All articles by Charles Wheeldon
Charles Wheeldon
One in ten uninsured cars seized has outstanding finance
Almost 10% of the 60,000 uninsured cars seized by the police in 2011 and checked with HPI Crushwatch had outstanding finance recorded against them. And mid-range higher volume vehicles, often the popular Vauxhall, Ford and Volkswagen models, continue to dominate the list of models found to be without insurance However, many offenders last year were driving prestige, high-value vehicles, including five Ferraris two worth £151,000 and £115,000 each an Audi R8, a Bentley and a number of Lamborghinis.
Rise in supply takes edge off used car prices
The supply of used cars has increased, leading to lower trade used car prices, CAP has announced This has eased some of the pressure felt by dealers frustrated this year about competition for trade stock and resultant price inflation. The change is largely due to an influx of part exchange cars into franchise dealers after the March plate change
BCA imports US muscle to the UK
BCA has teamed up with Darcars from the US to launch a monthly sale of American classic muscle cars at BCA Nottingham. Darcars is scouring the US for iconic and desirable examples of American muscle cars from the 50s, 60s and 70s, which BCA will sell by live online auction to buyers worldwide. Eight cars feature in the initial sale which takes place as part of the sports, prestige and executive auction on 21 June, with viewing from 9am and the vehicles offered from noon.
Dodgy dealer clocked up £100K
A Nottinghamshire used van dealer made more than £100,000 in under a year by winding millions of miles off odometers a court has heard. Trading Standards Agency officers investigated Alveys business after receiving complaints about wear and tear on vehicles with relatively low mileages
National Mileage Register clocks up 150m readings
Vehicle history specialists HPIs National Mileage Register (NMR) has passed the 150m readings milestone, with the event being marked with a warning about the risk of buying a clocked vehicle, where the mileage has been tampered with. Last year, more than 1m of the cars checked by HPI had a mileage discrepancy, highlighting the scale of the dangers facing used car buyers and leading to appeals by HPI and Trading Standards to the car finance industry to address the issue, including use of the NMR.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Sainsbury’s predicts the impossible
Data released by Sainsburys Bank claims to reveal that 8.3m people in the UK intend to buy a car between March and August this year, which it says is up 17% on a year ago This will come as a surprise to the auto industry where six-monthly new car registrations are currently running at just under 1m and six-monthly used car sales total approximately 3.25m.
Montagu adds feather to its CAP
Private equity firm Montagu Private Equity LLP has agreed to acquire CAP from Top Right Group (which changed its name from Emap International in March) for an undisclosed sum Leeds-based CAP was founded in 1979 and provides vehicle valuation data, new vehicle information and business solutions to the automotive industry.
Finance House Base Rate ‘likely’ to drop in June
The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has announced that the Finance House Base Rate will probably drop by half a percentage point next month. The current rate was held steady at the end of April at 1.5%, which has been the rate since the beginning of the year. The rate is likely to drop to 1% in June, though the FLA cautions that it may remain at 1.5% if the current trend in three-month money costs slows.
Instant valuations system launched by CAP
CAP has launched Black Book Live, a real time used car valuation system that publishes trade price changes as soon as they are identified, claiming it removes uncertainty about vehicle values between publication dates of traditional monthly price guides. However, CAP said it was extremely unlikely that values would change daily, adding that valuations will only be adjusted when sufficient evidence is gathered by CAP editors fromthe marketplace to provide a sound basis for changing the published valuation for a vehicle.
Agencies co-operate to fight crime
Trade and public bodies are working together to understand and fight motor fraud, delegates heard at todays Automotive Financial Crime Conference in Coventry hosted by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA). Representatives from the FLA, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Insurance Fraud Bureau, the police and others spent the day discussing closer co-operation and how to win the war against fraudsters.