Labour rates for repairs vary by up to 220%

Average hourly labour rates for car repairs vary by as much as 220% across Britain, according to data from used car warranty provider Warrantywise. Consumer magazine Auto Express has revealed average rates reach a peak of £141 per hour in Twickenham, south-west London, compared to the cheapest average rate of £44 per hour in Kirkwall, […]

Taking advantage of the Annual Investment Allowance

Companies are being urged to take advantage of the Annual Investment Allowance, which allows businesses to claim tax relief on allowable capital expenditure of plant and equipment, including vans, before it reduces substantially from 1st January, 2016.   The Annual Investment Allowance enables a business to claim tax relief on purchased capital equipment during each […]

LCVs with full service history demand 10% more at auction

Prices paid for de-fleeted light commercial vehicles (LCVs) suggests selling with a comprehensive service history could increase values by more than 10% versus guide books, according to new research from auction giant BCA. 
 
It researched price performance across a basket of 5,000 vehicles earlier this year from a variety of sellers including corporate and dealer sources, split by mileage.  
 
For lower mileage vehicles, (sub-50,000 miles) BCA saw a 3.5% uplift in performance against CAP. The figure rose to nearly 4% for vehicles that had covered 50,000-100,000 miles and rose again significantly to a 10.4% uplift on vehicles that had covered more than 100,000 miles.
 

Prohibition of earpieces in France

From 1 July 2015 a new regulation comes into force in France forbidding all drivers from wearing any device capable of emitting sound in their ear. This applies to all road users driving with a steering wheel (truck, van and car) or a handlebar (motorbike, scooter, moped and bicycle). The prohibition applies not only to […]

£1.5bn investment to upgrade English motorways

Highways England has appointed six joint-venture companies to design and build 10 ‘smart motorways’ across England as part of a £1.5 billion investment. Three of these projects will start in autumn this year: 2 in the Midlands – M1 junction 19 to junction 16 in Northamptonshire and the M5 Junction 4a to Junction 6 in […]

Extended van operating cycles puts focus on maintenance

Britain’s light commercial vehicle fleet age profile is getting older and that means it is imperative that fleet operators adopt a proactive rather than reactive vehicle maintenance approach to keep operational downtime and cost management to a minimum.

Company drivers – ‘maintenance is company responsibility’

Only 42% of company car drivers see maintenance of their vehicle as their own responsibility, according to a survey by Venson. 58% of company car drivers think it’s their employer’s responsibility to get the car serviced at the appropriate times, even though the employee is accountable. Read more on this story. How do you encourage your drivers […]

‘Plug in’ grant to end this year

The government’s plug-in car grant, worth up to £5,000, will end this year, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has confirmed and be replaced with a revised structure. Available for vehicles emitting less than 75 g/km of carbon dioxide (CO2), the official end date of the scheme has yet to be announced. Until that […]

Warning on salary sacrifice rule change

A former pensions minister claims the Government could target salary sacrifice in an effort to claw back lost tax revenues. Millions of employees choose to sacrifice part of their gross salary in exchange for a wide range of services and goods, including pensions, childcare vouchers, bikes and cars.  However, Steve Webb has warned that the […]