February 10, 2012
Car Buying Guide
It appears that the relentless pace of internet buying shows no sign of slowing. Online shopping grew by 18% in 2010 with 37 million active online shoppers in the UK and its reckoned this figure will grow to more than 55m by 2014. Latest research by automotive data specialists Sewells shows that nearly 40% of buyers would happily buy a brand new … [Read more...]
Kia Motors has released the first official images of its all-new Ray (not short for Raymond as far as we are aware) compact vehicle, which will be sold exclusively in the Korean home market. The Ray city car will provide consumers with economical motoring and a spacious and highly versatile interior, while standing out from the crowd thanks to … [Read more...]
It’s time once more for the Car Makers Premier League where each and every month we examine the top 20 manufacturers by number of units registered and see just how they look when compared with the previous month. At the end of the year who will be crowned champion? Who will drop out of the top 20 as the year unfolds and which high achievers will … [Read more...]
October 2011 new car registration figures: New car registrations were up 2.6% in October according to the latest figures released today by the SMMT. 134,944 cars were registered in the month, with the market 2.6% or 3,449 units up on October 2010 (which let's not forget was down a whopping 22.2% on October 2009) and down 4.5% over the … [Read more...]
The Hyundai Veloster has been awarded the maximum five-star safety rating by independent vehicle assessment organisation, Euro NCAP. The results of the extensive test process include class-best scores for the 1+2 door sports coupe. The Veloster attained a rating of 96% in the ‘adult occupant’ category, registering maximum points in the side … [Read more...]
As we are always pointing out at MTI compared to 15 years ago in relative terms there is no longer a really bad car made. Sure there are some pretty horrible ones in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of a car which will keep you fairly safe and trouble free I think that modern technology ensures that reliability is better than it’s ever … [Read more...]
he number of cars made in the UK accelerated ahead last month. A total of 136,051 cars were produced in September 2011 - a 7.5% increase on the September 2010 total, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Over the first nine months of this year, car production was up 4.8% on the January-September 2010 figure, while CV … [Read more...]
It has long been a frustration for car buyers that they won’t get access to the best deals at their franchised local dealers without having first done the research and made the effort to compare deals with other dealers. Naturally, from a car dealer’s position, they feel the culture is changing. The manufacturers and their brand partners are … [Read more...]
Will more drivers go electric as fuel sales fall? With the news of a massive drop in the amount of petrol and diesel sold in the UK in the first six months of 2011, it has seemingly increased the possibility of more disgruntled drivers switching more fuel efficient or electric cars in a bid to reducing the long-term costs associated with staying … [Read more...]
Motor finance achieved its highest recorded share of the private new car sales market for four years in August. In the last 12 months, 57.9 per cent of people buying new cars used forecourt finance, according to the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association, the trade body for the motor finance industry. The number of new cars … [Read more...]
Right, the house extension is over. No more skips in the driveway, shifting my car out of the way so the builders can access the house. No more dust, wet paint odour and getting up at the crack of dawn to let brickies, plasterers, plumbers and roofers into the house only to find that they all knock off at four. I've missed the car industry, but not … [Read more...]
It’s time once more for the Car Makers Premier League where each and every month we examine the top 20 manufacturers by number of units registered and see just how they look when compared with the previous month. At the end of the year who will be crowned champion? Who will drop out of the top 20 as the year unfolds and which high achievers will … [Read more...]
September 2011 new car registration figures: New car registrations were down just 0.8% in September according to the latest figures released today by the SMMT. 332,476 cars were registered in the month, with the market 0.8% or 2,770 units down on September 2010 (which itself was down 8.9% on September 2009) and down 5% over the … [Read more...]
The September registration plate change marked a significant milestone in the history of BMW. Just over 31 years after BMW UK Ltd sold its first vehicle, the best-selling premium marque in the UK has now surpassed the two millionth car mark. The first car sold on 1 January, 1980 was an E12 5 Series Saloon. Move forward 1,999,999 cars later and … [Read more...]
In the current economic climate car dealer groups will be under pressure to protect margins and, in the albescence of sustained growth, will need to look at cost centres as a way of saving money. Unfortunately the cascade effect of cost saving measures can ultimately affect staff morale as they naturally feel under pressure for their … [Read more...]
Whilst kicking back at the auctions recently I found myself with a bunch of guys who were remarking on how difficult it was to source good quality used stock to fill their forecourts (quelle surprise). When they did manage it, they told me, it ended up costing them a fortune. As they were quite a mixed bunch, one a prestige buyer for a small … [Read more...]
It’s ironic that given we are on the precipice of a terrible world recession which could mean complete meltdown with Greece the first to tumble, there are still cars which are not only selling well but are more expensive than ever. This of course is not necessarily down to September being the 2nd biggest new car sales month of the year or that … [Read more...]
Car manufacturing rose 10.7% in August compared with the same month last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) while year to date production is 4.4% higher than in 2010. Engine production was the best-performing sector, up by 14.4% in August and 4.8% higher over the first eight months of the year. The SMMT's … [Read more...]
You have to marvel at the meteoric rise in fortunes of Jaguar Land Rover. Since the Indian car maker Tata took control they have seen sales and market share grow substantially and with new models being continually launched to the market that success looks to be pretty sustainable. Ironically the Freelander for example was seen by many of us in … [Read more...]
There are several factors which influence a buyer before they decide on what car they ultimately buy. In much the same way as when we are buying a house we rarely get absolutely everything we want, unless we have an unlimited budget, so therefore there usually has to be a certain amount of compromise. We might have “must haves” like 5 … [Read more...]
To celebrate the birth of the new Jaguar C-X75 Alfred Dunhill have filmed a short movie that links its inception to the legendary 1960’s icon - the Jaguar XJ13. Produced to celebrate 75 years of Jaguar, the C-X75, is an example of state of the art thinking and engineering. It is propelled by a combination of four electric generators, two jet … [Read more...]
A survey by WarrantyDirect has revealed that car owners are looking at above inflation increases in the cost of servicing their cars, with certain garages charging more than £200 an hour to do the work. Garages in general are now charging £80.44 an hour for a mechanic's time, in contrast to £74.82 this time a year ago. However taking a car … [Read more...]
With September well underway a strange pattern is emerging in the trade. Although, as we have reported, there is no pent up demand for new cars, the fact that there really is now a distinct lack of quality used cars in the network means there's a distinct overheating of prices on the wholesale market. As a consequence this is once again rendering … [Read more...]
Swedish car manufacturer Saab's application for protection from its creditors to help it avoid being pushed into bankruptcy has been rejected by a Swedish court in the Vanersborg district because it did not believe it would work. In response, Swedish trade unions said they could demand that Saab be declared bankrupt within days. Saab had … [Read more...]
In the trade as our ability to record and gather selling information becomes better the tools we use for valuing cars have grown accordingly. Car valuing has been, and to be honest probably always will be, a bone of contention both for trade buyers and customers wanting the best price on their old car. With the advent of car buying companies - … [Read more...]
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