Car Leasing News

Mobile catering LCV

Jiffy Trucks, the UK’s largest manufacturer of mobile catering vehicles has just launched a new Panino model based on the Citroen Berlingo. The new mobile catering vehicle will be on show at the Food and Drink Exhibition at the NEC Birmingham, between March 21st -24th.

The actual model of Berlingo is the 1000 1.6HDi 90 platform cab and this new range looks likely to be a best seller for Jiffy Trucks. This LCV has a heated oven and chilled food compartment allowing it to meet most needs for any mobile catering company and has a high specification including easy clean finish, stainless steel panelling and internally white finish GRP panelling.

DVLA Plates auction

The forthcoming DVLA Personalised Registrations auction at Old Trafford starts on March the 24th and is set to offer a vast array of  car and van registration plates for sale.

Reserve prices start from £250 and with 1,500 registration plates on offer there is bound to be a plate for your new car (or van).

Some of the plates on offer are as follows;

• 9 0 – £10,000
• 2 000 – £4,000
• F4 LSE – £900
• FER 661E – £900
• OLD 805S - £350
• NEW 805S – £400
• UTD 805S – £900
• VDS 1 – £3,200
• TAX 80Y – £400
• TOW 805S – £400

Jody Davis, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Event Manager said,”Our Spring auction will be an unforgettable experience for the whole family. I think you can safely say, you don’t have to be a fan of Manchester United or even football for that matter to full appreciate it”.

The county of Surrey has been named as the worst for damaged and blighted roads, with circa 1,998 potholes afflicting Surrey’s 450,000 motorists.

The Kia Motors UK Pothole Survey has highlighted the growing problem of potholes across the UK and the effect this is having on car suspension failure, damaged alloys and split tyres.

The list of Britain’s potholes mapped is as follows;

1. Surrey- 1,998
2. Hampshire – 892
3. Kent -857
4. Hertfordshire – 855
5. Oxfordshire – 796
6. Lancashire - 733
7. Essex – 734
8. West Sussex- 680
9. Buckinghamshire – 678
10. Gloucestershire – 655

Matra sports cars

Veloce Publishing has released a new book charting the origin and history of the legendary French firm that launched various Matra sports cars between 1966 and 1974 to challenge for the World Sports Car Championship.

Matra sports cars

The book contains a complete history and development of the Matra protoype sports cars for this period and has many rare and unseen photographs of the cars in action, a full list of the races in which these cars competed, plus a brief profile of the works Matra drivers from the same period as well.

The author is Ed McDonough who was born in the USA but lived in the UK and France for many years. He raced saloons, sports cars and single seaters from the late 1950s and has a wealth of other vintage racecar experience. The books costs £15.99 and is available now from Veloce or any good bookshops.

Austin-Healey 100

This year’s Race Retro is being held at Stoneleigh Park between the 12th and the 14th March and promises to offer car lovers of historic motor sport the chance to get up close to some great motoring icons.

Dennis Welch will be there with his record-breaking Austin-Healey 100, which last year achieved a top speed of  154mph at the industy test track at Millbrook. Other cars on show include a 1964 Dodge Dart, 1962 Jaguar E-Type, a Macon Formula Ford Single, a 1964 Merlyn sports racer and a 1972 Royale RP11 Formula 3 single seater just to name a few.

Tickets start from £20 for Friday and £15 for Saturday and Sunday when booking in advance. To see the latest ticket updates and event timetables visit www.raceretro.com  (Children’s tickets are £5 on Friday or Saturday and free on Sunday).

Car Buyer Survey

A new Car Buyer Survey has been launched and is aimed at any consumer who is looking at buying a new car. The independent Car Buyer Survey is not a marketing survey and the findings will be used to inform UK Government and EU policy.

If you want to participate in the survey you must have either purchased a new or nearly new car (up to 2 years) old in the last 12 months, OR be a car owner intending to buy a new or nearly new car (up to 2 years old) in the next 12 months. The survey will take about 10-15 minutes and will focus on your recent or future car purchase. Once completed you will be entered into a draw with a top prize of a £250 Amazon gift voucher with three runners-up each receiving a £50 gift voucher.

The survey link is http://live.carbuyersurvey.co.uk

However before you buy your next car don’t forget to look at the car leasing versus car buying page to make sure you are fully informed about your other options.

Vauxhall Movano conversion

Gowrings Mobility, the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of wheelchair accessible vehicles, has just launched its latest conversion, the Vauxhall Movano. This now joins the Renault Master in providing another option to the accessible minibus market.

The short wheelbase Movano has been fully converted to provide flexible seating configurations of up to three wheelchair users, three seated passengers and the driver, or seven seated passengers and the driver.

The three wheelchair positions are located for best access,vision and space and access is via a Ricon inboard lift.  The lift has been cleverly offset so that carers do not have to twist and turn to manoeuvre the wheelchair passenges into the vehicles and so that they can also sit alongside the wheelchair user if required.

Michelin guide

If you are thinking of driving through France this summer than The Michelin guide France 2010 has now been released with over 100 Bib Gourmand restuarants being listed. The Michelin guide France 2010 has awarded stars to a total of 455 one-star restaurants, 77  two-star and 26 three-star restaurants.

The book has 1,920 pages packed with information about hotels, guesthouses and restaurants and is available for £15.99. More details are available via their website.

BEN video

BEN, the Automotive Industry Charity, is releasing a new video featuring Formula One racing stars such as Lewis Hamilton, Mika Hakkinen and Ross Brawn who are all appearing to raise awareness for the charity.

Charles Davis, BEN’s Director of Fundraising and Communications said,”The appearance of such superstars is a real coup for BEN and we are deeply indebted to Mercedes-Benz and AMCI for making this happen. We hope that these respected figures will allow us to reach out to a new audience and make them aware of the work that we do for everybody with a connection to the UK’s automotive and related industries”.

The video can be found at www.ben.org.uk

Mercedes-Benz is offering a memorable day out for Mother’s Day with a storming ride in a high performance 6.3-litre V8 powered AMG Mercedes at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands.

You can also visit the Gullwing restaurant with scenic views over the Brooklands countryside and Mercedes-Benz is offering three packages:

1. Mother’s Day: Ride and Dine package costing £40 per person.
2. Dine and Tour package costing £27 per person.
3. Mother’s Day lunch at £20 per person.

To make a reservation telephone 01932 373 707 or visit the website