Sep 23, 2015
A scandal over what the New York Times describes as a “diesel deception” has caused car manufacturer Volkswagen to lose a third of its value already this week.
Volkswagen is accused of using special software to cheat on emissions tests on its diesel vehicles, making them appear to be far more environmentally friendly than they really are.
The story has grown so large that The Telegraph is live blogging the scandal at the time of writing. The loss of value at Volkswagen has hit the global stock and currency markets, with the scandal expected to rapidly spread to VW’s sister brands Skoda, Seat and Audi.
As if this weren’t proof enough of how serious this revelation is for Volkswagen, it’s also emerged that the car firm has hired the same lawyers used to defend BP in the wake of their 2010 oil spill disaster.
It’s thought that up to 11 Million VW vehicles could be affected.
If you own a diesel Volkswagen, there’s every chance it could be included in a forthcoming recall to resolve a high emissions problem. Your dealership should contact you if this is the case. Do not ignore any recall as it could result in you driving an unsafe vehicle and affect your car’s resale value.
Sadly, if you do drive a Volkswagen, that resale value has probably already taken a dive. The firm’s credibility has taken a serious knock this week, which will take major work (if not a miracle) to recover from.
Sep 22, 2015
Used car values aren’t something that you expect to increase, but that’s exactly what happened last month.
Petrol vehicles rose in value by 1.1%, according to a report in Fleet News, but the bigger story was the rise in the value of diesel vehicles. These were up in value by 3.1% according to the same report, when compared to the first half of this year. The average second hand diesel went up in value by nearly £250.
The reason for the variation is clear. Diesel fuel has come down in price considerably, and as a result diesel vehicles seem to be becoming more desirable in the eyes of the consumer.
But why would second hand vehicles rise in value in the first place? This is a multi-faceted story that was investigated in detail by PwC in a recent report (available here). According to their study, there’s a shortage of “younger used cars,” which is a side-effect of the global financial crisis back in 2009, and there’s also an increase in the ratio of people buying second hand, rather than new.
So, if you’re looking to change cars and have a diesel to trade in, you may realise more cash for it than you’d hoped. A recent mail-out from Webuyanycar suggested that certain used cars are in “big demand” right now. We’ve produced our own guide to this and similar services here.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikipedia
Jul 8, 2015
The latest UK budget is currently underway and the first big news for motorists concerns car tax, or Vehicle Excise Duty, to give it the official name.
Chancellor George Osborne has stated that the UK has added only 300 miles of road to its motorway network in the past 25 years, and highlighted the need for additional investment – something that will already be painfully clear to anyone who frequently uses the nation’s road network during peak periods.
The first way Osborne plans to find money to spend on new roads is by overhauling the vehicle excise duty system. This is currently based on emissions, with some owners of particularly “green” cars not having to pay any car tax at all. Under the current system, Osborne states that by 2017, 75% of new vehicles won’t be liable for the tax in their first year.
This is now set to change, with car tax being reintroduced for all new vehicles from 2017. Tax levels will still be based on emissions, but with changes made to account for “new technology,” according to The BBC.
Once the system is changed, there will be three different vehicle excise duty bands for new cars, named as “zero emission,” “standard,” and “premium.” Tax on new cars will apparently average £140 per year.
As always, published detail will reveal more once the budget announcement is over and we will provide more updates here.
Jun 29, 2015
Anyone who frequently drives on the UK’s busy motorways has (probably far more than once) been frustrated by drivers with a tendency to favour the middle lane. It seems to be the “lane of choice” for many motorists, although technically speaking it should only really be used for overtaking vehicles in the “slow lane.”
To quote the Highway Code: “You should always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear.”
You may be unaware, but in 2013 “road hogging” was decreed an offence in the UK, usually punished with a £100 on-the-spot fine. Now, a driver from Wigan has actually been convicted of the crime and fined nearly £1000 including court costs, according to a report in The Daily Mail.
The driver, Ian Stephens, has described the penalty as “extortionate” and argues that he was overtaking slower vehicles. However, police say he caused multiple vehicles to swerve out of his way, and that he had ample chance to move into the correct lane.
The offence took place in August 2013, and Stephens was first summoned to court in February 2014. However, he was “unable to attend” due to work, according to the report. Cynics will perhaps wonder if the fine would had been quite so punitive if the driver had attended court when first requested.
Mr Stephens intends to appeal the court’s decision.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
Jun 18, 2015
A recent clampdown on drink driving in Scotland has resulted in 185 motorists being caught over the limit in just two weeks. This represents 1 in 40 (2.5%) of the people breathalysed, according to an article in The Scotsman.
Scotland has tougher drink driving laws than the rest of the UK, with the legal limit set at 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. This is broadly in line with many EU countries, but more strict than elsewhere in Britain, where the limit is set at 80 milligrams. As we revealed last month, the Police Federation are keen for this lower limit to be implemented across the whole of the UK.
The large number of people charged highlights how easy it is to fall foul of the law with the lower limit in place. A similar campaign last year found 1 in 55 drivers over the limit, so it seems likely that people are being caught out by the lower limit, implemented last December.
As the report states, the 50mg limit can mean that just one drink is sufficient to cause an individual to fail a breath test. The local police are promising that there will be plenty more checks and discouraging people from drinking anything at all before getting behind the wheel.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
Jun 9, 2015
As of this week, the UK counterpart driving licence has now been abolished. All new UK driving licences will now be photo card only, and supported by an online driving licence system known as MyLicence.
Here are a few basic facts you need to know about the changes:
1. According to DVLA advice, you should now destroy your old paper counterpart licence as it has no validity. However, this does NOT apply to “old style” paper-only licences (issued prior to 1998, according to Auto Express). These are not the same as counterparts and should be retained.
2. If plan to hire a car abroad, there’s a chance that the hire firm won’t yet have heard about the changes. The correct procedure now is to obtain a code from the DVLA website that will allow hire firms to view your driving record. As we reported in April, in advance of these changes, some confusion is expected in this regard and one strategy is to retain your (now invalid) counterpart just in case – whether you do this is up to you, but it’s worth noting that it’s against DVLA advice.
The official DVLA guide to this issue is available here.
3. Car insurance firms will now be able to access your driving record via the online system. This will allow them to quote accurately and (thankfully) prevent people from failing to declare points on their licences.
4. If you move house, you can change your address online.
5. While the older paper licences still remain valid, you will now need to exchange them for a photo card licence should you need to amend any details.
IMAGE CREDIT: Telegraph UK
