Positive News over Future of Saab

Saab GB’s new Managing Director Charles Toosey is confident over the future of Saab, despite recent cashflow problems.

Saab’s Trollhattan plant ceased production in April after key suppliers stopped deliveries of parts due to non-payment.

Parent company Spyker has now sold a 24% stake to China’s Pang Da Automobile for 65m Euros plus an additional 45m Euros for the right to distribute Saab’s through its network.  Spyker are also hoping for a 29.1m Euro loan from the European Investment Bank.

Toosey recently commented in AM magazine that “After some tense weeks, we have some very positive news about the joint venture with Pang Da and the expected receipt of funds from them this week.”

He also remarked that Saab had been “working closely” with their franchise board and dealers over the past few weeks to ensure that sales rates could be maintained with the stock available. He said that Saab GB had built up stocks in recent months and so was able to supply most variants. Once production resumes at the Trollhatten plant Saab GB will continue to push for supplies.

MD Confident over Future of Saab originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on May 29, 2011.

Banks Await Car Payment Protection Plan Claims

Banks are facing a stream of car payment protection plan claims after losing a crucial court battle.

After a High Court ruling that banks had to observe the new rules of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the British Bankers Association said it would not appeal. They are now required to go back over their sales history to see if customers have a claim against them for mis-selling.

Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) policies were sold with thousands of car loans over the last decade on the basis that the policy would cover the customer’s car loan payments in the event of loss of life, accident, sickness or unemployment.

However, consumer groups such as Which? protested that many of the policies were sold on the basis that the cover was obligatory if the customer wanted a loan.  In other cases, PPI was sold to customers who weren’t eligible for the cover such as those with pre-existing medical conditions, the self-employed or those over the retirement age.

Banks were also accused of profiteering as many of the policies were sold at the point of sale of the car loan – thus not allowing the customer the opportunity to check if adequate protection was available elsewhere for less.  On top of this, car dealers were also heavily incentivised by the banks to sell this type of insurance though commissions on the sale of each policy.

One of the UK’s largest car loan providers is Black Horse, part of the Lloyds Bank Group (41% owned by the British Taxpayer).  Antonio Horta-Osorio, their new boss, recently announced a £3.2bn provision for PPI claims.

The FSA predicts that it could cost the banks around £4.5bn to settle the claims although others believe this to be an underestimate.  The Financial Ombudsman Service receives 5,000 complaints a week currently regarding mis-sold payment protection.

The FSA now requires dealers to give customers the key facts and ascertain their demands and needs before arranging payment protection insurance.  There’s also a statutory 14 day cooling off period for customers who change their mind.

Consumers who believe they may have been a victim of mis-selling should:

1. Check through their loan agreement and insurance policy;
2. Think about and detail the circumstances surrounding the sale – for example was the salesman pushy or did they say that you would only get the loan if you took out PPI cover?
3. Write to the finance company;
4. Write to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

Banks Await Car Payment Protection Plan Claims originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on May 29, 2011.

Facebook Cars - Buy or Sell

Car Search is a new Facebook application where car owners can buy and sell cars through Facebook – it’s a bit like AutoTrader but free.

Buyers can choose from over 50,000 used vehicles and sellers can add their car for free. The beauty of using Facebook is that it’s easy to share their car details with friends and family and use the power of the world’s leading social network to spread the word.

Buyers find cars by using the simple search facility – enter a make or model, select a price band and choose a colour – the system will then return matches based on the options selected.

Sellers can enter their car details via a simple listing form and then upload photos to the site. Once the car has been added to the site, it’s easy to share it’s details with other Facebook users.

For more details click here.

Sell Your Car for Free on Facebook originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on April 15, 2011.

Great Wall Cars - Phenom Concept

Chinese car manufacturer Great Wall is poised for a UK launch this summer with a competitively priced pick-up known as the Steed.

Importers IM Group hope to sell the vehicle through dealers at a very competitive price and believe customers will be impressed with the quality too.

MD Paul Hegarty said “I’ve spoken to a number of people from in the car industry and out and the comments about the cars has been incredible.”

It’s likely that the pick-up will feature a 2.0 litre diesel engine which has been jointly developed with Bosch, with more power and more torque than my rivals 2.5 litre engines.

Great Wall is planning to attack the UK market by offering quality vehicles with high specifications but low entry prices – backed by excellent service from its dealer network.

The pick-up is expected to followed in the Autumn by a compact city car currently codenamed the C10 which will again rival competitors on price.

Great Wall Cars Set for UK Launch originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on March 19, 2011.

Autoquake Goes Bust

Autoquake, the online car retailer, has gone bust. Administrators Matthew Bond and Jason Godefroy of MCR were appointed on the 17th March 2011 to carry out the administration process.

Autoquake was launched in 2005 and promoted as a new way to buy a used car.  Its innovative website gave buyers detailed information on each used car offered for sale and registered over 5m visits in 2010. The company had an unusual approach to dealing with customers too – customers had to place a £100 deposit before they could view or test drive a used car at one of Autoquake’s collection centres in Leeds and London.

In March 2010 it secured an additional £6m in venture capital and debt funding, however, its trading results did not measure up to the hype: it’s rumoured that the company lost over £13m in the last two years despite its supposedly low cost sales model.

Customers and suppliers are advised to contact the company’s call centre on 0844 800 9406. Potential buyers are asked to contact MCR directly on 020 7487 7240.

Autoquake Goes Bust originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on March 18, 2011.

There are a range of different factors to take into consideration when contemplating the possibility of sending your old car to the scrap yard in order to receive the aforementioned cash bonus. Whilst, on the whole, newer models of cars are more fuel efficient in terms of how many miles they can do to the gallon, newer cars are also more likely to be equipped with extra gadgets, such as air conditioning systems, iPod docks and built-it satellite navigation tools which could up your fuel consumption on the whole, making it a costlier move than you might have originally expected.

Swapping an older car for a newer car will, of course, also increase the cost of your monthly car insurance premiums. The greater the value of your car, the higher your premiums will be as the cost of replacement would be higher in the event of an accident where your vehicle is written off the road. Modern technology and more advanced gadgetry also ups the cost of insurance, as repairs to new technologies are more expensive. Air con systems are particularly noted for requiring frequent maintenance and repair work, often at a hefty price.

Scrappage vs. Salvage originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on March 18, 2011.

Hyundai Scrappage Scheme Replaced with No VAT Offer

The Hyundai scrappage scheme offer has now finished and it’s been replaced by a “No VAT” offer.

This means that you can save 20% on an new Hyundai i10 Active 1.2. They are available from £7,338.33 OTR with £1,456.67 customer saving*

The Hyundai i10 Active 1.2 features:

• – 14″ alloy wheels
• – Air conditioning
• – Front and rear electric windows
• – Remote central locking
• – Front fog lights
• – Electric door mirrors
• – Body coloured door handles
• – Body coloured mirrors

Terms & conditions

Hyundai i10 No VAT Offer

Model featured: i10 Active 1.2 at £7,338.33 OTR* in Shine Red solid paint at no extra cost.

The official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the i10 Active 1.2 are: Urban 50.4 (5.6), Extra Urban 68.9 (4.1), Combined 61.4 (4.6), CO₂ Emissions 108 g/km.

* Price shown includes delivery, first registration fee, number plates, 12 months Road Fund Licence and £1,456.67 customer saving which is equivalent to 20% VAT, subject to purchase and registration taking place between 1st March 2011 and 31st March 2011. Customer saving offer of £1,456.67 only valid on i10 Active 1.2. The VAT equivalent saving is calculated against the On the Road price as at 1st March 2011. VAT is still applicable and will be shown on the customers invoice. Optional extras ordered at the time of purchase with the exception of metallic paint do not qualify for VAT savings and will be charged at the standard rate. For model details refer to http://www.hyundai.co.uk/newCars/i10/prices/ or Hyundai’s latest 2011 Price Guide. Reference HB2729.

All offers and savings are only available to private retail customers on new cars purchased in the UK (excluding Channel Islands or Isle of Man), sourced through Hyundai Motor UK Ltd or its authorised dealers. Offers are subject to availability and may be varied or withdrawn at any time.

This offer is not available in conjunction with any other offer or for customers under the Hyundai Affinity Programme. Warranty only available on new cars purchased in the UK and sourced through Hyundai Motor UK Ltd or its authorised dealers. See your local dealer for full warranty terms and exclusions or visit http://www.hyundai.co.uk/owners/5YearWarranty/. Terms & conditions apply.

Hyundai Scrappage Scheme Replaced with “No VAT” Offer originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on March 6, 2011.

When does the car scrappage scheme end?

When does the scrappage scheme end? The official government scrappage scheme ended on the 28th February 2010.

The government contributed £2000 towards the cost of a new vehicle providing that the vehicle to be scrapped met certain qualifying criteria.

Now that the scheme has ended, a few manufacturers continue to offer scrappage type deals for owners of older cars.  Please look through our pages for details of current offers.

When does the car scrappage scheme end? originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on March 6, 2011.

The vehicle you trade in and the new vehicle you want to buy must have met certain conditions to be able to get the discount.

Your vehicle

The vehicle must:

• be a car or small van weighing up to 3,500 kilograms (kg)
• be first registered in the United Kingdom (UK) on or before 29 February 2000
• be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in your name
• have been registered to you continuously for 12 calendar months before the order date of the new vehicle
• have a UK address on the registration certificate (V5C)
• have a current MOT test certificate before date of order for the new vehicle

The new vehicle

The new vehicle you want to buy must be:

• a car or small van weighing up to 3,500 kg
• first registered in the UK on or after mid May 2009
• declared new at first registration in the UK with no former keepers

Government Scrappage Scheme originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on March 6, 2011.

Tesco Cars Coming Soon?

Rumours that Tesco is planning to launch Tesco Cars are abounding in the motor trade press. It’s believed the supermarket giant aims to sell hundreds of thousands of used cars a year via a website similar to Autoquake.

It’s understood that the supermarket will stock vehicles up to four years old sourced from fleet companies such as Motability. The view in the trade is that the cars will be ‘aggressively’ priced so Tesco can sell finance and insurance products to used car buyers through its finance division.

Tesco have not commented on the speculation but it is believed that they are in the final stages of planning their assault on used car dealers. Recently Tesco launched Tesco Tyres with BlackCircles.com – the goal being to offer the lowest priced tyres around to their millions of customers across the UK – so entering the used car market through TescoCars.com doesn’t seem too unlikely.

One potential problem area for Tesco is after-sales facilities; although this could easily be solved with strategic partnerships with companies like Halfords or Kwik Fit. It’s also not clear whether Tesco intend to sell cars from physical locations or purely online. Autoquake, for example, have a physical location where prospective purchasers can look at the vehicles they’ve seen online.

One thing is for sure, if Tesco Cars becomes a reality it’s likely to send shockwaves throughout the motor industry.  In particular, franchised dealers and car supermarkets would suffer as they tend to focus on the one to four year old used car market.  Dealers will be concerned that Tesco has a solid brand name, so customers could see Tesco as more ‘trustworthy’ and they are likely to target traditional dealers’ customers with their advertising. But that’s not all, Tesco also have plenty of cash – so sourcing large batches of used cars won’t be a problem as fleet companies will be eager to deal with one large customer who’ll be able to help them turn their stock of ex-fleet vehicles into cash.  This could, in turn, force prices up for the rest of the trade as stock becomes in short supply thus making the traditional dealer even more uncompetitive.

However, some dealers have commented that Virgin attempted a similar exercise a few years ago with new cars and failed miserably. Some customers may also prefer dealing with their local dealer who would possibly give them a more all-round sales and after-sales service.

It will be interesting to see what happens.

Tesco Cars Coming Soon? originally appeared on UK Car Scrappage Scheme on February 19, 2011.