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As car manufacturers continue to beat a path to the Chancellor’s door I ask myself what they are going to ask for? We already know that cars in the UK are overpriced so why not cut prices in order to stimulate sales. On the other hand, as Lord Mendelson has suggested, it is the funding that needs to be looked at in order to make it possible and affordable for the public and small businesses to drive new cars and Read more »

I’m confused! I could understand the bailout of the banks, we can’t allow the banking system to collapse. And whilst the VAT cut was never going to have a significant effect on the economy in terms of kick starting expenditure it was a small step in the right direction but why are the Government listening to the car manufacturers? Of course it’s terrible when people lose their jobs and making loyal and good workers redundant is one of the hardest things Read more »

Anyone who has bought my book, An Insider Guide To Car Finance also received, free of charge my Hints, Tips and Safety book. In this free book I include loads of great advice, some of which explains the importance of having your headrest adjusted to the correct height in order to avoid whiplash. Clearly not enough people have read this advice as nearly 1,200 people claim every day for whiplash damage following Read more »

There are now fewer illegal drivers on our roads according to a recent operation undertaken by fifty two police forces throughout the UK under the operation name of V79. During the operation 6,689 motorists were randomly stopped and results compared to a similar operation carried out in 2006. The number of drivers stopped without valid vehicle tax or licence fell by half. The number of vehicles without Read more »

Hands up all those who are aware that Land Rover and Jaguar are now owned by Indian motor manufacturer Tata? I thought as much, even though in a recent report the Times Online referred to the takeover as one of the highest profile Indian takeovers in the UK most people still believe that Land Rover and Jaguar are owned by Ford. As a result of the takeover just 9 months ago one could be expected to Read more »

The leasing sector is starting to contract as was predicted in my newsletter a few weeks ago. GE Capital Solutions, number 8 in the top 50 leasing companies in the UK says it will no longer deal with fleets of less than 50 vehicles. The company says that it wants to concentrate its efforts in Read more »

In a survey carried out by Avis Rent A Car, it was found that only 47% of UK motorists could identify both UK and Foreign road signs. Whilst it was acknowledged that some foreign signs can be very confusing they were shocked that even the simplest of UK signs had drivers stumped. Maybe a good reason why drivers should re-take their tests at least every 10 years. By Graham Hill

As if to support my comments made over the last few weeks market analyst Datamoniter has recorded a growth in vehicle leasing in the fleet sector as more companies release cash tied up in their vehicles and reduce exposure to market conditions by selling off the cars they own and replace them with leased vehicles. New vehicle sales generally slumped further in August from the July drop of 7.3% to an unprecedented 15.6%. Consumers, unaware of the cash flow benefits of leasing new cars, have really Read more »

Whilst we are pretty much ripped off in the UK when it comes to new cars compared to the US it sometimes has advantages. At the moment many leasing companies in the US have refused to take on any more leasing business as the risk is all on them and the current drop in used car values is costing them a fortune. In order to achieve cheap rates in the UK the manufacturers have to Read more »

Whilst the city shakes to the after effects of the Lloyds TSB/HBOS takeover no one has yet mentioned the effect on the car leasing industry as the new company will not only result in control of the mortgage industry but it will also give domination over the car leasing industry. In May 2006 HBOS took total control of Lex Vehicle Leasing (LVL) by buying out the 50% shareholding owned by Aviva. This gave HBOS Read more »