Monday, 4. October 2010
And so the debate goes on regarding speed cameras. I first of all reported that many local authorities were switching them off as they could no longer afford to keep them operating. Then the public stepped in and complained that they were necessary if we are not to see a rise in deaths on the road, supported by safety bodies. So now it seems that some local authorities are willing to rent a Gatso for £5,000 per annum if local people want to keep particular cameras operating. When Oxfordshire Read more »
Sunday, 3. October 2010
It would seem that magistrates have gone soft, as a result of the recession, if you have accidentally reached the automatic driving ban of 12 points on your licence. Some say this is wrong and that the ban should be automatically imposed, especially in extreme cases like the driver who was allowed to keep his licence even after he amassed 54 Read more »
Thursday, 30. September 2010
The gap is starting to open up between petrol and diesel at the pumps again, pushing drivers towards petrol cars. There is also continued concern that people that take diesels fitted with particulate filters, as all new diesel cars have to have fitted, do not understand that they need to run the car at over 50mph for at least 20 minutes in one session per month in order to create the chemical reaction that clears out the filter. If this isn’t done the filter clogs and needs to be replaced costing hundreds of Read more »
Thursday, 30. September 2010
Auto Express has launched a campaign to force manufacturers to disclose known problems with their cars. At the moment the manufacturers only have to make public known safety faults that are subject to recall. For all other problems, such as reliability issues, these do not have to be made public. The AA, RAC and Retail Motor Industry Federation have all joined with Auto Express to put pressure on manufacturers to make public their technical service bulletins – the documents that detail the Read more »
Wednesday, 29. September 2010
The dangers of using insurance comparison sites has been highlighted by incidents in which payouts could be avoided by the insurers because drivers have been confused by some of the questions that may have been handled differently and more clearly if an actual broker helped you to compete your application form. As most people know insurers have to be made aware of any modifications that have been fitted to the car. If the mods have not been declared the insurer could refuse payout in Read more »
Tuesday, 28. September 2010
Graham Hill’s new book, Graham Hill’s Simple Guide To Car Finance, get’s released through Press Box. Follow the link below:
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/detailed/Financial/INAPPROPRIATE_CAR_FINANCE_IS_COSTING_MILLIONS_EVERY_YEAR_547708.html
Tuesday, 28. September 2010
As the number one car finance blogger IN THE WORLD I will soon be launching a mission to make the important small print in contracts – BIG PRINT. As an example of what I mean I’m grateful to Auto Express. They highlighted the case of Zubin Morar who took out a Car Care Plan insurance policy to cover his tyres against accidental damage. Zubin from Middlesex has a BMW 530i and unfortunately hit a pothole in Read more »
Monday, 27. September 2010
It’s turned out to be a pretty busy week following the launch of my new book, Graham Hill’s Simple Guide To Car Finance which I hope will get everyone driving a great car. Preparing for finance is vitally important at the moment as there is little money about to lend. So that tempting low APR or monthly lease rate, that gets you sending off your finance application, may lead to a decline if you are not totally Read more »
Sunday, 26. September 2010
Halfords owned Nationwide Autocentres has revealed the top ten 3 year old cars and 5 year old cars to pass the MOT amongst the UK’s best selling cars. This information is normally very hard to find so Halfords have pretty much broken ranks by revealing the information that I print out below:Â
3 Year Old Cars |
% Fail |
BMW 3 Series |
7 |
VW Golf |
11 |
Ford Mondeo |
12 |
Ford Fiesta |
13 |
Ford Focus |
13 |
Renault Clio |
13 |
Vauxhall Astra |
14 |
Ford KA |
15 |
Vauxhall Corsa |
20 |
Renault Megane |
25 |
Â
5 Year Old Cars |
% Fail |
Ford Fiesta |
20 |
VW Golf |
21 |
Vauxhall Astra |
21 |
Ford Focus |
22 |
Peugeot 206 |
24 |
Ford Mondeo |
27 |
Peugeot 307 |
33 |
Renault Clio |
34 |
Renaukt Megane |
35 |
Vauxhall Corsa |
39 |
The figures were based on the top 10 selling cars during the year of manufacture according to Halfords. One or two surprises there I have to say but it would be interesting to see stats for all cars, not just the top sellers, now that would be revealing! Are you surprised by any of the figures, drop me a note? By Graham Hill
Friday, 24. September 2010
None of us can say that we like speed cameras but we have to admit that not all are simply there to generate income for the local authority, some have a genuine use in built up areas, near to schools and along stretches of road that had previously been an accident black spot. So whilst many of us are generally pretty happy that many local authorities are preparing to switch off many of the static Gatso cameras it’s a bit Read more »