All articles by Charles Wheeldon
Charles Wheeldon
Fleet roundup
Mazda claims to be winning fleet business because of its fleet vehicle sold order pot programme, which key dealers use to supply new company cars within 10-14 days of orders being placed Mazda fleet and remarketing director Peter Allibon said: “Many fleets and company car drivers are not prepared to wait for new company cars.” Some fleets are continuing to extend replacement cycles, with a few now running company cars and vans into a fifth year and more than 150,000 miles
Survey finds car finance buyers ignorant of APR
Fewer than one in three borrowers know the interest rate on their car finance agreement, suggests Autoquake.com. In a recent survey, 1,000 consumers were asked by the online car retailer about the APR on their car finance, bank loan or credit card More than a third (36%) said they had a vague idea, 28% didnt know, and 5% admitted they didnt understand what APR meant.
Advantage reports a strong performance
S&U, the niche home credit and motor finance provider has issued a trading update for the period from 10 December to 31 January, announcing a strong performance by its non-prime motor finance business Advantage Finance It stated that: At a time of year traditionally associated with a lull in the used car market, Advantage Finance again bucked the trend to produce two months of trading more than matching the exceptional results it has achieved this year By extending both the range and quality of its customers, Advantage has squared the circle of rising customer numbers, strong gross margins, continued cash generation and record profitability.
Jump in forecourt finance
A total of 52.1 percent of new cars purchased last year were bought using dealer motor finance, according to the latest statistics from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA). Dealer motor finance grew in popularity during 2010 compared to 2009, when 45.8 percent of new cars were bought using dealer finance.In 2010, half a million people used dealer finance to buy a new car, and motor lenders provided £6.4 billion of funds
HPI CrushWatch £2.4 million January success
HPI CrushWatch, the online service helping dealers and motor finance companies to identify vehicles that are illegal or have finance payments in arrears, was used 5,586 times in January, with police recovering vehicles valued at £2,448,196 in total. Two of the recovered vehicles were worth over £50K, an Audi R8 4.2 Quatro SA valued at £51,555 was recouped by Greater Manchester police and a Range Rover Sport with a price tag of £50,300 by the Staffordshire force.
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Prestige market staying strong
Car finance providers are reporting increasing customer demand for high value vehicle finance, with specialist broker Oracle Finance reporting an 11 percent increase in prestige vehicle deals in 2010 compared to 2009 Range rovers alone were behind 18 per cent of the introducers deals last year, with Audi (14 percent), BMW (12 percent), Porsche (9 percent) and Aston Martin (9 percent) also prominent. Meanwhile, car finance comparison site FinanceAcar claims that more than half its recent quote requests were for executive and luxury brands, with most customers seeking finance for BMW, Volkswagen, Land Rover and Audi models.
Fewer than one-third of consumers know APR
Fewer than one in three borrowers know the interest rate on their car finance agreement, suggests Autoquake.com. In a recent survey, 1,000 consumers were asked by the online car retailer about the APR on their car finance, bank loan or credit card More than a third (36 percent) said they had a vague idea, 28 percent didnt know, and 5 percent admitted they didnt understand what APR meant
A more certain future for PPI?
suffering numerous speculative lawsuits brought by claims management companies (CMCs) operating on a no win, no fee basis, payment protection insurance (PPI) providers led by Black Horse may at last be breaking the cycle of routine settlement. Black Horse Ltd has recently won five cases of alleged PPI mis-selling brought by claimants backed by CMCs, the most important being Harrison vs Black Horse in the High Court, a decision binding on all County Courts.
Gwent Fleet Management fraudster to pay just £47k
Brian Webb, the man behind the £9.5m Gwent Fleet Management fraud, only has to pay back £47,000, it was decided at a court hearing last month At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on 3 December, it was decided that Webb, 68, would have to pay back just £47,255.
Continued y-o-y growth for used car finance
Dealers provided finance for 51,129 used cars in November as the car market returns to normal. Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) statistics reveal the total volume of used cars declined for the second month in a row, after dropping from 54,112 in September (a traditional peak sales month) to 53,697 in October.