For the average motorist in Britain the type and age of their car seems so important. It certainly didn't appear to have the same importance some years ago, when motorists weren't so inclined to judge other road users by the type of car they drove. Today there are massive industries that have grown around our habit of frequently changing our vehicles. Contract hire and leasing is a massive industry built on our desire to have newer and better cars; around 2.5 million are sold every year.
So why have our motoring habits changed so much from say the 1950's, when everything one bought was built to last? Whether it was a fridge, oven or motorcar, it was expected to last if not a lifetime, certainly 20 years or more, it changed subtly and the public didn't realize that they were slowly but surely being drawn into consumerism.
The gauge of the steel used in car panels was significantly different from that used today, if a car had a dent in a panel it meant it had been hit with some force. A head on collision in those days could be a pretty devastating business, because everything was so solid and there was no give in anything.
The British used to hear about the American "throw away society" and it all seemed quite disgraceful; buying things knowing that they were not going to last and then after what seemed like an indecently short period of time, just throwing them away
Before long however something similar was happening in Britain; people wanted everything to be newer and more modern and gradually without realizing it, we had adopted the American way. Nowadays contract hire companies find that many motorists opt for the shortest available contract hire term.
In post war Britain people tended to get things repaired if they went wrong and cars were no exception. Cars could run forever; the bodywork was solid and as long as the parts were available motorists could just keep repairing their own cars. The engines were fairly straightforward and there were no complicated electronics to worry about.
Before long the British motor manufacturers realized that as long as they continued to build cars to last and didn't change the models, the motorist had no incentive to buy a new one.
The Ford Zephyr Mark 2 was an example of the British car manufacturer's move towards the American design and the Cresta was Vauxhall's answer to the American style car; it really was quite ostentatious and very close in design to the American Packard. It was never going to become a classic car..
These new multi colour American looking cars that came out in the late 50's early 60's had the effect of making the cars around them look rather boring. Mostly they had the American style bench seats, which were favoured by the young, and column gear change.
A new style vehicle registration plate was launched in 1963 the last digit was the letter A. It was 60 years after number plates were first issued in Britain in1903. At first the new registration plate was only issued in certain parts of the country, but it wasn't long before it became nationwide.
At first the new registration appeared strange and then the penny dropped for many motorists; there was a way they could set themselves apart from other motorists and show them by their registration plate that they had the latest car. They had fallen into the trap of having the latest registration, only to find the following year that someone else was making their car look out of date.
This system changed in 1967 when the E registration came out in January but only lasted seven months and was then replaced by the F registration. August was set as the new month for vehicle registrations, which must have been a bit frustrating for the motorist that bought a new car in January 1967 thinking that he was going to have the latest registration plate for the next twelve months.
Motor manufacturers now had the motorist on the run; what with the number plate changing every year and models changing more frequently, motorists weren't so happy to hold onto their cars for so many years. August was a very difficult month for dealers; that's when everybody wanted to take delivery of their new car, so it went from the quietest month of the year to the most chaotic.
During the 90's it was reported that new cars were being stockpiled in various remote parts of the country, in old farm buildings, aircraft hangers and fields. This was done in preference to manufacturers cutting production levels. Apparently this resulted in some motorists buying a new car to get the latest registration plate, and yet getting an older car than the one they were disposing off.
In the 80's the pressure of having to have the latest model and registration seemed to increase; these were the Thatcher years, the boom years that eventually led to bust. One way out for some motorists was to buy a personalised number plate and then nobody would know how old their car was, or at least not until the manufacturer brought out the new model.
Always one step ahead the manufacturers started to bring out facelift models: This involved making small but noticeable changes to the design. This was a lot less expensive than introducing a new model and still had the desired effect; making those who had the pre facelift model, feel that their car was getting old.
2001 saw another change to the registration system; September and March were to be the months for the new registration plate, the first being the 51 plate in September for example LC 51 GWJ. Nowadays you can not only see the year of registration but also the month. It was felt that this would spread sales more evenly as motorists would be less aware of the registration plate but as any contract hire company will tell you, the peak sales months are March and September. So perhaps motorists continue to be aware of their registration plate.
Diagnostics have gradually become a more important aspect of fault finding in cars, making it more difficult for a motorist to hold onto a car over the long term without it becoming quite expensive; calling into to the local mechanic to sort out a problem is often not an option, he will frequently tell you that you will need to go to the main agent, because they have the diagnostic equipment or in some cases the special tools that are needed to carry out a repair.
These changes are pushing the small motor mechanic out of business and the owner of a particular marque towards the main dealership to have work done. This is making second hand cars more expensive to maintain and is a factor in people changing their cars, once they are outside the manufacturer's warranty.
Another consequence of this change is that the life span of second hand cars will become shorter, when owners discover that they cannot work on their own cars. As maintenance costs go up, cars will be scrapped sooner. This is what the manufacturers would like to happen, because it is an essential part of the cycle, for there to be buyers of the second hand cars coming onto the market, when they are replaced by new cars.
There will however always be some smaller workshops that specialise in a particular marque such as BMW; they will have the tools and the diagnostic equipment and will survive after other small garages have gone out of business. Their charges reflect the fact that they have had to invest in special tools and diagnostic equipment but they are nevertheless, less expensive than the main dealership.
For those who have perhaps a BMW or Mercedes and the vehicle is outside the manufacturer's warranty, these specialist garages can be ideal, although for many it does mean travelling to find their nearest garage specialising in their particular marque.
Complicated electronics in cars today is another example of how manufacturers have cleverly pushed the motorist into changing their car more frequently. Motorists are, with justification, fearful of having electronic problems with their car once the warranty has expired.
Mechanical problems are quite rare nowadays but electronic problems are on the increase and this strikes fear in the heart of many motorists, because they have heard stories of electronic faults that take weeks and sometimes months to cure, or may have experienced them whilst their vehicle was under warranty.
Not unnaturally the motorist starts to imagine what the cost of all this would be if the car were outside of the warranty. One solution would be to take out the manufacturer's extended warranty, although only a minority do so, with many more opting to change their car.
Many motorists would like to attach less importance to the type and age of car they drive and would be happy to change less frequently if others did. But of course others are not going to. It's partly to do with self esteem; many quite illogically, feel inferior if a newer or smarter car drives past them, although interestingly those that drive the more expensive cars do not generally feel superior to those who have a lesser car.
The motor industry has been very smart in the way they have changed how we buy cars; It is now quite unusual for someone to chose a 4 year term when taking a car on contract hire .Gradually they have changed our perception of what is an old car from 15 to20 years to 5 or 6 years old, without us noticing it was happening.
Should you have any queries or questions with regard to Fleet Management, Licence checking Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Lease Purchase or vehicle Hire Purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536. www.bowaterprice.com. - 16928
So why have our motoring habits changed so much from say the 1950's, when everything one bought was built to last? Whether it was a fridge, oven or motorcar, it was expected to last if not a lifetime, certainly 20 years or more, it changed subtly and the public didn't realize that they were slowly but surely being drawn into consumerism.
The gauge of the steel used in car panels was significantly different from that used today, if a car had a dent in a panel it meant it had been hit with some force. A head on collision in those days could be a pretty devastating business, because everything was so solid and there was no give in anything.
The British used to hear about the American "throw away society" and it all seemed quite disgraceful; buying things knowing that they were not going to last and then after what seemed like an indecently short period of time, just throwing them away
Before long however something similar was happening in Britain; people wanted everything to be newer and more modern and gradually without realizing it, we had adopted the American way. Nowadays contract hire companies find that many motorists opt for the shortest available contract hire term.
In post war Britain people tended to get things repaired if they went wrong and cars were no exception. Cars could run forever; the bodywork was solid and as long as the parts were available motorists could just keep repairing their own cars. The engines were fairly straightforward and there were no complicated electronics to worry about.
Before long the British motor manufacturers realized that as long as they continued to build cars to last and didn't change the models, the motorist had no incentive to buy a new one.
The Ford Zephyr Mark 2 was an example of the British car manufacturer's move towards the American design and the Cresta was Vauxhall's answer to the American style car; it really was quite ostentatious and very close in design to the American Packard. It was never going to become a classic car..
These new multi colour American looking cars that came out in the late 50's early 60's had the effect of making the cars around them look rather boring. Mostly they had the American style bench seats, which were favoured by the young, and column gear change.
A new style vehicle registration plate was launched in 1963 the last digit was the letter A. It was 60 years after number plates were first issued in Britain in1903. At first the new registration plate was only issued in certain parts of the country, but it wasn't long before it became nationwide.
At first the new registration appeared strange and then the penny dropped for many motorists; there was a way they could set themselves apart from other motorists and show them by their registration plate that they had the latest car. They had fallen into the trap of having the latest registration, only to find the following year that someone else was making their car look out of date.
This system changed in 1967 when the E registration came out in January but only lasted seven months and was then replaced by the F registration. August was set as the new month for vehicle registrations, which must have been a bit frustrating for the motorist that bought a new car in January 1967 thinking that he was going to have the latest registration plate for the next twelve months.
Motor manufacturers now had the motorist on the run; what with the number plate changing every year and models changing more frequently, motorists weren't so happy to hold onto their cars for so many years. August was a very difficult month for dealers; that's when everybody wanted to take delivery of their new car, so it went from the quietest month of the year to the most chaotic.
During the 90's it was reported that new cars were being stockpiled in various remote parts of the country, in old farm buildings, aircraft hangers and fields. This was done in preference to manufacturers cutting production levels. Apparently this resulted in some motorists buying a new car to get the latest registration plate, and yet getting an older car than the one they were disposing off.
In the 80's the pressure of having to have the latest model and registration seemed to increase; these were the Thatcher years, the boom years that eventually led to bust. One way out for some motorists was to buy a personalised number plate and then nobody would know how old their car was, or at least not until the manufacturer brought out the new model.
Always one step ahead the manufacturers started to bring out facelift models: This involved making small but noticeable changes to the design. This was a lot less expensive than introducing a new model and still had the desired effect; making those who had the pre facelift model, feel that their car was getting old.
2001 saw another change to the registration system; September and March were to be the months for the new registration plate, the first being the 51 plate in September for example LC 51 GWJ. Nowadays you can not only see the year of registration but also the month. It was felt that this would spread sales more evenly as motorists would be less aware of the registration plate but as any contract hire company will tell you, the peak sales months are March and September. So perhaps motorists continue to be aware of their registration plate.
Diagnostics have gradually become a more important aspect of fault finding in cars, making it more difficult for a motorist to hold onto a car over the long term without it becoming quite expensive; calling into to the local mechanic to sort out a problem is often not an option, he will frequently tell you that you will need to go to the main agent, because they have the diagnostic equipment or in some cases the special tools that are needed to carry out a repair.
These changes are pushing the small motor mechanic out of business and the owner of a particular marque towards the main dealership to have work done. This is making second hand cars more expensive to maintain and is a factor in people changing their cars, once they are outside the manufacturer's warranty.
Another consequence of this change is that the life span of second hand cars will become shorter, when owners discover that they cannot work on their own cars. As maintenance costs go up, cars will be scrapped sooner. This is what the manufacturers would like to happen, because it is an essential part of the cycle, for there to be buyers of the second hand cars coming onto the market, when they are replaced by new cars.
There will however always be some smaller workshops that specialise in a particular marque such as BMW; they will have the tools and the diagnostic equipment and will survive after other small garages have gone out of business. Their charges reflect the fact that they have had to invest in special tools and diagnostic equipment but they are nevertheless, less expensive than the main dealership.
For those who have perhaps a BMW or Mercedes and the vehicle is outside the manufacturer's warranty, these specialist garages can be ideal, although for many it does mean travelling to find their nearest garage specialising in their particular marque.
Complicated electronics in cars today is another example of how manufacturers have cleverly pushed the motorist into changing their car more frequently. Motorists are, with justification, fearful of having electronic problems with their car once the warranty has expired.
Mechanical problems are quite rare nowadays but electronic problems are on the increase and this strikes fear in the heart of many motorists, because they have heard stories of electronic faults that take weeks and sometimes months to cure, or may have experienced them whilst their vehicle was under warranty.
Not unnaturally the motorist starts to imagine what the cost of all this would be if the car were outside of the warranty. One solution would be to take out the manufacturer's extended warranty, although only a minority do so, with many more opting to change their car.
Many motorists would like to attach less importance to the type and age of car they drive and would be happy to change less frequently if others did. But of course others are not going to. It's partly to do with self esteem; many quite illogically, feel inferior if a newer or smarter car drives past them, although interestingly those that drive the more expensive cars do not generally feel superior to those who have a lesser car.
The motor industry has been very smart in the way they have changed how we buy cars; It is now quite unusual for someone to chose a 4 year term when taking a car on contract hire .Gradually they have changed our perception of what is an old car from 15 to20 years to 5 or 6 years old, without us noticing it was happening.
Should you have any queries or questions with regard to Fleet Management, Licence checking Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Lease Purchase or vehicle Hire Purchase, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536. www.bowaterprice.com. - 16928
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For more information about contract hire, lease purchase, finance lease or vehicle hire purchase in the UK please contact Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536.
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