, according to the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), MOT failures amongst diesel cars has increased by 4 fold between May and November 2018. In total 238,871 diesel cars failed their MOT test compared to 58,004 during the same period in 2017. I have to say diesels have always struggled to get through the emissions section of the MOT test but the failure rate is now 17%, up by 10% over the previous testing regime.

Having said that the diesels weren’t alone as there was also an increase in petrol cars failing the new emissions test, up from 292,468 in 2017 to 505,721 this year. A total of 750,000 failed the emissions tests between May and November, up from 350,000 over the same period last year.

The smoke test appears to be the biggest reason for failure. Any diesel car fitted with a particulate filter (DPF) must now pass the visual smoke test. If it emits smoke from the exhaust of any colour it will fail. In the case of petrol engines if the exhaust emits either dense blue smoke or clearly visible black smoke whilst idling for more than 5 seconds – again that’s a fail.

Vans are even worse when it comes to failing. The DVSA pointed out that as a result of the new emissions tests the failures have rocketed from 3,585 in 2017 to 19,648 this year. That’s a rise of 448%. Whilst the number of emission test failures have increased the overall failures have remained pretty much the same.

Total tests were 8.2 million petrol and 6.6 million diesel. The one question that hasn’t been answered was how many cars had to be scrapped because they couldn’t get the emissions clean. A frightening thought if you’re driving a used car. A pretty good reason to stop buying used cars and go for new cars. By Graham Hill

As a consumer, you are probably aware that you have a very strong position in law whenever you have disputes with a supplier whether or not finance is involved. When it comes to cars your position is stronger if you have taken out finance because you have even more Acts of Parliament to protect you.

But what if you are a sole trader, partnership or SME without the resources of a large corporate? Certainly not enough money to take on a large dealer group when you believe that the car isn’t fit for purpose or as described and the only course of action is to go to court.

What many small business owners are unaware of is that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is available not only to consumers but also small business owners. At one stage the facilities were available to sole traders and small partnerships only but this has been extended to limited companies provided they are what is termed in EU law as a Micro-Enterprise.

To qualify as a Micro-Enterprise you must have a turnover of less than 2 million Euros AND employ less than ten members of staff – even if you are a limited company. Now here’s the interesting thing. If you look through consumer credit legislation it pretty much excludes businesses. But the Ombudsman isn’t constrained by the law and will sometimes find in favour of a supplier or customer based simply on his sense of fairness.

The thing is that even if it doesn’t go your way you don’t have to accept the Ombudsman’s decision. You can still go to court if you have the money to do so, whilst on the other hand, if you are successful the other side must accept the decision of the Ombudsman if you choose to accept the ruling.

So in future don’t despair if you aren’t being treated fairly by a dealer or their finance provider. Register a complaint with the FOS. By Graham Hill

A new police unit has been set up to deal with dash cam and helmet cam footage showing drivers committing offences as part of a Government road safety initiative.

The announcement of the creation of this new unit was made by the Department for Transport (DfT) as a 2-year plan to make roads safer. In their announcement, they stated that it is intended, ‘ to combat road rage, encourage greater mutual respect between road users and protect the most vulnerable’.

The task force does not yet have a name but will be a ‘national back office’ serving police forces. An initial investment of £100,000 has been put in to test the waters. No information is yet available as to how the public will get the video footage to this team but according to AutoExpress they feel the new scheme will operate in the same way as Operation Snap that was introduced in Wales.

When piloted it reduced the time taken to review footage from up to 15 hours (really?) to just 15 minutes. There are 7 offences that the public can report using video footage as follows

Dangerous Driving

Driving Without Due Care & Attention

Careless Driving

Using A Mobile Phone

Not Wearing A Seatbelt

Contravening A Red Traffic Light

Contravening Solid White Lines

The DfT says that dash cam footage and video from motorcyclist and cyclist cameras could lead to investigations for ‘other offences where the driver is clearly not in proper control of the vehicle and which could lead to collisions’. By allowing drivers to submit video footage they believe that they will be able to increase detection rates at no extra cost.

The 2-year plan also includes allowing local authorities to issue tickets to drivers parking in cycle lanes with penalties from £70 to £130 in London. Councils will also be encouraged to spend 15% of their local transport budget on cycling and walking infrastructure. Personally, the whole thing concerns me as I can see a rapid increase in road rage. By Graham Hill