John Watts, from used van pricing experts, CAP, has warned that the new emissions rules could cause unforeseen costs for van fleet operators and lower van residual values in the used market.

This is because compliance with the new Euro 5 emissions legislation relies partly on the use of diesel particulate filters and this poses particular problems for van owners or operators when operating on short-distance urban work.

Diesel particulate filters can easily clog under the typical operating conditions faced in many cities, spelling expensive repairs or replacement parts for fleet operators. CAP warns this may create caution in the future used van market, due to the ‘invisible’ nature of such problems. The end result is that many trade buyers will factor in the risk of a clogged particulate filter when determining the price they will offer for a used Euro 5 van.

John Watts from CAP, explained: “Many diesel particulate filters require specific drive cycles in order to remain working efficiently. These filters need to reach a certain operating temperature before effectively reducing particulate emissions, but if this is not achieved they can become prone to clogging.

“This problem will mostly emerge in low speed, short distance operating cycles, typically undertaken in large conurbations. A typical example could be a city-based self-employed used van owner who travels less than ten miles to site from home and stays all day. A continuous operation of this nature could result in a blocked filter and a potential replacement cost”.

CAP’s view is that used van buyers will be aware of the need for a properly functioning particulate filter for Euro 5 compliance and that problems may not be routinely covered under manufacturer warranty. One way to avoid these unnecessary costs is to lease your next van under a contract hire agreement, with full maintenance included. This will protect you from unforeseen maintenance costs and also protect you from any future residual value decline.

CAP, the UK’s leading vehicle information provider, has just launched their Black Book Mobile application for iPhone, iPad and Google Android smartphones, enabling you to get instant access to used car values.

The Black Book Mobile downloads trade values once a month, so if you want easy access to a used car price at any point in time, you can access the information without the need for an internet connection. The mobile application provides all the information available in the standard printed Black Book but with the added benefit of vehicle valuations at more mileage points.

If you want a demonstration of the new products go to the CAP website via the following links

Android version is @ www.cap.co.uk/bbma.html

iPhone version is @ www.cap.co.uk/bbmi.html

New Honda Civic

CAP, the UK’s leading vehicle information provider, has given the new Honda Civic strong second-hand resale values (residual values) due to its reputation for high quality products and reliability.

The residual value predictions from CAP indicate that the Civic 150PS 2.2 i-DTEC ES and new entry level 100 PS 1.4 i-VTEC will achieve a trade value of 38 per cent of their original “cost new” price after three years and 60,000 miles. This works out as £8,050 and £6,175 respectively.

The new Civic has also secured insurance ratings at four to five times lower than the outgoing model which will help drive costs down even further. Dave Hodgetts, Managing Director, Honda (UK), said,”These excellent residual value predictions and insurance group ratings combined with lower CO2 emissions and improved fuel consumption make the Civic a very competitive proposition for both private and corporate customers”. Honda car leasing for all new Civic models is on the site now.

CAP, the UK’s leading vehicle information provider, has just set its residual value (future resale value) for the Azure fully-electric van at just 20% after three years and 30,000 miles. This certainly reflects the conservative view that the trade is taking over the resale value of electric vans, despite the low running costs of the Azure.

The Azure Dynamics Transit Connect, which was launched into the UK this summer, is the result of a collaboration between Ford and Canadian company Azure Dynamics. The van has a current manufacturer list price of £39,999 and the CAP future forecast resale value is just £8,000 after 3yrs/30,000.

CAP’s opinion is that second-hand values of electric vans is fraught with many uncertainties with the main issue around whether expensive battery packs will need to be replaced at some stage. Tim Cattlin, CAP Commercial Vehicle Monitor editor, said,”We have no wish to dampen enthusiasm for any new development in the light commercial vehicles sector but at this point the prospects for all-electric vans are fraught with difficulties, despite the clear operating advantages of using one for specific kinds of work”.

The new tax changes that come into play in April, may push many company car drivers into the 40% tax bracket, according to CAP, the car price experts. This problem could cost an affected company car drivers with 3 children around £2,500 a year.

From April, the 40% tax threshold falls from £37,500 to £35,000 and this should increase the number of higher rate tax payers as a result. However many fleet drivers may not have considered the BIK (Benefit-in-Kind) changes in rates for cars emitting more than 120g of CO2 per kilometre or less.

In 2012/13, when the Benefit in Kind CO2 thresholds are reduced from 120g/km to 100g/km, this will increase the taxable benefit of many cars that were originally chosen because they currently enjoy a preferentially low tax rate.

CAP’s Mark Norman said,”Although the increase in higher rate taxpayers in relation to company car taxation has been widely reported the real financial impact story is the loss of Child Benefit for many. Unless there are changes in future budgets, it means that even when somebody crosses into the 40% threshold by just £1 they will lose £20.30 per week for the first child and £13.40 for each subsequent child.

He went onto say,”It will have a devastating financial impact on many drivers who will have no opportunity to change their car in time. And the lack of information on the basis of BIK rates from 2013 means it is impossible for anybody to order a new company car today which will help them to avoid the issue”.

Choosing your next company car by the lowest CO2 emissions is one way to ensure you pay less tax and the Vehicle Type Leasing Shopper makes this process really easy for you. Just choose the body type of car you are looking for, your preferred manufacturers, your budget range and then select the CO2 range you are interested in. This will display all cars that fit this criteria.

CAP, the UK’s leading vehicle information and data provider to the fleet industry, has now announced the mandatory criteria they will apply when setting residual value (re-sale value) settings for Electric Vehicles.

CAP recently launched a review to look at Electric Vehicle residual value setting as it had become clear that wthout some basic parameters and guidelines, it would be difficult for them to forecast future resale values.

In order to qualify for the residual value forecast process an Electric Vehicle must first satisfy the following criteria

• Have European Type Approval
• The battery must be owned as part of the car, not leased separately

The latter point had been up for debate i.e. whether the car and the battery could be treated as separate entities, but CAP has ruled that this would not be practical. Other areas that CAP will be looking at to set future residual values will include the following;

1. Vehicle range
2. Charging method
3. Maximum speed
4. Electrical ampage
5. Warranty arrangements

Mark Norman of CAP’s EV Review Group said,”It is tempting to assess Electric Vehicles in the same light as those with conventional engines. Many people in our industry are therefore already writing them off as inferior in terms of convenience and everyday usability for the whole range of purposes, for which we currently use road vehicles”.

He went onto say,”That kind of dinosaur thinking is short-sighted because it fails to recognise the potential for social, political, taxation and business change which may well bring new ways of using road transport”.

The residual value set by a leasing company is the biggest factor in calculating the vehicle leasing rental and if unrealistically low residual values are set this will make the rental prohibitive to most businesses.

Nissan Cube

CAP, the UK’s leading motoring industry data provider, has set a residual value of 45% for the Nissan Cube, after three years and 30,000 miles on the clock. This is a strong residual value setting and reflects Cube’s position as an iconic brand for Nissan.

Vehicle depreciation is a crucial factor for any new car buyer and also if you are looking at car leasing as well. The residual value set by the vehicle leasing company is crucial in how high, or low, your car leasing rental will be. The Nissan Cube has a simple line up with a 1.6-litre manual petrol model (42.8 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of 151g/km) and a new 1.5-litre diesel model will be launched in May of this year.

Comparecontracthire.com, the car leasing and van contract hire price comparison site for SMEs, has launched its new Super Shopper which makes searching for your next vehicle even easier.

You can now search for vehicle leasing prices by body type, monthly rental, CO2 g/km emissions, combined MPG, fuel and transmission, in one easy to use quote engine. This gives you access to contract hire rentals on over 12,000 new vehicles in seconds (cars and vans up to 3.5T). Prices can also be compared easily, on a like for like basis, from the panel of top FN50 contract hire suppliers who support the site with up to ten finance suppliers available.

A new Showroom has also been added where you can “park” your vehicles as you search and compare each one later to narrow down your final choices.

Comparecontracthire.com uses CAP data which is seen as the best in the business and the data shown is updated weekly to always show the latest makes and models of vehicles. Mike Hind, Communications Manager at CAP said,”We are delighted to be partnering with Comparecontracthire.com in the knowledge that our industry leading data has enabled them to offer an essential quoting tool for any small to medium sized business”.

CAP has reported greater stability in the used car market in June with little change in trade values. The June edition of Black Book, which is the benchmark guide to used car trade values, has revealed a similar picture to May. Interestingly larger vehicles have performed more strongly than the smallest cars.

Comparing today’s used car market with seasonal “norms” from previous years, the picture is even brighter. This is usually a time of year that sees weakening trade values but that usual trend is being overcome by several factors.

Firstly there is still some correction of last year’s unprecedented downturn taking place when large 4×4′s and large executive models saw up to 50% wiped off their value last year. This is now being corrected with values enjoying a renewed and sustained demand. The other factor is stock shortage, as a direct result of the drop in car production and registrations over the last year.

Black Book has also found some evidence that the scrappage scheme is also diverting customers away from buying smaller late plate cars, some of which are now not performing as well as last year.  Black Book’s Mark Bulmer said : “On average, used car values are generally stable at the moment. Looking ahead to the coming weeks and months there are no signs of significant volume returning anytime soon.”

Falling values in used car or van values is one of the risks of ownership. With business contract hire or personal contract hire you can lease a vehicle with the confidence that when the contract comes up for renewal, the problem (and potential loss on the re-sale value) of disposing of the vehicle is not yours and is the responsibility of the contract hire leasing Company. 

CAP Black Book has reported some stability returning to the used car market after two months of record prices being achieved at auction. CAP produces Black Book as the benchmark trade guide for used car pricing. This marks the end of a year when prices have been extremely volatile beginning after Easter 2008 with the largest downturn in memory and switching to an unprecedented upturn this calendar year.

One of the main reasons for the increase in prices has been a shortage of used car stock as consumers have delayed renewing their vehicles and many Companies have extended their life cycles of vehicles. Many dealerships were reporting used car stock at 30-50% lower than they would have liked in April.

If you are thinking of changing your car then now might be a better time to get it valued.