LINGsCARS Blog

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

John says…
“The Ford Focus 1.4 shudders at 110mph. However it is better when you accelerate through it! Only joking. The car was presented nicely and performs well – giving good mpg.”

John Taggart
Glasgow
G5 ***

Editor Note: You’ll MURD’R the car at 110mph, John, MURD’R it! Hehehe, fancy having Taggart name in Glasgow! Glad Focus goes so well. Hope cold Scottish winter ends soon. – Ling

Look, another CO2 change! The Mercedes GLC Estate 2.1 220d 4Matic Sport 16v (170bhp) Station Wagon 5dr 2143cc Diesel 9G-Tronic (9 Speed) Diesel Automatic has moved slightly in the environment tales again. I post the new info, and publish on my website.

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!

Back to CO2 – there is no easy technical way to deal with CO2. The best way to reduce it and the other emissions is to use the car only when it is necessary and to walk or use public transport where possible. When you are choosing a vehicle and you have selected the most appropriate class of vehicle for your needs, choose the most fuel efficient vehicle in that group. This is where a franchised new car dealer really struggles. Is a Ford dealer really going to advise a customer to buy a lower-polluting Renault Megane? Did you know the fuel consumption of similar size cars can vary as much as 45%?

I am pleased to say that the CO2 for the Mercedes GLC Estate Diesel Automatic is now 129g/km. If you chose a different trim level, the CO2 would change, but not by much.

My Mercedes GLC Estate 2.1 220d 4Matic Sport 16v (170bhp) Station Wagon 5dr 2143cc Diesel 9G-Tronic (9 Speed) Diesel Automatic gearbox is only £394.33 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 Mercedes GLC Estate 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! £394.33 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.

Keep the pressure up – make sure the tyres are inflated to the correct pressure for the vehicle.

I have so many comments about my website, this one says;

Really cool website, very different from others I have been on. Lots of interesting stuff.
Dot Gannon, Warrington, WA2 7EY
comps.gannon_@ntlworld.com

Dealers are also required to display a poster � in paper or as an electronic display, in a prominent position, showing the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for all new passenger car models displayed, or offered for sale through that particular showroom. In addition to the above, the directive also requires manufacturers to include fuel consumption and CO2 emissions data in all brochures and printed advertisements, provided that the literature relates to a specific model of car. These requirements were implemented into UK law by The Passenger Car (Fuel Consumption and CO2 emissions Information) Regulations 2001, which came into force on the 21st of November 2001.

Visit my full letters page click here

Inbetween all my bills and bank statements, I receive customer letters. Here one I pulled out to read from Neil Woodhead, but I actually got it a while ago. It is about the delivery of their Vauxhall Corsa.

Neil says…
I thought that Lingo was very easy to follow and very useful, especially live chat when you have a question, Ling responds very quickly. Ling was very helpful and kept me informed of what was going on. Loved the freebies through the post. Would recommend anybody to Ling, as she is lovely and friendly. Hope to speak to you soon. Excellent delivery of my Corsa, the dealer just rang and delivered as Ling said they would. Very helpful.

Neil Woodhead
Newcastle
NE28 ***

Editor Note: Neil, great, happy you are pleased. The freebies were poisonous, sorry about that. The Chinese sweets were infacted with the melamine, but it only harms small kids, not adults. Luckily, if you get ill, you work in a hospital. Hope to see you in 2-years for a new car! – Ling

Look, another CO2 change! The Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer Estate 1.2 PureTech Feel 12v (130bhp) (7 seats) Estate 5dr 1199cc Petrol Manual (6 Speed) Petrol Manual has moved slightly in the environment tales again. I post the new info, and publish on my website.

I get my car deals from many sources, main dealers, finance companies, or I work them out myself using different finance companies. Main dealers I use include; Audi, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hummer, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lotus, Mazda (boo), Mercedes-Benz, MG (new improved Chinese joke version!), Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Proton, Renault, Saab, Seat, Skoda, Smart, Ssangyoung (North Korean??) Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen (or VW), and Volvo. Amazing, huh???

In 2008, I won the “BEST non-franchised ENVIRONMENTALIST” in the Automotive Management Awards, sponsored by the RAC. My website won “BEST non-franchised WEBSITE 2007” in the Automotive Management Awards. My website has been voted in the “TOP 100” in the world, by FHM magazine. I was voted “NORTH-EAST ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2006” in the One North East-sponsored WIN business awards. CAR Magazine listed me in their TOP 7 pick of UK car websites. I have around 50,000 unique visitors a month. I have well over 3000 happy, existing customers, and over 900 letters published on this website.

Having got all the info for the Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer Estate Petrol Manual, 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 Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer Estate 1.2 PureTech Feel 12v (130bhp) (7 seats) Estate 5dr 1199cc Petrol Manual (6 Speed) Petrol Manual gearbox is only £190.96 inc VAT per month with 6 months initial payment, followed by 11 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 Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer Estate 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! £190.96 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.

The comparative or “fridge” label, is compulsory in car showrooms – except you’ve got to DRIVE there to see it! I won an industry award for displaying it electronically for all website visitors. I am the proud winner of the 2008 Best Environmentalist 2008 Automotive Management Award. Like me, Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair talks straight about cars versus planes. “The usual horseshit”, he says. One day, every car will be as Green as my Jolly Green Nuclear Missile Truck “Calm down dear!” – it’s only done 1,000 miles since 1970.

Lose weight – don’t carry unnecessary weight, remove roof racks when not in use.

This comment is great:

Love this place, found what I have been looking for all my life. Thank you for making me so happy.
Edel McKenna, Co Derry, BT46 5LE
edel_mckenna_@hotmail.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

Looking at my records, the Ford Kuga Estate 1.5 EcoBoost 2WD ST-Line (150bhp) Estate 5dr 1498cc Petrol Manual (6 Speed) 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!

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.

According to Nicholas Stern’s report, 14 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions come from transport. The SMMT points out that the motor industry recognises it has a key role to play in reducing the impact of its products and production processes and will continue to develop the technologies to deliver more sustainable motoring. New cars, commercial vehicles and buses reflect many of the cleaner technologies coming to market, including biofuel models, hybrids and greener diesel vehicles.

For this brand new Ford Kuga Estate Petrol Manual, the latest CO2 figure is just 145g/km. When I chose this trim, it was because I have a few of these available. Different trims will have different CO2.

My Ford Kuga Estate 1.5 EcoBoost 2WD ST-Line (150bhp) Estate 5dr 1498cc Petrol Manual (6 Speed) Petrol Manual gearbox is only £247.58 inc VAT per month with 6 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 Kuga Estate 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! £247.58 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.

Regular servicing helps keep the engine at best efficiency.

My website comment page is overflowing. This is one of my favourites.

Wow, this website has everything! Nce to see such an informative website lightened up with a great sense of humour. You’re the best, Ling!
Laura Freeman, Sheffield, S12 2FR
laura-freeman_@blueyonder.co.uk

Dealers are also required to display a poster � in paper or as an electronic display, in a prominent position, showing the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for all new passenger car models displayed, or offered for sale through that particular showroom. In addition to the above, the directive also requires manufacturers to include fuel consumption and CO2 emissions data in all brochures and printed advertisements, provided that the literature relates to a specific model of car. These requirements were implemented into UK law by The Passenger Car (Fuel Consumption and CO2 emissions Information) Regulations 2001, which came into force on the 21st of November 2001.

Visit my full letters page click here

Getting letters in the post is really nice. It makes a lovely change from getting email. This one was sent by Michael Donovan from Peterborough. Amazingly, the postman didn’t steal it!

Michael says…
The Audi is the third vehicle from your company. Your service and the car are both excellent.

Dealer Service ‒ TERRIBLE. The car was dropped off and left without any instruction as to what button did what and even how to start it.

Michael Donovan
Peterborough
PE2 ***

Editor Note: Well, I know the answer is to turn the key, but yes, that is terrible. There is a big gap between my service and the dealer service, eh? I am really sorry about this. However, tyou continue to order cars and vans and have another 3 vehicles on order. So I guess you forgive me for the daft dealer. Continue ordering, Mike! – Ling

I am the fastest car supplier in the UK to update the Mercedes C Class Coupe 1.5 C200 AMG Line 16v (198bhp) (4 seats) Coupe 2dr 1497cc Petrol 9G-Tronic (9 Speed) Petrol Automatic information. No one in the industry can believe how fast I am.

Most Ling cars are on 2 year deals or less, so you should only need an oil and filter service (you won’t need brake pads etc unless you drive like German idiot Schumacker). You just pay this service yourself, OK? Some service intervals (eg. Renault) now at 18,000 miles! You can have this small service done at any cheap VAT registered garage, just use quality parts. Your car is fully covered by the manufacturer warranty (use franchise dealer for this, free), and you get manufacturer’s AA/RAC type cover.

Mercedes-Benz told me “Mercedes-Benz dealerships have a limited amount of space available in which to advertise. However, all of the dealership’s websites do include a link to the main site Mercedes-Benz.com where anyone in the world with an interest in obtaining specific environmental information about any Mercedes-Benz vehicle can easily find it. Environmental information is also available in brochures that can be obtained at any dealership.” Well, perhaps Head Office at Mercedes-Benz restricts the amount of web space available to each dealer? It’s amazing that they use “space” as an argument for not displaying this info online on each dealer’s site. Web-space is virtually unlimited! A customer should not need to go to World Headquaters to find it (and even then it is not comparative)!

I am pleased to say that the CO2 for the Mercedes C Class Coupe Petrol Automatic is now 140g/km. If you chose a different trim level, the CO2 would change, but not by much.

My Mercedes C Class Coupe 1.5 C200 AMG Line 16v (198bhp) (4 seats) Coupe 2dr 1497cc Petrol 9G-Tronic (9 Speed) Petrol Automatic gearbox is only £346.68 inc VAT per month with 6 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 Mercedes C Class Coupe 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! £346.68 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.

Switch off – sitting stationary is zero miles per gallon, switch off the engine whenever it is safe to do so.

I have so many of these website comments, they are overflowing on my desk!

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

Hybrid vehicles combine an internal combustion engine with an electric motor and battery. There are various ways in which hybrid vehicles can operate. For example the electric motor can be used to provide additional power during acceleration and high load conditions. The battery can then be recharged by the internal combustion engine or from energy absorbed during braking, or, in some cases, from an external electrical supply. Hybrid vehicles offer reduced fuel consumption and CO2 with potentially some reduction in emissions of local pollutants.

Visit my full letters page click here

I always ask my customers if they have comments about getting their new car. Really, I am looking for criticisms (so I can improve my service). However, customers like Jonathan Holdsworth show that it is hard to generate real criticism. I can only improve if I know if anything is wrong. So, no thanks to Jonathan Holdsworth 🙂

Jonathan says…
This was the most simple, best, effective and straightforward way of controlling, monitoring and taking delivery if a new car. Right products, right price and excellent customer service made this perhaps the best buying experience I have had and I will not hesitate recommend you to others. I wish you all the very best. Excellent delivery, polite, on time and friendly.

Jonathan Holdsworth
Dursley
GL11 ***

Editor Note: Great, that is just what I like to hear. So pleased I train customers like you to write letters like this 🙂 You were a super customer. As you are a company director, I really appreciate your comments! I will see you in 3 years for a new Megane, Jonathan! – Ling

Updating the Jeep Renegade 1.6 Multijet DDCT Limited 16v (120bhp) Hatchback 5dr 1598cc Diesel Automatic (6 Speed) Diesel Automatic quickly is brilliant because Google loves to use me as the choice for listing these cars.

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.

A very important feature is to be able to compare many different cars – on my main car listing pages. No franchised dealer will allow this, as they are mainly representing just one brand, so how is the average customer expected to make comparative judgements?

For this brand new Jeep Renegade Diesel Automatic, the latest CO2 figure is just 127g/km. When I chose this trim, it was because I have a few of these available. Different trims will have different CO2.

My Jeep Renegade 1.6 Multijet DDCT Limited 16v (120bhp) Hatchback 5dr 1598cc Diesel Automatic (6 Speed) Diesel Automatic gearbox is only £256.28 inc VAT per month with 6 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 Jeep Renegade 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! £256.28 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!

Slow down – driving at high speeds significantly increases fuel consumption.

I have so many of these website comments, they are overflowing on my desk!

I came across your website, which I have found to be really amazing and has really brightened up my normally boring days.
Lisa McCann, Armagh City, BT60 4HF
star456ireland20012001_@yahoo.co.uk

The different fuels have different merits from an environmental perspective. Compared to petrol, diesel vehicles have significantly lower CO2 emissions per kilometre traveled because of the higher efficiency of diesel engines and hence have a lower impact on climate change. Diesel vehicles also emit lower levels of CO and HC than equivalent petrol vehicles. However diesel engines emit greater levels of NOx and Particles than new petrol vehicles. As mentioned earlier, emissions of such pollutants are an air quality issue, particularly in urban areas.

Visit my full letters page click here

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 Christine Martin that I got a while ago:

Christine says…
I found dealing with Ling and co fun! Service was first class. Any query I had was answered very quickly. The whole thing took 1 month from enquiry to receiving Qashqai. Car is fantastic. Would definitely recommend Ling!

Excellent delivery, delivery driver was very friendly and helpful.

Christine Martin
Tewkesbury
GL20 ***

Editor Note: Chrris, I am pleased you are happy with the super letter response. Hope the Qashqai makes you even happier! 🙂 Great customer, thanks! – Ling