LINGsCARS Blog

Fuel is a fortune these days, so when the Volvo S90 2.0 D4 16v (190bhp) R Design Saloon 4dr 1969cc Diesel Geartronic Automatic has slightly changed figures, I always blog about it, because my customers say they care.

As a bonus to add to your lower motoring costs, you will get every subsequent year’s road tax sent to you free of charge, saving you up to £385 per year, or £1,155 on a 3-year contract!

Christopher Macgowan, Chief Executive of the SMMT wrote to me and said “Ling, thank you very much for giving us the opportunity at SMMT to look at the impact of the (environmental) label in a different media from the car showroom. We have always been aware that like the “white goods” label on which the car label is based, that its merits extend beyond the car showroom. In addition we know that the earlier in the buying process the purchaser thinks about low CO2 emissions the more consideration it will be given in the buying process. The industry is committed to seeing the environmental credentials of cars being widely publicised and the SMMT will continue to provide leadership in this area; as with all new initiatives in a huge industry like ours, it takes a bit of time to become widespread and universally available but please be in no doubt that the SMMT and I personally are determined to see the widespread use of the new label.”

Working it out from the tables, the CO2 is just 116g/km for the Volvo S90 Diesel Geartronic Automatic. There are a few cars in this range, so different specs will give slightly different CO2 values.

My Volvo S90 2.0 D4 16v (190bhp) R Design Saloon 4dr 1969cc Diesel Geartronic Automatic gearbox is only £327.02 inc VAT per month with 3 months initial payment, followed by 17 payments on direct debit. Business customers, make sure you deduct the VAT, when making decisions. As I can’t tell what type of customer you are (business or private), I can’t display the price any other way but to show VAT seperately (sorry!).

This price on my Volvo S90 includes full road tax for the length of the contract, on all of my cars and vans! Free delivery to your home or work and free collection from you at the end! £327.02 inc VAT per month is based on you driving 10,000 miles per annum, but higher mileages are usually available at a small extra cost. If you go over the allocated miles, you can pay a small excess mileage charge, usually between 3p and 15p per mile.

Winning the environmental award (2008 Best Environmentalist in the car industry) was very pleasing for me as it meant I was being recognised for my hard work. I’m the the ONLY new car supplier to display and promote environmental info for ALL new cars, on the web! Please note I have pioneered availability of environmental information on the internet. Using the internet to research and buy new cars is the most environmentally friendly method, by miles.

Use air-conditioning sparingly – running air-conditioning continuously will increase fuel consumption significantly.

Every day, I get more of these little comments emailed to me –

What a fab website, I love it, it’s fun and friendly and different!!! I am looking for a 6 or 7 seater car as I have expanding family.
Jodie Adams, Nottingham, NG8 3AZ
pjadamsfamily_@ntlworld.com

In 1993 exhaust emission limits, (generally referred to as the Euro 1 standards) were introduced for new cars which resulted in the adoption of advanced emission control techniques, e.g. catalysts. More stringent emission limits came into effect in 1997 (Euro 2) and 2001 (Euro 3) and 1st January 2005 (Euro 4). Euro 4 came fully into force on 1st January 2007 and now covers most new cars on sale.

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Customers often send me letters, I have 1525 in total! It keeps the postman busy. These letters are all hard copies, and none are invented. This one is from Keith Andreton

Keith says…
“Excellent service from start to finish, you simply WILL NOT get this service if you deal with any other contract hire company. Great service, excellent delivery, car arrived on time.”

Keith Andreton
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE7 ***

Editor Note: Ho, ho, ho, another local customer! Hello Keith! I have never met you but you sound lovely and I am so pleased I saved you a fortune on your Octavia. This was a damn fast 170bhp VRS model and is a real rocket car for a 1.6 Golf price. Howay the toon! Hehehe, I can do the local accent, eh? All I need now is 28 pints of lager, a fake fire engine and a fight on the Quayside – Ling

Looking at my records, the Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost 12v (125bhp) Zetec Navigation Hatchback 5dr 999cc Petrol Manual has changed today, so I have updated the environmental information on my website. You have to laugh that I can beat Ford to this update!

Your car belongs to the finance company on whose documents you agreed to the contract. Many different wear and tear agreements are issued, but it is safe to say that they all are similar to the industry standard issued by the BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association). I have condensed the advice into an easy to read PDF file. If you have things to fix, I recommend 1st call to people like Dent Devils, mobile Glass Repair, etc. Cheap and often works. They usually come to you, in van. Easy. Treat this car like your own car and you will not go far wrong. If you sold a 2-year-old car privately, you would fix exact same problems. Common sense helps!

My customers agree to adhere to a fixed mileage allowance (usually 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000 miles per annum) and they are charged for “excess” miles. This means they are far more aware of the costs involved in unneccessary journeys in their new cars. To a certain extent, my customers will consider “is my journey really neccessary?” and “would it be cheaper to do this long trip on the train?”.

For this brand new Ford Focus Petrol Manual, the latest CO2 figure is just 108g/km. When I chose this trim, it was because I have a few of these available. Different trims will have different CO2.

My Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost 12v (125bhp) Zetec Navigation Hatchback 5dr 999cc Petrol Manual gearbox is only £201.28 inc VAT per month with 3 months initial payment, followed by 35 payments on direct debit. Business customers, make sure you deduct the VAT, when making decisions. As I can’t tell what type of customer you are (business or private), I can’t display the price any other way but to show VAT seperately (sorry!).

This price on my Ford Focus includes full road tax for the length of the contract, on all of my cars and vans! Free delivery to your home or work and free collection from you at the end! £201.28 inc VAT per month is based on you driving 10,000 miles per annum, but higher mileages are usually available at a small extra cost. If you go over the allocated miles, you can pay a small excess mileage charge, usually between 3p and 15p per mile.

Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the Government Economics Service, produced the UK Government Environmental Report on the Economics of Climate Change. I was so pleased to win an Environmental Award in 2008, myself. I am determined that LINGsCARS.com will go further than anyone else in this industry to exceed the legal minimum information disclosure. It is probably the case that my customers have the smallest environmental footprints of any new car customers in the UK!

Try to avoid using your car for short journeys – use public transport, ride a bicycle or walk.

A lot of people write comments. I get them all the time. This is one of the silliest:

What a website! I could read and play all day – and get into trouble for not working!
Marie, Coventry, CV3 5GX
call_marie_@hotmail.com

Biofuels also offer a way to reduce vehicles’ impacts on climate change. The fuels are not entirely CO2 neutral because of the energy used to grow and process crops, but they can offer substantial CO2 savings over fossil petrol and diesel. Today most biofuels are sold in a blends of up to 5% with fossil petrol and diesel . These are suitable for use in all vehicles. Fuel standards may be extended in the future to allow more than 5% if it is concluded that this is compatible with existing vehicles. Some manufacturers offer ‘flexi-fuel’ vehicles that can run on bioethanol blends up to E85 – a blend of 85% bioethanol and 15% petrol, as well as fossil petrol.

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Gotta laugh at some of these letters! It’s amazing how much time some customers put into writing them. Often it can take me up to 10 seconds to read them. Just like this letter from Warwick Gainsborough that I got a while ago:

Warwick says…
Ling – thanks for your great service. Always quick to respond to my emails. You dealt with me with fantastic efficiency.

Warwick Gainsborough
Rickmansworth
WD3 ***

Editor Note: Warwick, it was a fast turnaround this time, because I already had all your info on file from your last car with me (Vauxhall Corsa) and could get this Citroen C4 (a step up for just a tiny bit more money) delivered to you pronto. Look forward to another 2-years, always nice to see your name on the emails 🙂 – Ling

CO2 CO2, CO2. It always seems to go up. The Volvo V40 2.0 T2 16v (122bhp) Momentum Hatchback 5dr 1969cc Petrol Manual seems to have reversed this trend. If you choose one of these, you will be pleased. Lower CO2 means lower fuel consumption.

You run this new car for 12, 18, 24 or 36 months depending on the term, and run it within an agreed mileage limit (usually 10,000, 15,000 or 20,000 miles per year, but different mileages are possible). If you exceed the mileage limit, you pay for extra miles at (typically) 4p – 10p per extra mile. This is known as the excess mileage rate.

I am determined that LINGsCARS.com will go further than anyone else in this industry to exceed the legal minimum information disclosure that 99% of UK franchised car dealers refuse to go beyond (and hide behind, IMHO). So, I make sure that at-a-glance CO2, fuel economy and the coloured “greeness indicator bars” are displayed clearly on my homepage car listings for easy comparison purposes.

Having got all the info for the Volvo V40 Petrol Manual, I can publish the new CO2 figure: 127g/km. This will change across the different models of this particular car, they are all a bit different.

My Volvo V40 2.0 T2 16v (122bhp) Momentum Hatchback 5dr 1969cc Petrol Manual gearbox is only £211.43 inc VAT per month with 3 months initial payment, followed by 35 payments on direct debit. Business customers, make sure you deduct the VAT, when making decisions. As I can’t tell what type of customer you are (business or private), I can’t display the price any other way but to show VAT seperately (sorry!).

This price on my Volvo V40 includes full road tax for the length of the contract, on all of my cars and vans! Free delivery to your home or work and free collection from you at the end! £211.43 inc VAT per month is based on you driving 10,000 miles per annum, but higher mileages are usually available at a small extra cost. If you go over the allocated miles, you can pay a small excess mileage charge, usually between 3p and 15p per mile.

Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the Government Economics Service, produced the UK Government Environmental Report on the Economics of Climate Change. I was so pleased to win an Environmental Award in 2008, myself. I am determined that LINGsCARS.com will go further than anyone else in this industry to exceed the legal minimum information disclosure. It is probably the case that my customers have the smallest environmental footprints of any new car customers in the UK!

Plan ahead – choose uncongested routes, combine trips, car share.

Looking at my pile of website remarks, I just found this one:

Your website is by far the world’s best website. No competition.
Jeremy Roberts, Watford, WD19 4TW
jeremysroberts_@gmail.com

The external noise emitted by passenger cars has been controlled since 1929 when the Motor Cars (Excessive Noise) regulations were introduced. New cars are now required to meet Europe-wide noise limits. These have been progressively reduced from 82 decibels (dB(A)) in 1978 to the current limit of 74 dB(A) established in 1996. This means it would take 7 new vehicles to make the same amount of noise as a vehicle that just meets the pre-1978 limits.

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New cars are like new toys to most of my customers. They get really excited. Just like Alan Antunes. I delivered this Volkswagen Touran to Milton Keynes then I got this very nice letter back…

Alan says…
Ling is completely nuts, but she is great at this game! She kept me informed all along the way and sent me loads of weird sweets. I would go as far as to say that she has provided the best level of customer service I have ever experienced! Thanks very much and I will make contact again soon! Excellent delivery of my new VW Touran, nice and easy by a friendly dealer.

Alan Antunes
Milton Keynes
MK14 ***

Editor Note: Alan, so glad you use you middle name as I cannot pronounce your first (Joaquim) 🙂 – you are brilliant customer. As a training manager for a very large company I appreciate the comments. You have a great 7-seater car, lovely gearbox on those Tourans. Only downpoint is you live in Milton Keynes 🙂 Thanks for the “nuts” comment. I will put that on my wall. – Ling

Everyone moans that things go up and up and up. Well, the CO2 on the Volvo S90 2.0 D4 16v (190bhp) R Design Saloon 4dr 1969cc Diesel Geartronic Automatic has just come down! What a result! This post is to let you know.

This is very difficult for some people to control because of the damn human nature. But try to look at your car as a simple consumer goods, like a fridge or microwave. Who would get excited by a microwave…? Because these cars are so very, very cheap, often dealer makes just a tiny profit. Almost like handling fee. Me too. I work on numbers of cars, like airline ticket consolidators sell tickets.

At the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change in December 1997 all developed countries agreed to legally binding targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in response to warnings over global climate change. Following this the European Commission and the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) came to an agreement in July 1998 that committed ACEA to reduce the CO2 emissions from new passenger cars by over 25% to an average CO2 emission figure of 140 g/km by 2008. This is one of the most significant industry agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and it has led to more fuel efficient vehicles being brought to the market. Similar voluntary agreements have now been reached with Japanese and Korean motor manufacturers. I dread to think what the Chinese are doing…

Having got all the info for the Volvo S90 Diesel Geartronic Automatic, I can publish the new CO2 figure: 116g/km. This will change across the different models of this particular car, they are all a bit different.

My Volvo S90 2.0 D4 16v (190bhp) R Design Saloon 4dr 1969cc Diesel Geartronic Automatic gearbox is only £327.02 inc VAT per month with 3 months initial payment, followed by 17 payments on direct debit. Business customers, make sure you deduct the VAT, when making decisions. As I can’t tell what type of customer you are (business or private), I can’t display the price any other way but to show VAT seperately (sorry!).

This price on my Volvo S90 includes full road tax for the length of the contract, on all of my cars and vans! Free delivery to your home or work and free collection from you at the end! £327.02 inc VAT per month is based on you driving 10,000 miles per annum, but higher mileages are usually available at a small extra cost. If you go over the allocated miles, you can pay a small excess mileage charge, usually between 3p and 15p per mile.

One of my best awards was the 2008 best non-franchise environmentalist, awarded by Automotive Management. The web is fickle, I have noticed LINGsCARS.com is the ONLY new car supplier to display and promote environmental info for ALL new cars, on the web! My website won “BEST non-franchised WEBSITE 2007” in the Automotive Management Awards.

Use higher gears, as soon as traffic conditions allow.

LINGsCARS.com gets loads of comments. Here’s one (email address changed):

I am in the motor trade, selling uesd cars, and I have got to admit this is one of the most entertaining sites I have had the luck to find.
Phil Davis, Wirral, CH66 2HF
hamletmotors_@aol.com

EU Directive 1999/94/EC requires new car fuel consumption and CO2 emissions data to be made freely available to consumers. Car dealers are required to have a label showing the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of each different model on display, either on or near the vehicle. Fuel consumption figures will be expressed both in litres per 100 kilometres (l/100 km) and in miles per gallon (mpg). The label will list the figures achieved in urban, extra-urban and combined conditions separately. From September of 2005, dealers had the option to produce a new “comparative” label. The new label shows the mandatory Fuel Consumption and CO2 figures mentioned previously, alongside information about the appropriate VED band for the vehicle. The new label is similar in design to the energy efficiency labels that appear on many ‘white goods’, such as fridge freezers

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How much do I spend on stamps??? It must add up because I send every customer a nice thank-you letter. Dave Coull replied with a letter back to me about the Volkswagen Golf that was delivered, new. Here it is:

Dave says…
Hi Ling, Just a short note to thank you for the excellent service I received from yourself. From the very first contact to delivery, everything was done very professionally. I recommended your company to my friend who is now a customer, and you sent me some car mats to thank me. Excellent!

Delivery excellent, very pleasant driver, nothing a problem.

Dave Coull
Aberdeen
AB16 ***

Editor Note: Dave, hahahaha, what did you expect, a grumpy VW delivery man??? Well, maybe sometimes that happens :). But you got a lovely one. I’m very happy you thought my service was very good. Enjoy the Golf in sunny Scotland! – Ling

My system has alerted me that the Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI CR 16v (150bhp) SE Technology Hatchback 5dr 1968cc Diesel Manual has changed today so I update my website and post here for the benefit of customers. No one else bothers with this stuff. I treat you like adult, not idiot.

Physical stock is always limited, as cars cannot be made to appear by magic, there are only so many sat in corner of field. So be brave, grab a bargain and avoid me having to make phone calls to disappointed people who have left decision too late. Remember that you have to pass finance before I can reserve you a car, so allow time for that!

When I asked Renault UK what they were doing to encourage franchised dealers to go beyond legal-minimum disclosure of environmental data, they simply said; “The majority of Renault dealers are autonomous businesses with a franchise to sell and repair Renault vehicles and as such, the internal running is outside of our jurisdiction. However, we train the dealer network, to ensure that they are aware of the different models and new technologies available. Some Renault dealerships may choose to advertise this information on their websites whereas some Renault dealerships would choose not to.”. Note that this statement is slightly misleading as Renault UK directly owns many of its larger dealerships, and in my extensive research no Renault dealer uses this information online. They could, if they wanted to. Their statement doesn’t seem to me to be very pro-active.

For this brand new Skoda Octavia Diesel Manual, the latest CO2 figure is just 113g/km. When I chose this trim, it was because I have a few of these available. Different trims will have different CO2.

My Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI CR 16v (150bhp) SE Technology Hatchback 5dr 1968cc Diesel Manual gearbox is only £230.16 inc VAT per month with 3 months initial payment, followed by 23 payments on direct debit. Business customers, make sure you deduct the VAT, when making decisions. As I can’t tell what type of customer you are (business or private), I can’t display the price any other way but to show VAT seperately (sorry!).

This price on my Skoda Octavia includes full road tax for the length of the contract, on all of my cars and vans! Free delivery to your home or work and free collection from you at the end! £230.16 inc VAT per month is based on you driving 10,000 miles per annum, but higher mileages are usually available at a small extra cost. If you go over the allocated miles, you can pay a small excess mileage charge, usually between 3p and 15p per mile.

Remember I won the best non-franchise environmentalist 2008 in the Automotive Industry Awards. Don’t let these manufacturers fool you; LINGsCARS.com is the ONLY new car supplier to display and promote environmental info for ALL new cars, on the web! I have a Master’s Degree in Environmental Quality from Bournemouth Univeristy in 2000, plus a BSc in Applied Chemistry from Jinan University, Guanzhou in 1997.

Plan ahead – choose uncongested routes, combine trips, car share.

A lot of people write comments. I get them all the time. This is one of the silliest:

I have recommended this site to many people, as you site is great.
Asha, Harrow, HA1 4DH
devilden2_@hotmail.com

Climate Change is recognised as one of the greatest environmental threats facing the World today and it has long been appreciated by Governments, that reducing the impact of the motor vehicle has an important part to play in addressing this threat.

Visit my full letters page click here

Does your cat eat letters when they come through your letter box? Mine does. Here’s a letter it missed, from Gayle Connon in Penicuik. Bloody cat!

Gayle says…
A great service provided by Ling and her team from start to finish. To begin with, the website looks a little daunting but you soon get the hang of it. All the way through the process you are kept up to date with what’s happening. No lapse in communication whatsoever. I’ll definitely be using LingsCars again! Excellent delivery by the Citroen dealer – could not be faulted!

Gayle Connon
Penicuik
EH26 ***

Editor Note: Gayle, so pleased you are happy! The C4GP is a great 7-seater! It’s hard to add anything to your letter. Thanks so much for being a lovely customer. – Ling