Archive for July, 2009
A report from online car insurer swiftcover.com shows that british drivers would sacrifice many of their luxuries, like going to the pub, take-aways and eating out, rather then give up their beloved cars.
36% of those who participated in the survey said that they would run their cars on recycled chip oil if it meant that they could cut their motoring costs. When the law changed in July 2007 it allowed people to legally make up to 2,500 litres of their own biodiesel which would mean no tax charges. Some people turned to converting chip fat from pubs and restaurants into a usable source - so it isn’t as silly as it sounds and does actually work - although I think it is a rather complicated process.
But would you really give up your beer? Well according to 28% of respondees, you would. 28% said they would sacrifice going to the pub, 26% would stop buying ipods, TVs and other electrical luxuries and 21% would eat in and stop having the nice treat of a take away or restaurant meal.
But what would you do to keep your costs down? There may be other ways which won’t come as a huge sacrifice:
Shop around for the best car insurance quotes
Search for cheaper petrol
Get an MOT from your council
Drive green and save money
Cut out the junk.
For more helpful tips visit the whole article at swiftcover.com
July 29th, 2009
Back in May I wrote about General Motors being on the brink of collapse with thousands of people at Vauxhall worried for its future and their jobs. Today there is quite an optimistic outlook for Vauxhall.
Reports in The Times confirms that Ripplewood, the private equity group, is in talks with Vauxhall over it’s future. There appears to now be three bidders in the frame with 5,000 jobs at stake. Talks are at an advanced stage so we will have to wait and see who the successful bidder is.
Another car manufacturer making cut backs is Jaguar. Jagua Land Rover are planning to axe 300 jobs on Merseyside, through voluntary redundancies and also close for three weeks in September. Sales have fallen in the past 10 months and they reported pre-tax losses of £281 million.
The car manufacturing industry has been hit very hard by the recession but if you are after a nice new car then, according to The Telegraph, prestige motors may be an affordable option. Some models from Audi, Jaguar, Lexus and others are currently available for £20,000 less if you shop around. Read more here about new car prices being slashed by £20,000.
July 22nd, 2009
Following on from my previous blog, I have just read that research by 100% online insurance company swiftcover.com shows that a mere 4% of drivers are planning to use the government’s scrappage scheme.
27% of drivers interviewed currently think that buying a new car is a waste of money and 29% would rather that higher taxes were placed on luxury vehicles to subsidise poorer drivers.
Have your motoring costs increased in the past 12 months? According to this research 69% of us would have experienced a rise in costs with many people blaming road and fuel taxes for higher costs.
Quite surprisingly some 78% of those surveyed believed that improving public transport would reduce motoring costs. I find this hard to believe. I think that there would have to be a bus stop in every road and train station in every town before 78% of the population would even think of using public transport on a regular basis.
Going green seems to be the way forward. Many insurance companies, including swiftcover.com, offer a discount to those with hybrid cars and these cars are also exempt from the congestion charge reducing costs even further.
To find out more about how the scrappage scheme works visit the article “Scrappage Scheme Explained” on The Telegraph website.
If you are considering trading in your old car and looking for a new car you can get a car insurance quote in under 60 seconds at swiftcover.com. Give it a try.
July 20th, 2009
According to an article in The Times online, the new car scrappage scheme appears to have had a positive effect on new car registrations.
The SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) said
“We are now beginning to see the positive impact of the scrappage scheme translate into new vehicle registrations.”
The registration of new cars continued to fall in June but not at the rate that was expected and by the smallest decline since July 2008. Apparently 35,000 new cars have been ordered since the scrappage scheme was introduced back in April, so 1 in 5 people who ordered a new car were taking advantage of the scrappage scheme. Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT said that the scheme has had a ‘very encouraging’ start but it was too early to evaluate the full impact.
However, some car dealers and motor manufacturers are still to be convinced by the scheme. A survey by Guardian Money showed that many new car buyers who use the car scrappage scheme could actually save more money if they were to simply look for the best cash deal and sell their car privately, pocketing the cash.
What are your views on this? Have you taken advantage of the scrappage scheme and did it save you money?
July 9th, 2009
If you like Volkswagen Golfs and are concerned about the environment then the new Golf will suit you down to the ground. Scheduled to hit the UK in September, the 105 PS Golf BlueMotion with 1.6 litre TDI diesel engine has better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions then other golfs.
Many motorists would be able to reduce the amount of money they spend at the pump due to the 68.9mpg. It would also qualify for the £35 a year road tax due to CO2 emissions of 107 g/km.
A review on Autoexpress gave the Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion a 4 out of 5 calling it Volkswagen’s answer to the Toyota Prius.
Unlike the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid, the VW Bluemotion is purely diesel which some critics say produces other damaging pollutants known as particulates, however in terms of emissions the VW Bluemotion beats them handsdown.
As well as reducing your petrol costs by buying a more economical car, you can also reduce your car insurance premiums. swiftcover.com offers a 10% discount for ‘green’ cars. Get a cheap car insurance quote at swiftcover.com.
July 8th, 2009
According to an article on The Times, Richard Hammond believes that caravans make a good business premise.
They come with little paperwork, they are pretty cheap, you can move swiftly and they are versatile.
It could also double up as a holiday home. With many people turning to UK holidays this year, more people will be turning to caravans for their holiday accommodation and according to some couples the image of a caravanning holiday is totally wrong. Sometimes you hear horror stories of caravanning holidays gone wrong and of awful accommodation but nowadays you have all the luxury that you have at home like a shower cubicle, toilet, double bed, television, DVD player, Freeview, Sky and more.
According to a survey by insurance company Towergate Bakers, caravans were the top-choice budget holiday for couples in their 30s in a survey of 2,000 people. They found that although people were watching the pennies they still wanted to go on holiday and so they are opting for holidays a little closer to home this year.
If you are holidaying in the UK, make sure that you still have adequate travel insurance in place.
July 2nd, 2009
According to new research from Auto Trader Compare, the motor insurance comparison service from the UK’s largest motoring website, BMW owners are deemed to be the worst drivers on the UK’s roads according to a massive 59% of respondents, followed by:
- Subaru drivers (42%)
- Porsche drivers (39%)
- Audi drivers (30%)
- Mercedes-Benz drivers (27%).
BMW drivers are most associated with bad or inefficient driving according to the survey, with 68% of respondents claiming that bad drivers of these vehicles drive too fast, overtake in dangerous situations (66%), intimidate other road users (66%) and drive too close to the car in front (64%).
However, it is Fords that top the claims table with 23% of all swiftcover.com claims.
Save money on your car insurance with swiftcover.com. They are the only 100% online insurance company and you can get a quote in under 60 seconds.
July 1st, 2009
