Friday, 22. July 2011
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I am often asked how the lease rates on some cars can be so low compared to the cost of the car? Take for example the deal we had last year on the VW Passat CC (their new 4 door coupe). If you had taken the car on a 2 year lease you would have paid the equivalent of 26 payments x £229.99 + VAT. That’s a total of £7,175 on a car that cost around Read more »
Thursday, 21. July 2011
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The US is making a piece of technology a legal requirement by 2014 and yet there are very few cars fitted with it in the UK as standard or have it available as an option. The technology provides images picked up by reversing cameras to be displayed in your rear view mirror. Will it be the next big thing in the UK and become a legal requirement? Time will Read more »
Wednesday, 20. July 2011
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 »
Tuesday, 19. July 2011
As of the 1st July the Bribery Act came into force. There was a great deal of concern when the terms of the Act were originally announced as it looked as though buying someone a cup of tea and a sandwich could be construed as an act of bribery. However, it seems that common sense may have played a part in the final wording of the Act following Read more »
Monday, 18. July 2011
Have you heard of log book loans? Do you know what they are? As more people find themselves out of work and desperate to raise some cash to pay bills or attend interviews they are looking at some of these grey areas of raising cash. There are of course the loan sharks that everyone should avoid but there is one area that seems to have an air of Read more »
Saturday, 16. July 2011
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Following from my previous article there has been much confusion for years about warranties provided on used cars. It has been a much held view that a car warranty is an insurance policy and therefore falls within the control of the Financial Services Act. In other words you have to be a regulated advisor to discuss the product and the product itself Read more »
Friday, 15. July 2011
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The Guardian Newspaper offered some advice to a driver who bought a car from failed on-line provider, Autoquake. It seemed MW of Farnham in Surrey bought an £8,000 car but was seduced into taking out a warranty costing £859 which included breakdown cover, which he was very pleased with. However, after a month the administrator wrote to Read more »
Monday, 11. July 2011
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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 »
Monday, 11. July 2011
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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 28th 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 »
Sunday, 10. July 2011
Buy a car costing more than £5,000 and have a problem with it that requires court intervention and it could cost you a fortune in legal costs. However, this may be about to change if new proposals go ahead. The Government plans to increase the value of ‘small claims’ from £5,000 to a more sensible £15,000. This means that legal disputes relating to Read more »