Out of the complaints that were made out the used car dealers about 70% were about problems with the vehicles, 13% were about omissions or claims that the seller made that were misleading, and a remaining seven percent were complaints about per service by the car dealers.  In a study conducted last year the average consumer ends up losing £425 when they purchase a used car due to the fact that they find themselves forced to fix problems with their vehicles that dealers should have taken care of.

Consumer Direct agent Michele Shambrook stated that the group continues to get a large amount of complaints from people all over the UK most of which are due to the fact that traders will not compensate buyers for their mistakes or obligations that were left unfilled.  She added that any dealers that do not offer their customers a fair deal or continue to sell cars that are subpar should know that they will face action down the road.  In order to help people when purchasing a used car the OFT has created a short film to educate them on what to ask and what their rights are.

Related posts:

1. Huge 11.5% drop in new car sales With the Scrappage Incentive Scheme scrapped after only three months...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The joint venture marks the first time Waitrose has offered a 24/7 facility to their customers, and it coincides with additional offers to encourage business for both Shell and Waitrose, such as a discount coupon for Shell petrol given to customers at Waitrose supermarket checkouts.  Both companies have expressed great expectations for the new venture.

Shell will retain ownership of its petrol stations, with Waitrose employees taking over the operation of petrol pumps as well as manning the food market.  There will be about 30 employees at each location, and about 2500 lines of both ready-to-eat foods and foods for later as well as basic grocery essentials and ‘impulse’ items.  There will also be self-serve hot coffee, soup and pastries, plus made-in-branch baguettes.

Assuming the response is positive in the London markets, Little Waitrose, as the new sites are called, will be opening many more branches across the UK in the near future.  Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price said that they have a winning combination that should appeal to a lot of customers who don’t have easy access to their large supermarkets.

Related posts:

1. More petrol misery on the way Retailers are warning that motorists will have to deal with...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Nissan became the first major car manufacturer to release a mass produced all electric vehicle earlier this year when it made the Nissan Leaf available world wide.

Powered by an 110bhp electric motor, the Leaf is capable of completing 100 miles between charges and has a top speed of 92mph. Thanks to these impressive statistics, the Leaf has been heralded as the beginning of a new era in automotive design; but is it a case of too little, too soon?

Possible cost savings

The increasing running costs required as a result of car ownership are becoming a major headache for all motorists. In a survey conducted by UK based price comparison company MoneySupermarket.com, 65% of drivers admit that they will take running costs into account when they purchase their next vehicle; with 5% claimed that they had already been forced off the road altogether.

Nissan’s Leaf model has therefore been presented as the answer to motorists’ problems, with the average driver completing 12,000 miles annually standing to save approximately £1,600 per year on fuel alone. A basic 1.6 litre Ford Focus which is capable of 40mpg will cost the average driver almost £1,900 per year in fuel costs to complete 12,000 miles. In comparison, it would cost just £300 to charge up the Leaf with mains electricity in order to complete the same mileage.

In addition, a number of insurance companies will now offer discounts of up to 5% for owners of environmental cars. With the average driver now paying £892 for insurance each year; this equates to an annual saving of £44.60. This may not sound much, but accompanied with the fact that the Leaf is exempt from road tax charging results in a combined additional saving of about £200.

otorists therefore stand to save approximately £1,800 every single year by buying a Nissan Leaf over a standard petrol version of the popular Ford Focus model.

The obstacles

The potential £1,800 annual cost saving is mouth watering but doesn’t really show the whole picture; with the Nissan Leaf costing £25,990 to buy from new. This is almost £10,000 more expensive than a brand new petrol version of the Ford Focus.

With a annual running cost saving of £1,800 over the Focus if prices remain at their current rates, it would take over five years to recover the additional cost of buying the Leaf before the owner started to benefit from a cost saving.

Additionally, the Leaf is far more impractical than the Focus. While it would take just a couple of minutes to fill the tank of the Focus with fuel; even with its quick recharge function enabled, it would take 30 minutes to recharge the Leaf’s battery to 80% of its total capacity (i.e. an additional 80 miles before another recharge is required). This is obviously an inconvenience, particular when the lack of availability of recharging stations around the country is considered.

While the impracticalities would be tolerable for someone with a daily commuting distance of less than 100 miles, the time it takes to recover the cost difference between buying a brand new Leaf over a Focus can perhaps be considered to be the final nail in the coffin.

Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius is the most obvious green car alternative, being as it is perhaps the most famous green car on the road. Introduced in 1996, it has become the car of choice for supporters of the green movement who are keen to show off their allegiance.

Capable of 65.7 mpg, the Prius would cost the average driver doing 12,000 miles per year just £1,140 per year in fuel costs. This is on top of the fact that it is exempt from road tax and will also be eligible for the 5% discount offered by some car insurance companies. This equates into a possible saving of almost £1,000 per year over the running costs required with a Ford Focus.

However, the Prius suffers from the same problem as the Leaf as it is over £4,000 more expensive than the Focus. It would therefore take four years to recover the additional costs required to buy the Prius before cost savings were experienced.

Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion

The Polo Bluemotion is a new hybrid which has been launched by Volkswagen which uses diesel fuel. It is capable of 80.7 mpg, and although diesel costs more per litre than petrol, the improved mpg still means that it cheaper to run then the Prius, costing the average driver doing 12,000 miles per year about £950 per year in fuel alone. Like the Prius and Leaf, it is also exempt from road tax and eligible for the 5% insurance discount. All of this combined opens the possibility to a possible saving of £1,200 compared to the running costs of a basic Ford Focus.

emarkably the Polo Bluemotion is available from just £14,860 to buy from new; this is over £1,000 cheaper than the less fuel friendly Ford Focus. It also beats the Leaf when it comes to practicality, with the Polo being no different to run than a conventional petrol motor.

However, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. The 74bhp 1.2 litre diesel engine is very underpowered and requires quite a lot of revving to get moving; a feature which isn’t awful good for your fuel consumption.

Time to go green?

Fuel costs are out of control, as demonstrated by the fact that 65% of motorists admitting being forced to consider alternatives to next time they purchase a vehicle. When motorists reach this stage, there will be three main alternatives.

The Nissan Leaf can effectively be ruled out; not only is it incredibly impractical, but it is also very expensive. This obviously justifies the incredibly technological advancement made with the vehicle, but simply negates the running cost savings available and hence makes the vehicles unaffordable for the majority of motorists. Toyota’s Prius model suffers from a similar problem, because if fuel prices remain at their current rate it will take 4 years to recover the additional cost of buying the model before running cost savings become available.

Volkswagen’s hybrid Polo is therefore presented as the answer to this problem, with its low initial purchase costs finally heralding the introduction of a hybrid which is available to the masses. However this does come at a price; with the power available from the engine being rather lacklustre. This reduction in available power would likely be acceptable to someone who already owns a car with a 1.2 litre engine or less, but would come as a spectacular shock to someone with a 1.6 engine or bigger.

It looks like the car manufacturers have a lot of work to do before environmental vehicles are adopted by the majority of motorists.

Related posts:

1. Are green vehicles sales about to mushroom? In the UK a record number of motorists are looking...
2. Getting the most out of your hybrid Car An Advertorial Article New government plans to make cars more...
3. Hertz rents green cars by the hour For members to drive in the capital and vicinity, Hertz...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Steve Whitmarsh, Managing Director of Run Your Cars, said “Many businesses don’t like to outsource control of their fleets to a third party fleet management business because they believe that fleet management companies will be looking after their own interests rather than those of their customers. This is particularly the case with smaller businesses that don’t think they have the share of voice or scale/stature needed to be an important consideration to traditional fleet management operations. With our service the customer retains full control of their vehicles and all of the decisions associated with them. However, we make it easier and quicker to manage their fleet and drivers with our intuitive online systems. Our customers are able to benefit from our purchasing power, manage vehicle and driver allocations and look after their duty of care responsibilities online 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. “

Run Your Cars customers pay a low cost monthly membership fee per vehicle which gives them access to the following:

• An online fleet management system
• Free RAC breakdown
• Free Accident Management
• Online risk management solution
• Specially negotiated rates on hire cars
• Massive discounts on servicing at over 6000 main dealer and independent outlets
• Vehicle contract hire and leasing

For further information on these and other services from Run Your Cars go to their website at http://www.runyourcars.com.

Related posts:

1. UK car business needs its own supplies to survive The Boss of Vauxhall has warned that the car making...
2. Tesco moves into the used car market Supermarket giant Tesco has started a second hand car business...
3. Sainsbury’s motor insurance business back on the road Tomorrow Sainsbury’s will once again re-launch their motor insurance business...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Therefore, companies like TomTom are hoping to offset some of their losses by selling personal traffic data to local law enforcement. Even though the information that was handed over to the Dutch authorities was anonymous they admit they stepped over the bounds. They said they never thought it would be used that way and that a great number of their clients were very angry about it.

Nevertheless that are not done collecting that kind of data and they are not done selling the anonymous user data. The only thing they will do is to modify the user licensing agreements so that the information cannot be used like it was by the Dutch authorities, there is no news as to whether any similar deals are in the offing in the UK.

Related posts:

1. DVLA selling info to car park bandits Something is definitely wrong in the DVLA according to the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A better value for money is claimed by Tesco since they say they are eliminating the middlemen and going directly to the customer. The used cars will undergo independent inspections from RAC and will range from six months to three years old.

The inspections will check roadworthiness and safety and hire purchase protection (HPI) to be secure that the car was not stolen or still has outstanding finance. A HPI check will be available online to potential buyers and also insures that there is a valid vehicle identification number (VIN) and that it has not been written off.

Clubcard points (2,000) will be awarded by Tesco to those customers that purchase from TescoCars.com and each buyer will be given a named advisor to help with any purchasing questions they may have. They will deliver cars to your front door and if the client is unhappy there is a seven day no quibble money back guarantee.

Retailing services chief executive, Andrew Higginson said while commenting on the new launch that from the comfort of your own house you can purchase a car just like your weekly shopping and it will even be delivered to your front door.

Within the industry there are some reservations even though Tesco has assured that there is no risk purchasing dodgy or faulty cars. Auto Express editor Nick Gibbs said that is almost certain that buying online comes with a level of risk.

Related posts:

1. Low carbon emission cars are over half the UK market The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) the UK...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The findings were presented in Anaheim, California at the 241^st American Chemical Society meeting and the doctor said car parts such as side panels, bumpers and dashboards will be made of these strong nano-sized fruit fibres in the future reducing the weight of the cars and increasing fuel economy. They also have greater resistance to heat and spilled petrol, oxygen and water, adding to their advantage of regular plastics.

They should be available commercially in the next two ears since car manufacturers are testing them now. They material eventually could be used to replace parts made of steel and aluminum even tough it currently is designed just to be a replacement for automotive plastics.

There are even other nano-cellulose sources that are very promising that the team is working with and they include curaua, a plant related to pineapples that is farmed in South America and stems and leaves of pineapples as well.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A part of this upward trend can be attributed to delayed business renewals as pointed out by Simon Norman. More than 50% of enquires have been for upmarket marques, including interest in renewed interest in car leasing for upmarket German brands. This is because now businesses are looking to update their vehicles after having delayed renewals previously.

Last year, there was a slight increase in the number of new cars sold in the UK, at 2.03 million, despite December being 18% down on the previous year (4% if the effects of scrappage are removed). This means that the 2010 new car market was only up by 1.8% on 2009’s figures.

However the trend seen on FinanceAcar was also confirmed across the market as executive brands outperformed in 2010 with BMW and Audi 10% up, Volvo up 7.5% and Land Rover growing a massive 27%, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT).

Can the upmarket brands sustain this growth? Sainsbury Finance stated that 7.6 million people were intending to buy a car between September 2010 and February 2011, proving a staggering 49% increase on the previous year. Additionally, of those 7.6 million, 1.85 million anticipated spending more than £10,000, while 390,000 said they expected to pay more than £21,000; much more than the approximate average £12,000 cost of a car in the UK.

However, SMMT has stated they believe that 2011 could prove a tough year for the new car market with the likelihood of numbers ending on 1.93 million due to government cost cutting and fuel hikes. FinanceAcar believes that if any growth is achieved it would most likely be seen via the car leasing products such as personal contract purchase (PCP) which enables car shoppers to get a lower monthly price by avoiding the problem of funding the full cost of a car.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.