Weekly Rant!

Well this week lots more happenings - Alliance Leicester A.K.A Abbey National A.K.A Santander have withdrawn their funding of several smaller Contract Hire companies.

What does this mean to us, you and your customers? It means lots of leasing firms not in the Fleet News Top 10 are having to restrict the amount of business they write. Meaning there is market share that needs filling, often to customers who have moved away from dealing direct with the main players.

The benefits of using a trusted leasing broker are really coming to fruition. Hundreds of deals, plenty of funders and the tightening of credit are all adding up to desperate sellers, misinformation and untold delays in paperwork and delivery. Fear not - we see it daily, and our customers know what is happening every step of the way.

Payment and credit wrangles between dealers and funders could mean that the 'cheapest' deal may not be achievable - clients need the options and updates to make informed decisions.

So what next......? Well it seems doing a good job is back to being as important as price, the slight detail of service had slipped from the minds of many for 9 months or so and the horror stories have come out. What's great now is that customers are asking questions - such as "where is the finance to be placed" and "which dealer are you using", consciousness is back in the market and we look forward to taking on the bedroom brokers and doorstep financiers. Same deals, proper company part of the BVRLA

The used car market has recovered for 4 straight months, meaning that residual value calculations could help stabilise or even reduce rentals. On top of that the 'should we buy used' conversations have dried up! Look at the MPG's, the Co2's and the Whole Life Costs and new cars still stack up!

Coming up.........

Vehicle Tracking - your customers can save £'000's on fuel, productivity and duty of care. It's a big deal and not just for courier companies. Our partnership with the UK's leading tracking provider, Navman is in it's fruition - watch this space!

Special Deals to follow and plenty to be done - of course only with our best suppliers and upfront, honest service ;)

All The Very Best for a Great Weekend,

keep an eye on www.anthonyk.co.uk for more great deals and news

Fleet Consultant

I was delighted to meet John Lawrence from Prestige Fleet Consultants.

They help to keep businesses safe and legally compliant. Prestige will also identify and achieve cost savings and assist to improve vital service levels. Amongst other services that Prestige offer are Managing Occupational Road Risk (Duty of Care), Driver Training, Employee Benefits and Affinity Schemes, Interim Fleet Management and Operator Licensing Assistance.

It might just be worth giving John a call on 07950 614268 for a chat

Below is an article I wrote for a group of accountants and advisors about the likely impact of the continuing diffuculties facing motor manufacturers, dealers and finance houses..............

Having conversations about cars with your customers, friends and colleagues about cars and vans?

.... "wait until later in the year for a deal".... it's the worst thing they could do........why?

Here's a very basic recap in economics - (it's been a long time since I did my degree in the subject so please bear with me!)

Firstly the finance companies are tightened their belts, they are no longer a limitless cash supply for buying new cars and vans. Lex have already pulled their PCP product to divert cash to business leases. Therefore the deals seen advertised can not always be done, it pays to speak to the experts.

Secondly the production lines have slowed meaning all those excess stocks being given away are dwindling away. In response to this the manufacturers are amazingly increasing their prices on new cars by as much as 5%, so far in 2009 this includes Ford, Vauxhall, VW and Audi.

On the flipside it's not all doom and gloom; residual values seem to be recovering allowing some rentals to decrease in relation to resale forecasts. The discounts available to funders and fleets are also increasing - making a mockery of the list price in some cases but to the benefit of the customers in terms of rentals.

So despite the world turmoil prices of buying and funding vehicles may even out towards over the summer back to 2008 levels - meaning DON'T WAIT - DO THE DEAL!
With more dealers expected to close this year, it seems that dealing with a professional, courteous and independent vehicle broker will appeal to more small businesses and individuals alike.

Whether they are buying or leasing customers will need to speak to experts at sourcing and funding their vehicles.

Personal Leasing Takes Off

This article from the financial pages of the Mail On Sunday provide a simple yet factually correct argument for leasing your next vehicle.

With so many fabulous deals about and rates changing daily it pays to speak to an Independent Expert - lots of 'specials' still being advertised are 2008 rates so for up to the minute information pick up the phone on 0161 655 3200 to make sure you get the best new car for yourself, friends or family!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a couple of weeks since the last post from Anthony K - sorry about that, it has been HECTIC!

There are so many special deals, offers and incentives from dealers to get cars arranged before Christmas it really is a great time to lease. In fact we are helping them along nicely by even offering to pay off existing lease agreements early to take advantage of pre-Christmas rates!

On top of having more enquiries than we've ever had, we've been speaking to other fleet stakeholders such as Ralph Morton at the online magazine Business Car Manager. We had a telephone interview on Friday which went very well indeed (see article 89 on his blog)

It's the big day tomorrow in Manchester, how did you vote?

"What for?" I hear you ask ! The Proposed Congestion Charge. Most of the people I know voted against the charge, whilst it seems those saying 'yes' in the main would be unaffected OR able to take advantage of any new transport links.

The results are returned at midday tomorrow, The Manchester Evening News are doing live updates - let's see what happens! Jim Syncox Manchester Blog has lots of news and commentary regarding the charge - have a look here !

I'll be back soon for comments on the results!

Sole Supply and Why It Pays To Use a Broker

News emerged today that Alphabet leasing are changing their business plan for 2009, resulting in them pitching for less business and honoring existing contracts only. The reasons behind this include access to funding and an almost certain price increase full story

Existing clients may now be inclined to to shop the market and see just how competitive current suppliers really are. We've noticed increased price sensitivity in the market which is opening up the medium to larger fleets to be more receptive to our message. "We shop the market whilst you benefit from sole supply service".

Rates are changing on a daily basis for some funders, some (to remain nameless) are literally pricing themselves out of the market for new business whilst passing increasing prices on to existing clients. If you know anyone who could benefit from a market analysis from Anthony K we'll happily show them comparative figures from our broad range of finance partners to demonstrate the savings which can be made using a reputable broker (like us!)

SME's Turn to Leasing In Uncertain Times

Once again the Fleet News is banging the leasing drum as fleets purchasing their vehicles suffer from decreasing resale values.

6 months ago we carried out a Whole Life Cost analysis of a Contract Hire v's Outright Purchase on a standard fleet car , 22,000 miles/year over 3 years.

Without getting too technical (leave that to the accountants) we concluded that Contract Hire - in this particular case was just in favour by a few pounds. The same analysis today suggests leasing is £2000 better, due mainly to the losses made at disposal.

So, leasing in a downturn:

• Low Deposit, typically 3 payments
• Set monthly payments ease cashflow
• Set maintenance budgets - avoid future rises
• Pass the risk to a 3rd party - why worry about resale values?
• Fabulous deals available due to attractive discounts to firms like us
• Brokers like us to seek out the deal for you

If your business requires the professional advice that can save £2000 on just 1 fleet car, feel free to give me a call on 0161 655 3200.