Auto Windscreens factory

Automotive glazing companies are finding a shortage of windscreens, following the worst winter in the UK for nearly 30 years. Auto Windscreens has found that many vehicle owners are having to wait for replacement parts, particularly for the Vauxhall Zafira, Astra, Vectra, Volkswagen Passat, Golf and the Audi A4.

As a result Auto Windscreens has increased production by more than 40% at its own factory in Chesterfield, to cope with this demand and is now producing 600 windscreens a day. Nigel Davies, Auto Windscreens Sales and Marketing Director commented,”It’s unusual to have a national shortage of windscreens and we’ve certainly not come across this before. Auto Windscreens is in the fortunate and unique position, however, that we can simply add another shift at our factory and increase popular windscreen models to meet demand and manage the delays”.

59 Plate

When you buy a car you probably never think about what it is likely to be worth in three or four years time. Car depreciation does differ between different manufacturers and models and Glass’s guide has just published the top ten worst cars.

However none of the top ten are currently in production and this has also had an impact on their second hand value. The analysis was conducted from value of all cars over three years old which are available in the UK – over 6,500 models in total.

The top 10 models which retain the least of their original list price (as a percentage) after three years and 39,000 miles are as follows.

1) Alfa Romeo 166, 14.4%

2) Rover 45/MG ZS, 20.3%

3) Rover CityRover, 20.4%

4) Rover 75/MG ZT, 21.3%

5) Proton Impian, 22.0%

6) Mitsubishi Space Star, 22.5%

7) Nissan Terrano, 22.9%

8) Alfa Romeo 156, 24.2%

9) Renault Laguna, 24.3%

10) Cadillac CTS, 24.8%

Other car ranges which are lurking below the bottom ten are the Nissan Primera, Fiat Croma, Vauxhall Vectra and Vauxhall Signum. Before you buy your next car you should consider car leasing instead, as you are protected from all the depreciation risks of ownership.

Not only do you have to worry about what the car will be worth in three years time, if you buy it, but also each car has different running costs. You can opt for car leasing with full maintenance cover as well, so that all your servicing, maintenance and mechanical repairs can be paid for as part of the rental

The best way to see which cars depreciate more than others is to try the Car leasing £ shopper price guide as this displays all cars between a rental range. You will be really surprised that some cars, that actually cost more to buy, will actually have a lower contract hire leasing rental. This is primarily down to the depreciation of certain manufacturers and models.

With the launch of the new Insignia, Vauxhall says goodbye to the Vectra model, with some amazing contract hire prices, reports comparecontracthire.com, the UK’s first contract hire price comparison site for SMEs.

The following non maintained contract hire rentals, are just some of the selection of great offers for SMEs. All rentals shown below are based over three years, at 10,000 miles per annum, on a 3 payment initial rental followed by subsequent 35 rentals and are exclusive of VAT.  Other terms will be available directly from the site quote engines. Please note that if you are VAT registered, only 50% of the VAT applied to each rental shown, can be claimed back.

As this is also a “run out model” you need to act fast, if one particular offer appeals to you. However,  Vauxhall Leasing will be able to look for alternative cars if your exact choice is not available.

- Vauxhall Vectra Estate 2.0T SRi (Sat Nav) 5 Door @ £236.14

- Vauxhall Vectra Diesel Estate 1.9 CDTi Exclusiv (120) 5 Door @ £207.99

- Vauxhall Vectra Hatchback 1.8i VVT Exclusiv 5 Door @ £191.99 

Robert Wastell, founder of Comparecontracthire.com said ” There are clearly some great opportunities to drive a quality vehicle, with a proven track record, at prices that are really affordable. In the current economic climate, choosing the outgoing Vauxhall Vectra model, provides an excellent opportunity to save money, for any SME looking for their next vehicle”.

Robert went on to say ” The example prices shown are based on non maintenance contract hire. I would also recommend that SMEs look at prices including ”with maintenance” for added protection from future costs, which are all readily available off the site”.

Vauxhall has reported they registered a total of 19,058 cars in December , only 5.3% down on last year. The total market, as reported by the SMMT, was down 21.2% in December so the smaller Vauxhall drop in registrations shows the strength in their product range.

During December, Vauxhall had four models in the UK’s top ten car registration chart namely the Corsa, Astra, Vectra and Zafira.

The SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) reports new car registrations fell 36.8% in November to 100,333 units. The year to date volume is down 10.7% to 2,023,104 units. The private market was down 45.1% in the month – a particularly weak result.

However the diesel market share achieved a record high of 47% in November proving how popular diesel models now are. Paul Everitt, the SMMT chief executive said ” November has been another difficult month for the motor industry and whilst some consumers may have delayed their purchases to take advantage of the recent VAT reductions, overall demand continues to fall”.

The new Ford Fiesta was the UK’s best selling model in November. Year to date the top 10 best sellers are as follows.

1) Ford Focus – 96,032 units

2) Vauxhall Corsa-93,252 units

3) Ford Fiesta- 87,785 units

4) Vauxhall Astra -85,636 units

5) Volkswagen Golf – 61,285 units

6) Peugeot 207 -51,564 units

7) BMW 3 Series – 46,755 units

8) Ford Mondeo -42,007 units

9) Vauxhall Zafira – 40,782 units

10) Vauxhall Vectra – 38,553 units

If you are thinking of financing your new car have you ever thought about contract hire?

Contract Hire is an effective way of financing a vehicle as it offers fixed cost and risk free motoring which is attractive in these uncertain times. Comparing prices is made easy by using www.comparecontracthire.com the UK’s first business and personal contract hire price comparison site. Quotations are available on line from up to 12 finance companies. There is also lots of information about a variety of motoring related subjects.