40% of U.S. Car Owners Delay Maintenance Due to Financial Reasons : CR Poll Reports

The state of the economy is affecting every aspect of our everyday lives – including cars. And it’s not just the gas prices that affect motorists: a new poll from Consumer Reports shows that almost one in two car owners delay their car’s servicing or repairs.

Lower-income households are more likely to delay necessary work, and younger drivers (18-34 years of age) tend to postpone work on wear items like tires or brake pads – with 21 percent of them admitting that they don’t even pay attention to these items.

The necessary work most commonly postponed was minor manufacturer-recommended scheduled service (22 percent), followed by replacing wear items (17 percent) and repairing body or other exterior damage (15 percent).

For most car owners that took part in the poll, a repair bill of about $2,000 is currently a serious financial burden – agreeing with a previous AAA survey, which stated that 25 percent of Americans can’t afford such a repair bill.

Forty-four percent of car owners who delayed having their vehicle serviced on time admit that they feel the value, safety and reliability of their neglected car is suffering as a consequence.

“The family car is the second largest purchase a consumer can make”, notes Jeff Bartlett, deputy automotive editor of CR. “We expect our car to work even in the harshest conditions. So protecting that investment should be a priority, especially when it becomes a safety issue.”

Apart from compromising reliability and security, motorists who fail to fix small problems on time are also more likely to cause their vehicles much more serious, and much more expensive, problems later.

Moreover, 83 percent of those interviewed replied they were confident that their repair shop of choice would do the work properly, and for the right price.

Dealers lose out to independent repair shops (30 vs 37 percent) when servicing or repair is due, and repair chains are chosen by 11 percent of car owners.

4X4 Topper : Land Rover Scores 54% of the Vote in MSN Cars’ Poll of Best 4x4 Brands

In a recent online poll, MSN Cars asked its readers a simple question: “Which firm makes the best '4x4' type cars?” The winner, with an astonishing 54% of the 39,663 votes is Indian British automaker Land Rover.

The brand’s winning combination of aggressive yet attractive styling, “go anywhere” off-road ability, ruggedness and comfort have made Land Rover the powerhouse brand it is today – and a deserved winner. Land Rover UK managing director Colin Green is understandably over the moon:

“We are thrilled that MSN users have voted Land Rover their favourite 4x4 brand. We know that Land Rover has some of the best brand loyalty figures in the industry and this poll is testament to that. Taking over half the votes is a great achievement and goes to prove that Land Rover really does make the world's most authentic 4x4s. Thank you to everyone who voted for us!”

Second place was snatched by Toyota (9%) and Audi took a surprising third (8%). Jeep claimed an equally surprising sixth (3%), bested by the likes of BMW (6%), Mitsubishi (5%) and Subaru (4%). Mercedes-Benz shared 7th place with Jeep while Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo scored 2% a piece.

With a history stretching back 63 years, there have been many noteworthy Land Rovers. It seems every model the company has released – from the Range Rover of the 1970s to the Discovery and Freelander models of the ‘90s – has ignited the public’s imagination and fuelled much debate.

So tell us, readers: what is your favourite Land Rover? Do you go with the traditionalist Series I of the ‘40s, the radical Evoque or the flawed yet brilliant Range Rover? You tell us.

By Tristan Hankins

Story source: MSN Cars

J.D. Power Projects Increased US Sales for September, Readjusts 2011 Forecast

After a drop in sales in May and June, US vehicle sales picked up and as a result, July and August sales were better than originally expected -though still lagging behind the January to April numbers.

Today, J.D. Power and Associates reported that this trend is continuing in the first half of September, mainly due to the increasing inventory of many carmakers.

In August, J.D. Power analysts, who collect data from 8,900 dealers, expected annual sales in the US market to reach 12.1 million vehicles. After September’s results, they have revised their estimates to 12.9 million, while in September 2010 their projection was for 11.7 million.

“Coming off a solid Labor Day sale, retail sales exhibited unexpected strength in the second week of September as the recovering inventory levels have brought buyers back into the market” stated J.D. Power executive director of global inventory Jeff Schuster.

However, like many other analysts, Schuster is not convinced that carmakers must open the champagne bottles yet: “Incentive levels remain flat compared with August and the economy remains a concern, so sales in the second half of September may give back some of the gain.”

J.D. Power expects total US sales for 2011 to increase by 9% compared to 2010, to 12.1 million vehicles, and anticipate an ever more substantial increase in 2012, to 14.1 million. They are not however prepared to bet their wages on it, since the state of the economy results in a high level of uncertainty.

Story sources: JD Power via Reuters

Office of Fair Trading to Begin Fact Finding Probe into UK Insurers

The UK Office of Fair Trading has launched a preliminary investigation – known as a call for evidence – into the nation’s insurance companies after car insurance premiums rose 40% over the last twelve months.

The consumer watchdog is probing whether there is genuine competition between the major insurers – and if there is, why it isn’t offering adequate protection for consumers against massive rate rises.

In the past, the industry has been blaming fraud, the so-called “compensation culture” (which must share a room with the “nanny state” and the “me generation” at the Hoary Old Cliché Hotel) and the activities of accident management companies like RTR.

The OFT, on the other hand, will be investigating the impact of price comparison websites like Gocompare.com (some of which are even owned by the insurance companies), the impact of additional products such as legal protection on premiums, how claims are dealt with, approved repairers and the provision of replacement cars.

The results are to be announced in December. Otto Thoresen, Director General of the Association of British Insurers, has welcomed the probe:

“This will give the industry another opportunity to highlight the cost pressures motor insurers are facing, what action is needed to reduce them, and steps the industry is taking to ensure customers get the best deal when buying motor insurance. Rising claims costs from personal injury claims and excessive legal costs, insurance fraud and uninsured driving, coupled with lower investment returns in recent years, have unfortunately led to rising motor insurance bills for many customers. In fact the motor insurance industry has not been profitable for the last sixteen years.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Louise Ellman, chairman of the all-party Transport Select Committee in Britain’s parliament:

“It shows that this issue is of national importance, where action is needed. I hope that their investigation will shed more light on competition within the insurance industry.”

It will be interesting to see what the Office of Fair Trading’s probe turns up.

By Tristan Hankins

Story source: The Telegraph