Low Cost Vans

It’s something I’ve occasionally wondered (about an ex, not myself), and now there’s an official online test to find out. I’m referring, of course, to the latest instalment in the anti-old bangers story. From 23 October this year, London is introducing a T-Charge – Toxic Charge – to hit cars that give off the worst fumes. You can find out if your car would fit into this category  here . But in summary, it'll affect cars that emit a certain level of nitrogen oxide, which generally means cars that were made before 2005. At £10 a go, the T-Charge will be in addition to the congestion charge, making a trip to the big city pretty pricey for some drivers. It could cost them £21.50 in total, and that’s not taking parking into consideration... Did you know the average cost of a day’s parking in London is £42?! Although it’s been termed the toughest emission charge in the world, it’s not that surprising when you consider that over 9,000 Londoners die prematurely due to ongoing exposure to d...

Now this may sound a little contradictory but bear with me on this one… I wanted to let you know about a new smartphone app that can improve your driving. What I hear you say, you were just preaching about how you were phone free in the car the other day! Well this app – SafeDrive - kind of helps you do that – it gives you actual rewards for ignoring your phone… As soon as you reach over 6 miles an hour in your car, the app automatically locks your phone. As you then calmly drive about not checking your phone, you build up points. These points can be used in the SafeDrive Marketplace where you can get shopping discounts. It’s brilliantly simple and no surprises for guessing that if you crack and look at an incoming text, you’ll wipe out points. But as well as this, the app monitors how safely you drive - you know that stuff that other people do like breaking hard, taking corners too sharply etc - so that you can compete with friends to see who’s the safest driver. Nearly 100,000 people...

Pretty much whenever I look at the news at the moment I end up feeling either a) shocked b) worried or c) incredulous. Often all of those emotions at once. But here’s a headline that shows that the world hasn’t gone mad, and that really, we’d like to keep it quite nice - ‘Motorists shun diesel cars while eco-friendly sales rise’. Brilliant! The overview is that there has been a 4.3% drop on diesel cars alongside a 19.9% increase in electric and other alternatively fuelled cars. And it’s been a pretty swift change. Back in 2015, sales of petrol and diesel were on a par; the downward trend for diesel properly started in 2016 and now sales of the cars have fallen in seven of the last eight months. I’m all behind this. Filling the air with smoky pollution doesn’t help lift one’s mood and there’s the health risks too - nitrogen dioxide can cause or make worse any number of things including asthma, as well as increase the risk of heart attacks. But if I can let you in on a secret, perhaps on...

Now what was I saying the other day? Using your phone while driving is not a good idea. And now it’s even more official. As from 1 March the law will change so that if anyone is caught making a call, texting or basically using their phone in any way, they will receive six points on their driving license. That’s doubling the three points incurred at present. As a quick reminder, you’ve only got 12 points – lose them and you’ve lost your license and incurred a huge bill. The other thing worth knowing is that those six points that you’d get from using your phone can’t be clawed back by agreeing to go on an ‘driver education’ day; like happens at the moment if you’re caught speeding. Once they’re gone, they’re gone! This made me have a think about how quickly a license could be lost – not that I’m taking this on as a new challenge or anything – I’ve got the full pack of 12 and intend to keep it that way. But anyway… a vehicle with defective breaks, steering or tyres would cost 3 points a p...

I know you’re possibly a little sick of hearing about Brexit (the office water cooler conversation could do with a bit of a boost at LCV…), but I do have an interesting fact on the subject; not just a gloomy prediction. Since the vote to leave the European Union, sales of supercars have been picked up like hot potatoes in the UK. The fall of the pound in relation to the dollar this January has meant overseas buyers get much more for their money, giving them savings of about 20%. One high end dealer in Surrey has recently seen a Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and Bugatti Veyron leave his highly secure forecourt. This surprises me slightly as when you’re paying over a million for a car, I wouldn’t have thought you were that budget conscious - what difference is the odd 20% reduction going to make? But apparently these cars are often bought by investors to be part of a collection. I suppose if there’s a car out there that doesn’t depreciate in value it’s one that’s too expensive to drive ...