July 2008
As an Engineer, some of the finer points of finance are a mystery to me. Could someone explain to me why the monthly repayments quoted by car dealers and online car finance companies are different to those quoted by online APR/repayment calculators or loan companies for the same APR, term and amount financed? Read more
Brother in law has just written off father in law's old car. It was entirely his fault and now they need to hire a mondeo sized car for the rest of their holiday over here in the UK. They are here until the first week of September. The standard rate seems to be about £150 pw which is more than they can really afford. Is there anywhere that hires out slightly older but still safe cars for a lot less? They have 3 kids 7-12 so they need something with a reasonable amount of room. Also will his recent accident make it more difficult to hire a car or make it cost more?
Parents are trying to push us into letting him borrow our car (yeah right, I wouldn't let him near a ride on lawnmower just at the moment ;) ) so we really need to come up with a reasonable solution that doesn't overly inconvenience any of the parties involved.
Would the insurance company have good deals on car hire after accidents if the insured person paid rather than claiming?
Any other bright ideas or is there a really cheap family public transport ticket that would do all of them for unlimited UK travel for significantly less than car hire?
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Hi Dave
A friend of mine runs 'A6 Van Rental' in Hazel Grove. Mostly 6 or 7 year old ex courier company transits. I have nothing to gain from recommending him, but can email you the phone number if you want it.
Helphire business announcement - the volume off business is increasing but margins are under pressure - re-sale values of their fleet is falling.
However they do not state if their buy prices have also fallen as manufacturers bie with each other to give bigger discounts.
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I'm not sure the market will collapse.
If the price of new motors goes up because the cost of the raw materials has, forcing people to look at a second-hand market which may be contracting because people aren't selling into it.........
Hi,
I tend to rent out cars partly for business and also for personal use as an alternative to a 2nd car.
I am thinking about taking out an excess insurance policy for car rental. Can anyone recommend a suitable company?
I have looked at insurance4carhire.com however their policy is not valid if vehicle is rented from a location within 150km of usual residence. This restriction does not cover my personal use.
I require cover to include both UK and mainland Europe.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
CMP
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"IIRC, it is nearly "full" but not quite, as it excludes windscreen and tyres/wheels damage"
Okay to got me there. But our Fiesta hire car was written off by an HGV (and so nearly were we) so I paid Hertz £300 and got that back from HA.
Looks like it's official, according to the BBC:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7494495.stm
But the same article quotes him as saying:
"I believe the proposal would actually have made congestion worse by allowing thousands of small cars in for free," he said.
Has he also scrapped the proposed Band B exemption? Wonder how many people have lost out, having traded down in anticipation of that?
I'm guessing car dealers were the only people who gained anything out of the whole sorry saga...! Read more
So BJ has decided not to implement the £25 but when is he going to get rid of those ruddy bendy buses that like to block junctions? I reckon to ease congestion authorities should syncronise the traffic lights especially on marlebone rd, it`s either my bad luck or, each time i have to use that road i tend to get across one set to be held up by the next.
Mulling over a few thoughts with friends over a glass of wine....
Do you think that motoring both as a key industry, interest and activity undertaken by increasing numbers of people reached its summit? Do BRs think that over the next 15 years we could see a permanent decline in various metrics eg
- new car sales
- miles driven
-number of youngsters actively getting licences and actually proceeding to buy and maintain a car at all times for the rest of their adult years ?
is anyone seeing evidence that among their peers fewer people are talking positively about being a car owner, almost being apologetic/self justifying why they own a car because of the negative govt and press commentary in some circles regarding car use.
Will this rub off on teenagers who may never graduate into ongoing car ownership as being a central part of their adulthood with fewer of them being interested in owning as big/expensive/impressive a car as their funds allow?
Just interested in other backroomers thoughts?
I think there is a generational thing - my dad for a start thinks any bloke who is able to and has a job should own a car...and finds it odd that I and quite alot of my friends and acquaintances don't nor want to or have given up the idea of owning a car and focus/talk about other things...and this is me posting it on a car website...? Read more
Very true. I received a mailshot from a Volvo dealer the other day offering me a top spec Volvo S80 SE Lux D5 auto with loads of options for £27K (brand new). List price was around £35k.
Wait until that car is three years old and they'll be giving it away for maybe £10k, a bargain in anyone's eyes.
I have recently attempted to change the front shock absorbers on my passat diesel estate. The replacements differ in detail from the originals as follows. The originals have an OD of 46 mm and the lower spring seat incorporates a short sleeve which is a good fit on the SA body and is supported by a formed bulge. The Bilstien replacements have a body OD of 50 mm and a substantial welded collar to support the spring seat. I have the following options.
1) Source spring seats which are compatable with the Bilstien shocks.
2) Modify the oringinal spring seats
3) Return the Bilstien product and get replacements which are identical to the originals. (I am reluctant to do this as the Bilstiens seem excellent quality).
Does anyone else have experience of this problem? Read more
I have sorted this problem. The compatable seat was simply missing from the box. I wouldn't want to put anyone off getting Bilstein shocks.
I have been working with lots of eastern Europeans for the last few weeks (don't ask).
They all drove cars registered in their homeland, even though some of them now live here permanently, and all could converse adequately. However what if I were to have a no-fault non-injury accident with one of these vehicles? I presume the driver would suddenly lose all ability to speak English, would not produce any insurance documents, or if they did these would be in Cyrillic script, and the police, very sensibly, would decline to get involved as no injuries had occurred.
Of course this scenario is why one should have comprehensive insurance but it would still be galling to have the miscreant escape scot-free, apart from the damage to his banger.
Has this happened to anyone and what was the result, apologies if the subject has come up before and I have missed it
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After 88000 miles, the clutch pedal only has to rise a couple of inches off the floor to reach biting point although the gearshift is still smooth. Am I right in thinking this is probably the hydraulics beginning to fail or is something adjustable? I can't find the clutch master/ slave anywhere inside the engine bay; it's not next to the brake master which is under the n/side pollen filter. Where the devil are they? And any idea how much I can expect an indie garage to charge me for fixing it? Read more
alot of systems share the fluid yes. it could just be the clutch needs bleeding through. im not sure on the e39 but with the e34 the clutch pedal travel could be adjusted which gave different feel to the biting point.
chris
I have recently had the front springs replaced after one of them broke. A local garage did the work (big mistake). I started driving the car and noticed that the brakes would feel strange especially when travelling at low speeds. I assumed my brake pads were worn so had them checked. Turns out they are in good order, but informed my ABS may have been affected when springs were changed. Anyone got any ideas about how to check or have I got to put myself at the mercy of a Peugeot dealer (I can feel my bank account emptying already)
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euclid
The front wheel-speed sensors or the reluctor rings on the driveshafts may have been damaged in replacing the springs.
Check that the toothed rings on the driveshafts aren't loose.
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I've looked at PCPs a couple of times but decided against them, but it rather depends on your circumstances.
For a given flat rate of interest the APR always looks higher with PCPs because you're financing the whole GFV for the whole term. However if you buy any other way then you're still financing the residual value up front - ie you've got to pay for the whole car in anticipation / hope of getting something back when you sell it. If you put the whole price on HP then the APR looks lower as the balance is decreasing.
A big advantage of a PCP is that the GFV is guaranteed - if you can get a deal with a high GFV (perhaps subsidised by a manufacturer) then you could end up saving money that you would otherwise have lost when you come to change the car.
I still think it's best to look at all the different ways of financing - PCP. HP, Personal loan, adding to mortgage, paying from savings etc - in real pound notes and see what they're actually going to cost you in total over, say, a 3 year period.