Monday, 4. July 2011
Banks are lending less to leasing companies making life even more difficult for small businesses to secure funding. As of 31st March 2011 lending to the leasing companies was down by 16% from £28.4 billions the previous year to £23.8 billions. Leasing is seen by many small businesses as an alternative way to fund their vehicles and equipment as Read more »
Sunday, 15. May 2011
I seem to cover this subject frequently but in case you have only recently started to see my newsletter/blog let me explain the relationship between the person advertising lease deals on the Internet, dealers and you. First of all the people advertising on the Internet, often called something like amazingcarleasing.co.uk are not actually leasing Read more »
Saturday, 12. March 2011
According the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) we are about to see and increase in the number of banks re-entering the car finance market which would be great news for all. Although this optimism is not shared by all including me. I have seen some funding enter the vehicle finance sector, not from banks but from investment Read more »
Monday, 7. February 2011
I have read several reports recently complaining about the motor insurance industry, it’s pretty much in turmoil with anomalies, inefficiencies over charging and deceit. I reported recently that some companies are now charging substantial arrangement and documentation fees in order to keep the monthly premiums low. We all know that there are a trillion terms in each policy making straight comparison very difficult so we tend to go for the cheapest and hope for the best. By that I mean try Read more »
Thursday, 20. January 2011
Monday 20th December has turned out to be the worst day for insurance call outs this winter. Claims rose by 60% on the day. The treacherous conditions led to 500 separate cases being registered with the AA making it the second busiest day of all time. The busiest was 561 registered last January. On a normal Monday there are 330 calls. According to the AA drivers were slipping and sliding all over the place, running into lampposts, bollards, running up kerbs and colliding with other vehicles. And Read more »
Monday, 17. January 2011
After years of warnings in my newsletter and on my blog the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has acknowledged that there are crooks offering leasing online who con consumers and small businesses out of money. I have had countless letters and emails over the years from those that have leased vehicles saying that they have lost money by trusting online leasing providers who had great web sites and extremely friendly and helpful phone support. They certainly Read more »
Thursday, 6. January 2011
As you know, I try to report some of the most dopey things that happen in the motor industry. This week insurance companies come under fire. As I have reported on several occasions there is a strong move towards having two sets of tyres, one set for the summer and another set for the harsher winters we seem to be experiencing. For some it seems to make sense and I must say in the last dumping of the white stuff I’m sure that if I had winter tyres fitted I would have been able to drive my care Read more »
Monday, 13. December 2010
Recently we have seen another couple of leasing companies amalgamate reducing the competition in the marketplace. This isn’t good news for the industry and it certainly isn’t good news for the customers as it continues to erode the competition. There are also fewer leasing companies dealing with brokers and the withdrawal of consumer business by some, most notably Lombard, has resulted in a major contraction of the UK lease market and fewer great deals available. There has been an Read more »
Monday, 6. December 2010
If you were to have some major surgery, I’m sure you would need to know that the person carrying out the work was a qualified and capable surgeon with a history of successful operations. If not you may end up a paraplegic or worse still not survive the operation, so I’d say that it was quite important to feel confident that you are using a professional who is good at his job. On the other hand you may have a faulty gas appliance and need a repair carried out. Who would you call in to carry out the Read more »
Wednesday, 1. December 2010
Insurance and fuel duty increases have been blamed for the inflation busting increase of 6.3% announced by the RAC in their Cost of Motoring Index. The average cost has increased by £346 over last year’s cost taking it up to £6,000. Depreciation has also had an effect although some costs such as Vehicle Excise Duty (car tax) and car finance have dropped. The annual study assesses the running costs of 17 new cars from the Toyota Yaris to the Land Rover Discovery. Each model’s bills are weighted Read more »