NEWS

AN increasing number of motorists are turning to long term car leases, according to the latest figures from the FLA. The trade body for the motor finance industry says that in quarter two of 2011 the value of leases for private cars rose by 55 per cent compared to the same period last year. More [...]

DIRECT lenders are looking to up their game with PCPs and HPs during the second half of 2011. That’s the view according to the FLA, which has prompted the boss of Alphera Financial Services to issue advice to dealers and brokers, helping them to continue to nurture and grow POS finance sales and avoid losing [...]

Motor finance fraud cases rose by 17 per cent in the first three months of 2011 according to the FLA. The figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have been released to coincide with the start of Car Crime Awareness Week. While applications for credit made using false information remain a problem for lenders, [...]

FORECOURT finance is the most popular way to buy a new car, according to new figures from the FLA. In the last 12 months, more than 54 per cent of consumers chose finance from their car dealer. This is 1.6 percentage points up on February’s figure. The finance sales figures for March – the latest [...]

The number of new cars bought on finance was down by 14 per cent in February 2011 says the FLA. The latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association, the trade body for the motor finance industry, revealed that consumers buying cars on finance fell by 14 per cent in February compared to the same [...]

MOTOR finance fraud cases fell 14 per cent in 2010 despite more cars being sold on finance says the FLA. The latest quarterly report from the Finance & Leasing Association reveals that the value of motor fraud cases overall in 2010 was £14.6m, down by 13.5 per cent on last year’s value. However there were [...]

NOVEMBER saw dealers providing finance for more than 50,000 used cars and the market returning to ‘normal’ says the FLA. Latest figures from the FLA reveal that while sales of new cars fell in November 2010, the proportion of new cars bought using dealer finance over the last 12 months rose to 51.5 per cent. [...]

A CLUTCH of dealer groups have achieved SAF Approved status it has been announced. Under the FLA’s Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) initiative, Stratstone, Listers, Robins & Day and Agnew are now approved joining the two thirds of the top twenty UK dealer groups who are SAF Approved. The inclusion of training on the Consumer Credit [...]

THE number of used cars sold on finance rose for the fourth consecutive month according to the FLA. While new figures published today by the Finance & Leasing Association reveal that used car finance increased, the numbers of new cars sold on finance dropped. Used cars sold on finance rose by 7 per cent in [...]

USED car finance sales were up by more than a fifth in August, says the Finance & Leasing Association. Latest statistics from the FLA reveal that sales of used cars using dealer finance rose by 21 per cent in August when compared to the same month in 2009. However, sales of new cars to consumers [...]

FLA experts have improved the Specialist Automotive Finance test to comply with new CCD regulations. The new sales processes required by the Consumer Credit Directive came into force this month. Extra questions have been incorporated into the SAF test to cover these; the test has been extended to 60 questions, with 20 questions dedicated to [...]

HPI has supported an FLA and ACPOS initiative to get back cars snared after being illegally driven without insurance. The Finance & Leasing Association will now work with Police forces in Scotland to retrieve vehicles impounded by the Police when the driver is caught for insurance evasion. Any vehicle seized by police will have a [...]

CAR dealers have until 31 January 2011 to implement the new Consumer Credit Directive – CCD. For those who haven’t the first idea where to start, the FLA has come to the rescue. It has revised its Specialist Automotive Finance test to include all the latest knowledge – and also updated all the SAF Reference [...]

MORE people in 2010 have used car dealer finance than personal loans or their own savings to buy a new car. Nearly 50 percent of all new cars sold to buyers were bought through forecourt finance. That equates to 264,377 people using car dealer finance – uptake of which has rocketed 26 percent so far [...]

FLA chiefs are promoting the advantages of dealer finance with a new online Dealer Directory contact guide. Made up of all car dealers who meet the SAF Approved accreditation system, the Dealer Directory is aimed at helping car buyers seek out the best type of finance deal for them. The flash new web aid does [...]

FINANCE best practice dealers have another member as Greenhous Group achieves SAF Approved status. It now means more than HALF of the UK’s top 10 dealer groups are SAF Approved. The SAF kitemark has been designed, said FLA head of motor finance Paul Harrison, ‘to give consumers confidence about the motor finance information they receive. [...]

CAR dealer finance was up 15 percent in May 2010 as more than half of car buyers took it up. This has allayed fears from the FLA that the end of scrappage would lead to a drop-off in new car buyers. Indeed, a tentative economic improvement has also seen the number of businesses using dealer [...]

NEW car finance grew for the 8th month running in April – the first month figures were not boosted by scrappage. The FLA says finance for new cars was up 20 percent, giving a clear picture of demand from new car buyers. It’s still down on pre-recession levels, but should be considered positive by dealers. [...]

FINANCE standards have received a boost after two big dealer groups achieved FLA SAF competency. Motorpoint and The Co-Operative Motor Group are the latest dealer groups to reach the high levels demanded by the competency assessment. Indeed, Motorpoint is actually the first UK car supermarket to be approved by the FLA test. More than 100 [...]

FRAUDSTERS are being challenged by a booming partnership between the FLA and big Police body ACPO. The FLA has been working closely with ACPO since September 2007 to clamp down on finance fraud, via the Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS). In that time, there have been 236 arrests and more than 1700 cars (worth over [...]