spartan aircraft limited was a british aircraft manufacturer from 1930 to 1935 .

it was formed by reinvestment in simmonds aircraft which had suffered financially .

spartan aircraft ltd

simmonds spartan aircraft . a history of the simmonds spartan aircraft . 170 pages with many photos . available as a free download in pdf format at
spartan arrow g - abwp ( c / n 78 ) . the last remaining airworthy spartan aircraft in the uk .
more spartan images
: a selection of spartan images provide by john havers . includes the seldom seen spartan clipper g - aceg .
201 s - 3 spartan clipper , to g - aceg . r24 - 02 - 33 spartan aircraft , see photo below . destroyed cowes 04 - 05 - 42
in the beginning
: a contempory account of the launching of the simmonds spartan aircraft onto the commercial market .
pictures of g - abwp the last remaining airworthy spartan aircraft in the uk . . photo thanks to richard blain .
more simmonds spartan aircraft - including some 1930s pictures from southampton and the isle of wight - new picture on this page november 2008 .
4 cruiser mk ii regd g - acdx [ cofr 4193 ] 20 . 2 . 33 to spartan aircraft ltd , east cowes . cofa 3930 issued 19 . 6 . 33 and delivered 6 . 33 to spartan air lines ltd ; named hampshire . also carried name
faithful city
( when ? ) - see photo below . transferred 30 . 4 . 35 to united airways ltd , blackpool ; regd [ cofr 6353 ] 30 . 9 . 35 to them . transferred 10 . 35 to british airways ltd ; not regd . written - off in forced landing following engine failure fort monckton , nr gosport , hants 9 . 10 . 35 . regn cld 5 . 36 .
102 spartan cruiser mk . iii ( gipsy major ) regd g - adel ( cofr 5690 ) 14 . 3 . 35 to spartan aircraft ltd , east cowes . first flown 11 . 4 . 35 . cofa issued 18 . 4 . 35 . purchased 20 . 4 . 35 for £3 , 200 by spartan air lines ltd , heston . transferred 10 . 35 to british airways ltd . damaged in crash ronaldsway 23 . 3 . 36 ; repaired . sold 30 . 6 . 36 to northern & scottish airways ltd ; not delivered ( and not regd to them ) . regd ( cofr 7414 ) 23 . 10 . 36 to british airways ltd . regd ( cofr 7619 ) 25 . 1 . 37 to northern & scottish airways ltd ; dd 16 . 6 . 37 . reformed 12 . 8 . 37 as scottish airways ltd ; regd to them ( cofr 8564 ) 17 . 6 . 38 . regn cld 2 . 4 . 40 as sold . impressed as x9432 2 . 4 . 40 ; to 6 aacu ringway 7 . 4 . 40 . to 7 aacu 3 . 5 . 40 . soc 26 . 7 . 40 . ( picture below thanks to ron clark )
103 spartan cruiser mk . iii ( gipsy major ) regd g - adem ( cofr 5691 ) 14 . 3 . 35 to spartan aircraft ltd , east cowes . cofa issued 3 . 6 . 35 ; delivered 6 . 35 to spartan air lines ltd , heston . transferred 10 . 35 to british airways ltd ; regd to them ( cofr 6796 ) 3 . 3 . 36 . sold 30 . 6 . 36 to northern & scottish airways ltd ; delivered 6 . 7 . 36 ; regd to them ( cofr 7282 ) 19 . 8 . 36 . struck hangar on take - off stanley park 20 . 11 . 36 in thick fog , en route isle of man ; one crew ( capt oconnell ) & one passenger killed . regn cld 12 . 36 . . ( picture below thanks to ron clark )
spartans on stamps : use of the spartan on postage stamps in the past .
4 spartan cofa 1849 issued 11 . 2 . 29 to simmonds aircraft ltd . regd vh - uli [ cofr 310 ] 8 . 8 . 29 to robert bryce & co pty ltd , melbourne . regn cld 17 . 9 . 29 . regd zk - aay 19 . 10 . 29 to hawkes bay aero club . converted to 3 - seater ' 30 . regd [ cofr 60 ] [ . 34 ] to new zealand airways ltd , timaru [ shown as c / n 3 ] . crashed staveley , nr mount somers 12 . 2 . 37 .
3 cruiser mk ii regd g - acdw [ cofr 4192 ] 20 . 2 . 33 to spartan aircraft ltd , east cowes . cofa 3902 issued 12 . 5 . 33 and delivered to spartan air lines ltd same day . named faithful city and departed lympne on australian charter 10 . 10 . 33 for capt wp crawford - greene mp and lord apsley ; returned to england 26 . 12 . 33 . regd [ cofr 4993 ] 23 . 4 . 34 to spartan air lines ltd , heston . sold 28 . 4 . 34 to misr - airwork , egypt . regn cld 8 . 34 as sold . regd su - abl . 34 to misr - airwork sae , almaza . fate unknown ; regn cld post 7 . 36 .
picture of g - aane on this site . photograph of aircraft g - aane
101 spartan cruiser mk . iii ( gipsy major ) regd g - acyk ( cofr 5366 ) 2 . 5 . 35 to spartan aircraft ltd , east cowes . cofa issued 16 . 4 . 35 . delivered 20 . 4 . 35 to spartan air lines ltd , heston [ purchased at cost of £3 , 200 ] . transferred 10 . 35 to british airways ltd ; regd to them ( cofr 6896 ) 9 . 4 . 36 . sold 30 . 6 . 36 & regd ( cofr 7280 ) 19 . 8 . 36 to northern & scottish airways ltd ; regd to them 19 . 8 . 36 , but not dd until 1 . 6 . 37 . reformed 12 . 8 . 37 as scottish airways ltd [ but not so regd ] . crashed into hill of stake , largs , ayrshire 14 . 1 . 38 in bad weather ; glasgow - campbelltown ; crew unhurt . ( see photo below ) . remains recovered by 819 sqdn sea king 25 . 7 . 73 and transferred to museum of flight , east fortune , where on display .
spartan vh - ukq in papua new guinea 1935 / 36 . operations in rugged territory .
11 cruiser mk . ii regd g - acvt ( cofr 5210 ) 4 . 7 . 34 to spartan air lines ltd , heston . cofa issued 2 . 8 . 34 . transferred 10 . 35 to british airways ltd ; regd to them ( cofr 6702 ) 5 . 2 . 36 . transferred 17 . 5 . 36 to northern & scottish airways ltd . written off after over - running on landing skye on wet grass 25 . 7 . 36 . regn cld 12 . 36 . . ( picture below thanks to jim burgess )
construction of spartan cruiser wings at saro ' s premises at cowes . ( picture circa 1935 )
during 1936 passengers were able to fly to paris , malmo via amsterdam , hamburg , copenhagen and the isle of wight from gatwick . this year also saw the formation of southern aircraft ( gatwick ) ltd by capt . j . e . croxon to operate charters with rapides , proctors and ansons and to engage in aircraft maintenance .
the simmonds aircraft co . ltd was formed in 1928 by oliver simmonds in order to produce his simmonds spartan aircraft . the prototype was actually built in his house at woolston ( southampton ) and assembled at the rolling mills off archery rd in southampton . ( see picture below - sent by ken doggrell who ' s father - norman blake doggrell , worked for simmonds during the time the rolling mills were in use by the company )
106 spartan ii three - seater [ hermes iv ] g - acaf regd [ cofr 3997 ] 10 . 32 to spartan aircraft ltd , somerton . regd [ cofr 4267 ] 18 . 3 . 33 to hill & phillips ltd , st austell ; operated by subsidiary cornwall aviation co ltd on british hospitals air pageant . cofa 3843 issued 31 . 3 . 33 . operated on 1934 national aviation displays tour , flown by capt ew jordan . regd [ cofr 7327 ] 4 . 9 . 36 to [ successor ] air publicity ltd , heston . regd [ cofr 7928 ] 8 . 6 . 37 to patrick b hornidge , hayling island . regd [ cofr 8538 ] 7 . 6 . 38 to loftus cgm [ gerald ] le champion , leamington [ based bishops tachbrook ] . le champion died 21 . 9 . 38 and regn lapsed at census 1 . 1 . 39 . fate unknown but probably scrapped during wwii .
a second pier was opened at north terminal providing pier - served stands for 11 aircraft .
simmonds spartan ln - abg c / n 35 ski - equipped . pictures from norway and greenland .
spartan cruiser data : the performance data for the cruiser as published in
flight
in 1933 .
6 spartan [ cirrus iii ] cofa 1941 issued 6 . 4 . 29 to simmonds aircraft ltd . regd cf - abc [ cofr 580 ] 26 . 4 . 29 to dominion aircraft ltd , montreal . fitted with cirrus hermes 4 . 3 . 30 . sold 5 . 10 . 31 to a darling , montreal . sold 20 . 10 . 31 & regd [ cofr 1198 ] 15 . 9 . 32 to y henry , montreal . regd [ cofr 1316 ] 9 . 7 . 33 to a nelson , montreal . regd [ cofr 1513 ] 25 . 1 . 35 to j fecteau , bergerville , pq . regd [ cofr 1766 ] 31 . 7 . 36 to h peterson , latuque , pq . regd [ cofr 2113 ] 23 . 10 . 37 to o rouette , shawinigan falls , pq . crashed on landing quebec 7 . 11 . 37 . pilot and passenger killed . 7 spartan [ cirrus iii ] cofa 1942 issued 6 . 4 . 29 to simmonds aircraft ltd . regd cf - abd [ cofr 581 ] 26 . 4 . 29 to dominion aircraft ltd , montreal . fitted with gipsy . 29 ; cofr withdrawn . regn cld 26 . 11 . 30 ; spares for cf - abc .
baa plc , of which gatwick airport ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary , was floated on the stock exchange . 1 . 35 million people purchased shares in the company .
next catalogue ( s ) : de havilland aircraft , engines & propellers 3 volumes at publishers .
1 spartan [ cirrus iii ] g - ebyu regd [ cofr 1664 ] 23 . 6 . 28 to oliver e simmonds , woolston , southampton . first flight 7 . 28 . cofa 1518 issued 18 . 7 . 28 . operated [ 8 . 28 - 10 . 28 ] by isle of purbeck light aeroplane club , worth matravers , swanage . regd [ cofr 1809 ] 7 . 11 . 28 to simmonds aircraft ltd , hamble . crashed farnham st martins , bury st edmunds 10 . 3 . 29 . regn cld 3 . 29 . 2 spartan . cofa 1812 issued 23 . 1 . 29 to simmonds aircraft ltd . possibly flown 17 . 7 . 29 with redrup fury mk ii engine . fate untraced . note : a spartan reported as regd nc512e to scott aeronautic co with c / n 2sub . john davis has kindly provided the information on the faa card for
59 spartan three - seater [ gipsy ii ] g - ablj regd [ cofr 3130 ] 4 . 31 to spartan aircraft ltd , somerton . cofa 3005 issued 22 . 7 . 31 . regd [ cofr 3358 ] 8 . 31 to alexander g murray ; operated by wight aviation ltd , shanklin / portsmouth [ which became portsmouth , southsea & iow aviation ltd 4 . 32 ] . regd [ cofr 3930 ] 8 . 32 to portsmouth , southsea & iow aviation ltd , portsmouth . sold summer . 33 to unknown . regd [ cofr 5364 ] 20 . 9 . 34 to flt lt allen lr duke ; operated by yapton aero club , yapton . regd [ cofr 5770 ] 5 . 4 . 35 to yapton aero club ltd , yapton . regd . 39 to f / o alexander c douglas , raf tangmere . cofa lapsed 17 . 8 . 39 and sold 31 . 8 . 39 . bought 5 . 40 from george morgan - harris , hayling island and roaded to leicester . regd 27 . 6 . 40 to cecil j rice , cosby , leics . to local atc squadron . 44 . regn cld 13 . 8 . 45 as reduced to produce . seen below at ford in 1934 .
1 to learn how saunders began check out aircraft of the isle of wight : 1900 - 1919 .
the air ministry issued gatwick with its first public licence allowing the airport to be used by commercial aircraft .
the runway was extended to 8 , 200 feet to accommodate the growing number of jet aircraft using gatwick .
the caa ' s g - info site has the following but g - acaf was a spartan 3 seater not an avro - you may need to check your photo . follow the links and then on pre 1986 register entry . . . . . ginfo registration history | aircraft register | safety regulation ginfo registration history | aircraft register | safety regulation
simmonds spartan c of a 1849 issued 11 . 2 . 29 to simmonds aircraft ltd . registered vh - uli [ c of r 310 ] 8 . 8 . 29 to robert bryce & co pty ltd , melbourne . registration cancelled 17 . 9 . 29 . re - registered zk - aay 19 . 10 . 29 to hawkes bay aero club . converted to 3 - seater in 1930 . re - registered [ c of r 60 ] [ in 1934 ] to new zealand airways ltd , timaru . written off ( damaged beyond repair ) 12 . 2 . 37 when crashed on take off at staveley , near mount somers , south canterbury , on a flight intended to take aerial photos . the plane broke in two and caught fire . one of the occupants received a minor injury to one hand , the other person was unscathed .
pictured below - oliver e simmonds with the prototype simmonds spartan on the left and three seater c / n 53 on the right .
shortly thereafter , whitehall securities , in london , came into the picture . simmonds aircraft was formed , with my father contributing the spartan design for 50 % of the equity and whitehall taking the balance for the cash contributed . as your records show , a significant number of aircraft were built and i know the company also built a large number of de havilland gypsy moths under contract .
60 spartan three - seater [ hermes ii ] g - abpz regd [ cofr 3385 ] 30 . 9 . 31 to skywork ltd ; operated by the spartan air circus , south africa . cofa 3226 issued 7 . 10 . 31 . regn cld 11 . 32 as sold . regd zs - adp [ cofr 95 ] may . 32 to aero services pty ltd , germiston . crashed in sea off cape town 4 . 12 . 33 [ or 12 . 12 . 33 ] . 61 spartan three - seater [ hermes ii ] g - abra regd [ cofr 3386 ] 9 . 31 to skywork ltd ; operated by the spartan air circus , south africa . cofa 3225 issued 6 . 10 . 31 . regd [ cofr 3988 ] 10 . 32 to john stark , broxbourne . regd [ cofr 4234 ] 3 . 3 . 33 to edward a rance , stag lane . regn cld [ undated ] . regd ei - aat 15 . 6 . 33 to james m stjohn - kearney , dublin . regd 12 . 33 to ch gates . regn cld 5 . 2 . 35 as crashed [ but reportedly active kildonan 2 . 3 . 35 ] . . note : 2 ex - skywork spartan 3 - seaters were being operated 4 . 32 on joy - riding by air transport co , hayling island . 62 spartan three - seater [ hermes ii ] g - abrb regd [ cofr 3387 ] 30 . 9 . 31 to skywork ltd ; operated by the spartan air circus , south africa ; named miss mobiloil . cofa 3227 issued 9 . 10 . 31 . regn cld 11 . 32 as sold . dd 9 . 32 and regd vr - taj 10 . 32 to oscar garden , of the vacuum oil co of south africa , dar - es - salaam ; later [ 12 . 32 ] to zanzibar & kenya . crashed ladysmith , natal 26 . 5 . 34 .
photos of the restoration of simmonds spartan three seater c / 102 in new zealand . zk - arh flies again - plus other nz spartans .
gatwick became the nineteenth elementary and reserve flying training school in the country . airwork ltd moved in from heston , having been displaced from there due to lack of space . this maintenance company brought with them its contract to maintain whitley bombers for the raf and , along with southern aircraft , became a vital component of the raf ' s maintenance operations in wwii .
in the years since the first aircraft landed on the isle of wight , two isle of wight boat - building companies on the island had started to make aircraft of their own . the first was j samuel white & company , known as white ' s , which had so far specialised in seaplanes , and the other was saunders 1 , which previously had only built flying boat hulls for other aircraft companies .
dominion aircraft ltd based its avro 504 g - aacx at gatwick from november 1928 , but gatwick airport really began life when its new owner ronald waters , who had obtained his first flying license for £1 1s 0d ( 1 guinea ) , had the airfield licensed from 1st august 1930 . flying began that very weekend with pleasure flights for the local population in avro 504s of water ' s surrey aero club .
hello . i came across your post when researching an aircraft my father owned . this is also my first post , so i am hoping that i get a reply . if we are talking about the same aircraft , g - acaf was a spartan three seater which my father bought around 1936 . he kept it at southampton i believe , but used to joy ride it from hayling island . he would have also flew it around the south of england - i shall have to check his log books . the aircraft was badly damaged when he crashed it as a result of an undercarriage leg collapsing . he walked away fortunately . if you have any photos of this aircraft , i would be most interested to see them . i look forward to hearing from you . anthony .
spartan zk - abl ( c / n 39 ) . this photo comes via howard haugh in new zealand . the picture was taken at wanaka in the 1930s by his father .
hillman ' s airways ( the first airline to operate out of gatwick to paris and belfast ) merged with united airways and spartan airways in 1935 to form allied british airways limited .
5 cruiser mk ii regd g - acjo [ cofr 4438 ] 23 . 8 . 33 to spartan aircraft ltd , east cowes . cofa 4025 issued 7 . 9 . 33 . regn cld 9 . 33 as sold . regd yu - san [ cofr 55 coa 53 ] 2 . 10 . 33 to societe de navigation aerienne aeroput , belgrade . [ uk cofa renewed 21 . 2 . 35 ] . named
ljubljana
in sept 1933 to vv 4 . 41 , damaged in luftwaffe air raid 6 . 4 . 41 at zemen . captured by germans . regn cld pre 1 . 38 . noted wfu belgrade - zemun . 41 .
6 cruiser mk ii regd g - acmw [ cofr 4751 ] 19 . 12 . 33 to spartan aircraft ltd , east cowes . cofa 4233 issued 28 . 3 . 34 ; dd 5 . 4 . 34 . regn cld 4 . 34 as sold . regd yu - sao [ cofr 58 cofa 56 ] 9 . 5 . 34 to societe de navigation aerienne aeroput , belgrade . [ uk cofa renewed 8 . 2 . 35 ] . named
susak
1 . 7 . 34 . regn cld pre 1 . 38 . to vv 4 . 41 , damaged in luftwaffe air raid 6 . 4 . 41 at zemen . captured by germans .
by the end of the 1930s , somerton was used as a private airfield once more , with public services diverting to ryde . during the second world war , the airways were closed and anti - aircraft obstacles were placed on it to prevent germany from using them as landing points for invasion . two of the airports were re - opened , at sandown and bembridge . somerton , however , remained open throughout the war for the use of saunders - roe . three hangars were , unfortunately , destroyed in the raids of 1942 , along with the last spartan aircraft .
in about ' 24 , he was moved to the airworthiness dept . that involved the granting of certificates of airworthiness , to all new civil british aircraft . that job gave my father the opportunity to visit the design offices of all the then uk aircraft manufacturers , of which there were many . this exposed him to all the cutting edge thinking in the aerodynamics of that day .
a page of previously unpublished ( in the uk ) photos of vt - aat ( spartan c / n31 ) and it ' s owner purshottam meghji kabali on his abortive 1930 trip from croydon to india . .
in 1928 , at the age of 71 , samuel saunders retired . sir alliot verdon - roe , who had been the first man in britain to build his own aircraft and was responsible for the avro aircraft company , took over saunders and renamed it saunders - roe . after this happened , one of the first contracts that came up was one for the blackburn aircraft company . they built 55 bluebird iv aircraft , which were all - metal biplanes . also contracted was the development of the meteor , a twin - engined monoplane , for sir henry segrave 3 . after the prototype was built , sir henry segrave died on lake windemere on 14 june , 1930 , trying to raise the water speed record even further , and so only the prototype and three meteors were ever built .
the picture above shows spartan vt - aat ( c / n 31 ) at the bombay flying club on new years day 1931 . this image came from ardeshir b . damania ( to whom many thanks ) whose father behramji m . damania ( 1893 - 1982 ) is standing beside ' at . he often flew this aircraft . the ultimate fate of vt - aat is not known . if you have any information please
anthony , if you click on where it says motherbird , the second option allows you to send him a private message which he will receive in his email box . mrs mechta senior was born on hayling island , and mr mechta senior was born in chichester , and was / still is an avid modeller and aircraft enthusiast , so i will ask them if they recall either aircraft when i see them tomorrow .
4 in 1935 , spartan airways merged with united airways , which in 1936 became allied british airways , then british airways , which in 1939 became part of british overseas airways corporation , which later became the british airways we know today .
below is the text of a letter i received in april 2003 from oliver simmonds ' son geoffrey simmonds . this gives a fascinating insight into the background of the simmonds aircraft company . ( reproduced with his kind permission )
saunders - roe continued using the spartan name and built 13 arrows , a small two - seat biplane . they then designed the mailplane , a plane for mail carrying services . only the prototype was built , as it was developed into the cruiser , a passenger - carrying aircraft . 15 of these were built and were sold as far away as yugoslavia , czechoslovakia , egypt and india . the majority of the planes , however , were kept by saunders - roe and were used to start an air - travel company , spartan airways , in 1933 4 . by the end of 1933 it had proved so successful that it became part of southern railways and the railways air services network . you could fly to ryde , isle of wight , as well as to london and birmingham . bembridge airport , isle of wight , was also a regular stop . the last design under the spartan name was the clipper , but only one of those was built .
this picture , sent in by peter lane shows a spartan with a very young peter stood in front of it . it is a possibility that the photo , taken circa 1932 / 33 might have been taken in the bournemouth area ( possibly christchurch ? )
gatwick was sold to the redwing company , whose owner , mr f . bezner , was the manufacturer of a side - by - side two seater aircraft . he moved the redwing flying school in to join the surrey aero club .
9 spartan [ gipsy ii ] cofa 1967 issued 6 . 4 . 29 to south african af & evaluated roberts heights ( dd capetown to zwartkop 6 . 5 . 29 ) . to saaf 503 . sold 10 . 29 to lourenco marques , portuguese east africa .
512e simmons spartan # 2 ( sub ) . engine - cirrus iii s / n 173 - 3 identification mark 512e issued 15feb29 ; with application number i - 3493 issued to : scott aeronautic company inc . , 21 south 12th street , philadelphia pa cancelled -
washout .
a 1958 evening standard feature about the newly built airport marvelled at the new ' finger and gate ' system ( piers and gaterooms ) which would enable passengers to wait in one place until called to their aircraft , rather than walk or take a bus .
1 spartan cruiser mk . ii ( built under licence by fabrili zmaj ) regd yu - sap 24 . 5 . 35 to aeroput . c of r no . 71 . cofa no . 69 . named
nis
, cr 17 . 7 . 36 nr ljubljana . regn cld . 37
during the second world war , all private projects of saunders - roe ceased so that the company could concentrate on the war effort . as a result , saunders - roe spent the war years concentrating on building supermarine aircraft under contract , namely the supermarine walrus 5 and the supermarine sea otter , as supermarine were busy building spitfires . during the war , 461 supermarine walruses were built and 290 sea otters by saunders - roe . even j samuel white & co began to work on aircraft again , building spitfire , mosquito and lancaster parts , although they still concentrated mainly on shipbuilding .
hi has anyone details on prewar avro g - acaf and desoutter g - aane aircraft . where were they flown from ? who owned them ? my father had a flight in one or both while still at school so before 1937 i should think . both photographed in same field . cheers motherbird
on the 28 july , 1919 , j samuel white & company stopped building aircraft and concentrated on building boats once more . white ' s sold the somerton airfield to saunders , who were only just beginning to enter the world of aviation . saunders from then on concentrated on producing its own designs .
gatwick soon grew as a flying club and the aircraft ronald waters owned included an avro 504 , avro avian and a de havilland gipsy moth . by 1931 , the surrey aero club saw an increasing number of jockeys and racegoers arriving by air for meetings at the adjacent race course and a small hangar and clubhouse were built .
the ' beehive ' , the world ' s first circular terminal , was officially opened in 1936 . the beehive had several novel features including a 130 yard long subway to the train station so visitors to the airport could remain undercover from the time they left london victoria until the time they boarded an aircraft . this building still exists outside the southern perimeter and has recently been completely restored .
in 1928 , oliver simmonds started his own company in weston , southampton . he had worked for southampton ' s supermarine company , most famous for building the spitfire . oliver simmond ' s company was known as spartan , and it built club planes and air taxis . building the planes had been sub - contracted to saunders - roe and soon , saunders - roe had a controlling stake in the company , transferring manufacture to east cowes .
the first design for a plane after the war was for the kittiwake , an amphibian flying boat . it was a twin - engined craft capable of carrying up to seven passengers . in 1921 , vickers ltd gained a share in the company , and soon saunders built the valentia flying boat , based on vicker ' s vimy landplane bomber . by 1923 , three valentias had been built , but vickers no longer had a share in the company . saunders started work on building felixstowe f5 flying boats , and flying boats of their own design , including the medina and the valkyrie in 1927 . the valkyrie was the last consuta - built 2 flying boat that saunders built , after which they concentrated on metal - hulled flying boats , starting with the severn .
in 1965 a new joint helicopter development unit ( jhdu ) was formed at old sarum and it immediately absorbed the former hdu , which became a section entitled
short range transport development unit
. in 1963 the 622th ( volunteer ) gliding school became based at old sarum and the school was amalgamated with the amphibious warfare school from poole in dorset to form the joint warfare establishment , being equipped with a few whirlwinds and wessexes . the final change was the amalgamation of army air transport development and the jhdu in 1968 to become the joint air transport establishment ( jate ) . in december 1971 old sarum ceased as an raf airfield , although it served with the army until 1979 . a raf flying club , the bustard flying club was formed in 1957 flying two de havilland tiger moth aircraft . the aircraft were used for flying training , flown by raf instructors .
the five pictures below show vr - taj at some time between march 24th and late june 1933 . the pictures , kindly provided by itai meshulam , show his grandparents avraham and zipora fellman and avraham ' s sister rivka hayutman and her husband herzel . location is somewhere in palestine . oscar garden carried out a season of pleasure flights in palestine from march to june 1933 . note that g - abrb is showing through on the aircraft ' s side .
the aviation heritage museum provides a unique museum experience of civilian and military aviation through its extraordinary aviation displays , helpful guides and special tours . the museum ' s talented volunteers have designed , donated and built a truly amazing array of aviation displays that include 30 aircraft and thousands of artefacts . from the helpful gift shop attendants to the meticulous restorers , the museum’s hundreds of volunteers have truly built one of the most unique museums in the southern hemisphere or even the world .
8 spartan . cofa 1971 issued 17 . 4 . 29 to frank mase . regd zk - aap 9 . 2 . 29 to hf [ frank ] mase ; named the all black 19 . 4 . 29 . crashed into tree on take - off after forced landing roanne , loire , 30 ml nw of lyon 24 . 4 . 29 [ 26 . 4 . 29 ? ] on uk to new zealand flight . wreck returned to uk but not repaired . photos below show naming ceremony by lady bailey at croydon .
this plane belonged to my grandfather harold arthur nance - kivell . i believe that in 1932 he was the first man to take air mail from hokittka to okuru via the franz joseph glazier . he along with mr preston and mr stopforth formed west coast airways ltd and the westland aero club . he landed at haast ( in the river bed ) in 1933 and flew over the pass to dunedin a year or two later . there were no landing grounds in those days and he told me that he landed on paddocks , beaches and riverbeds , waiting for low tide so he could make joy rides at westport . from memory when he chatted about those days , he mentioned a story about a badly injured ill man , it was raining too hard and would take forever for a stretcher to go in by foot and bring him to hospital , grandpa flew in very dangerous conditions to collect him . he said it was the only time he was very scared . so in fact he was perhaps the first flying ambulance service .
hello sorry for delay in replying . the photograph of g - acaf was in an old photo album of my fathers . it was taken possibly around 1934 as other photos are of that date . it gives no indication of where it was taken but there are other aircraft on the same field . he writes underneath one of these . my first and perhaps only flight . he was proved to be very wrong on this point as he eventually joined the raf during wwii and flew tiger moths , hurricanes and spitfires as a reconnaissance pilot with 16 168 and 2 squadron ! cheers motherbird . i shall now attempt to post photo of album .
the museum has special tours available on request . one is the “inside lancaster tour” which consists of a personalised tour of the inside and outside of the restored lancaster bomber . the tour takes about an hour to an hour and a half , with detailed descriptions of the mechanics and working of the aeroplane . included is a personal description of each of the crewmembers jobs and positions . this tour is a once in a lifetime opportunity to view first hand the trials and tribulations of being on a lancaster aircraft in ww2 . find out what it is like to crawl over the two wing spars , sit in the wireless operator’s seat and touch the navigator’s desk inside this unique craft . cost is only $ 125 . 00 per person with a maximum of two visitors on each tour . you must book in advance . for an extra $ 50 . 00 you can add a tour inside the dakota c - 47 and spitfire mark xxii .
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urltoken
whether working in aviation , retired , wannabee or just plain fascinated this forum welcomes all with a love of flight .
ah well that didn ' t work ! maybe this will . . . . urltoken
hi , i was just researching some old photos i have and have found one of g - acaf on the ground about to be started . if any one is interested please let me know , peter
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in 1929 , saunders - roe designed three similar types of flying boat , the cutty sark , cloud , and windhover . all three were monoplane flying boats , and 35 were built . seventeen clouds entered service with the raf , as did a cutty sark . one of the windhovers set a flight endurance record of 54 hours and 13 minutes , flown by a mrs bruce . the next project was the larger london flying boat , which was immensely successful : 31 were built between 1936 and 1938 . it was the london flying boat that was chosen to represent the raf on the 150th anniversary of the founding of the state of new south wales in 1937 . five londons flew across the world to australia , perfectly demonstrating the london ' s long range ability .
one design of flying boat , the a33 , was abandoned after tests with the prototype proved unsuccessful . the next flying boat design was the lerwick . the lerwick was a monoplane development of the london , 21 were built for the raf .
at this time , there were four active airports on the island , at somerton ( cowes ) , ryde , sandown and bembridge . ryde was the busiest airport , which since 1932 had offered sunshine air express services . bembridge was the island base for channel air ferries limited , which offered services to the channel islands and le bourget , france . sandown airport was smaller than the others , but was used by various air services .
shortly before the war began , saunders - roe had started a flying boat project . imperial airways had flying boats on scheduled flights to america , south africa , india , singapore and australia . the flying boats they started off with were c class , later upgraded to the larger g class . saunders - roe anticipated an even larger flying boat , three times the size of the c class , weighing 80 tons . saunders - roe then built a one - third scale flying boat to act as a research vessel . it was soon nicknamed shrimp , but it was larger than both the sea otter and walrus . the research model was finished in the same month in which war broke out with germany and the project had to be put on hold .
2 consuta is a material made by sewing together laminated sheets of plywood and interlayering waterproofed calico .
the hitchhiker ' s guide to the galaxy is a wholly remarkable book . it has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships . it contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers .
canadian spartans
: a detailed history of cf - abc and cf - abd compiled from dot records by terry judge .
zk - abk flies again
: the story of the rebuild and co . uklight ( 1st nov 2008 ) of zk - abk after 68 years .
the two photos above show g - abwo ( c / n 66 ) at an unknown location . the person on the right in both pictures is norman wiltshire - part owner of this aircaft . g - abwo crashed at burnt out at maylands in 1940 . the photos were kindly provided by norman ' s son , alan wiltshire .
there are many gaps in the list below . if you can help fill them please
( that is the correct presentation of the registration - no n and no c . ) . . . . . .
* * * also shown as c / n 6 in places - conflicts with cf - abc .
the top photo below shows c / n 9 in the saaf colours . ( from sandf archives via winston brent ) .
the lower photo shows c / n 9 and zk - aap ( c / n 8 ) being assembled .
the photo caption says
at hamble
, however the building looks more like the rolling mills than hamble .
the two pictures immediately below show ( left ) g - aagy being refuelled at an heston .
right shows g - aagy at heston before the king ' s cup air race .
picture below of g - acaf , believed to be at lawson ' s field , west chirton farm , north shields on the british hospitals air pageant , 19th september 1933 , provided by patrick ray .
my father in 1914 had obtained a scholarship from taunton to magdalene college , cambridge to read history . during his last year at taunton , the rfc landed a plane on the football fields and my father was hooked ! he signed up with the rfc and with a total of less than 20 hrs , went to france and flew fe 2b ' s , a light bomber with two crew . in those days you flew until you were dead or wounded .
upon his entry to cambridge 1n 1919 , he asked if he could use his scholarship to read engineering , rather than history , which was agreed . upon his graduation in 1922 , he joined the rae at farnborough . during his time there , he wrote in conjunction with the only female enginner there , a paper on the effects of supersonic flight on an air foil . as i understand it , ( not being an engineer ) they did that by turning up the speed of the fan in the wind tunnel so that the air flow over the tips of the blades exceeded the speed of sound .
the royal australian air force association along with community assistance from sponsors , visitors , and friends of the museum makes the museum one of the top self funded museums in australia .
while being transported back to the bull creek estate , we thought we would take the mk16 spitfire replica for a spin down adelaide terrace in the perth cbd . enjoy the short video https : / / www . dropbox . . . .
open 10 . 00am to 4 . 00pm every day , except christmas day , boxing day , new years day and good friday . telephone : ( 08 ) 9311 4470
adults ( 16 & over ) $ 15 . 00 * * * children ( 4 to 16 ) $ 7 . 50 * * * family ( 2 adults & up to 4 children ) $ 35 . 00 under 4 years are free * * * students & concession card holders $ 10 . 00
school group bookings : ph 93114470 to discuss . children in groups $ 5 . 00 , teachers and other supervisors ( including parents ) free .
guided tours are conducted by our volunteers and need to be booked at least one week in advance .
the name gatwick can be dated back to 1241 , when richard de warwick assigned his rights to some land in the manor of charlwood ( four acres of meadow and 18 acres of land ) to john de gatwick and his heirs . the land was part of what was later known as the manor of gatwick and was owned by the de gatwicks until the 14th century when it then passed to various different families .
in 1890 , gatwick was purchased by the gatwick race course company . the race course opened in 1891 , complete with its own railway station .
during the first world war , the aintree grand national was abandoned and a substitute was run over the same distance at gatwick in 1916 , 1917 and 1918 . the winning horses and jockeys for those years were : 1916 - vermouth ridden by j . reardon ; 1917 - ballymacad ridden by e . driscoll and 1918 - poethlyn ridden by e . piggott ( lester piggott ' s grandfather ) .
morris jackaman bought gatwick for £13 , 500 and in 1934 formed airports limited .
jackaman secured the services of marcel desoutter as his business manager . the two later became business partners in 1935 when airports limited was made public - 840 , 000 shares were sold for 5s each and together they formulated plans for a terminal building .
a new railway station was opened at gatwick in september 1935 and was initially served by two southern railway trains an hour , on the victoria to brighton line .
on sunday 17 may 1936 , passengers boarded the first scheduled service from gatwick to paris - the single fare for the flight cost four pounds and five shillings ( equivalent today of £160 . 22 ) and included the first class train fare from victoria .
gatwick ' s ' association ' with the spanish civil war began around this time and makes interesting reading .
during the second world war , the airport was requisitioned by the air ministry for use by the raf , its area was later extended by further requisitioning to include part of gatwick racecourse .
gatwick was retained under requisition and operated for civilian use by the ministry of civil aviation with a small number of charter airlines using the airport .
the government gave approval for the proposed development of gatwick as an alternative to heathrow .
gatwick closed in march 1956 and building began on ' the new london airport ' .
gatwick airport consultative committee , an independent forum of all interested parties concerned with the development and operation of the airport , met for the very first time in 1956 . the committee still plays a pivotal consultative role on airport issues today .
the new gatwick airport was built in two and three - quarter years costing £7 . 8 million .
gatwick was the first airport in the world to combine air , rail and road transport in a close - knit single unit .
the first airline to operate out of gatwick in 1958 was transair and in the first seven months of operating , 186 , 172 passengers used the airport - gatwick now welcomes that many passengers in one busy weekend .
members may read a detailed description of the official opening and the events surrounding it by clicking here .
passenger figures grew to 368 , 000 , still less than a busy week in south terminal today .
work began on enlarging the airport - the terminal was doubled in size and two more piers were built .
since the opening of the terminal still in use today , these are some year by year highlights . . . . . . . . .
passenger figures exceeded 2 million for the first time and the new office block was constructed above the terminal building .
the runway was extended to 9 , 075 feet in 1970 and again in 1973 to 10 , 165 feet ( today it is 3 , 256 metres in length ) .
pier 2 was opened . it was extended in 1984 , providing extra jetty - served stands .
pope john paul ii flew into gatwick on the first papal visit to the uk .
the satellite pier was officially opened by lavinia , duchess of norfolk . the satellite replaced the old north pier and incorporated the first rapid transit system of its kind outside the usa . work also began on building a second terminal . the north terminal was to be the largest single construction project south of london to have taken place in the 1980 ' s - the main building is approximately six times the size of the royal albert hall .
the new air traffic control tower was built and officially opened by princess michael of kent - the tower is still among the tallest in europe .
construction began on the new northern runway , which would be used as alternative to the main runway in case of emergencies .
pier 1 is the only part of the present day south terminal that dates back to the original building in 1958 . a complete modernisation building programme was finished in 1985 to refurbish the pier .
in july 1985 , british airways concorde made its first ever commercial flight from gatwick .
the £200 million north terminal was officially opened by her majesty the queen and the duke of edinburgh .
the new north terminal international departures lounge and the first phase of the new south terminal international departures lounge opened . the investment for both the lounges was £30 million .
baa gatwick launched its ground - breaking sustainable development strategy , which , following three years close consultation with local authorities and communities around gatwick , outlines how the airport should develop during the next ten years .
a £29 . 5m extension to the international department lounge in the south terminal was opened , offering increased seating capacity and new shops and restaurants .
a new extension to the north terminal international departure lounge was opened , a £35m development which offers passengers extra seating and a wider range of shops and catering facilities .
on thursday 27th may 2004 . having been earlier in the week , the new ' air bridge ' is christened by on 27th may 2004 . there is a 2 . 5 meter clearance for a 747 - 400 tail fin .
after many years service with the gatwick airport fire service , hs121 trident 3b g - awzx was finally scrapped .
the new pier 6 air bridge was officially opened on may 16th by alistair darling mp .
the boscombe down aviation collection ( bdac ) tells the history of boscombe down and explains the place it has in the history of flight and air test . in essence the aim is to preserve the past for the future , the same goal as every aeronautical museum . military flying began at boscombe down in 1917 and continues to the present day . experimental operation began in 1940 and the site remains at the forefront for testing as the uk ' s and western europe ' s only dedicated military flight test centre . boscombe down has played a major role in the history of flight and air test . the major aim is to bring this story to life by restorations , construction of replicas and allowing people to experience sitting in some powered cockpits .
no . 9 squadron raf between 1930 and 1935 with the vickers virginia . no . 10 squadron raf between 1931 and 1937 with the virginia and the handley page heyford . no . 51 squadron raf between 1937 and 1938 with the virginia , avro anson and the armstrong whitworth whitley . no . 58 squadron raf between 1937 and 1938 with the anson and the whitley . no . 78 squadron raf between 1936 and 1937 with the heyford no . 88 squadron raf between 1937 and 1939 with the hawker hind and the fairey battle . no . 97 squadron raf between 1935 and 1937 with the heyford . no . 150 squadron raf between 1938 and 1939 with the battle . no . 166 squadron raf between 1936 and 1937 with the heyford . no . 214 squadron raf between 1935 and 1935 with the virginia . no . 217 squadron raf between 1937 and 1937 with the anson . no . 218 squadron raf between 1938 and 1939 with the battle . no . 224 squadron raf between 1937 and 1937 with the anson .
no . 35 squadron raf during 1940 with the handley page halifax i . no . 56 squadron raf during 1940 with the hawker hurricane i . no . 109 squadron raf between 1940 and 1942 with the whitley , anson and vickers wellington . no . 249 squadron raf during 1940 with the hurricane .
old sarum airfield ( icao : egls ) is located 2 nautical miles north northeast of salisbury . the airfield has a caa ordinary licence ( number p768 ) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorized by the licensee ( blanefield airfield operations ) , but the airfield is not licensed for night use . the site is a mix of residential and industrial sites . residential areas are located to the east , occupying the old airfield quarters and officers ' mess , now known as throgmorton hall . industrial and business units occupy a large number of the original world war i and world war ii airfield buildings , as well as several large modern warehouses , office blocks and car showrooms , a development which is continuing to the present day . old sarum is the best - preserved flying field of the world war i period . it is bounded by one of the most complete suites of technical and hangar buildings of the period .
the site for old sarum airfield was selected in 1917 , to provide facilities for a training station for the rapidly expanding royal flying corps ( rfc ) . like many others of this period , the airfield was provided with a cluster of general service sheds and a camp consisting largely of wooden buildings . it was opened in august 1917 and was briefly known at first as
ford farm
but very soon instead took the name of the much more distinguished local fortifications . its first task was to act as a base for the formation of three new day - bomber squadrons which ultimately would be sent across the english channel to operate in france . the royal air force ( raf ) was founded on april 1st , 1918 by the amalgamation of the royal flying corps and royal naval air service . on the same day a new flying training unit was formed at old sarum to become the airfield ' s principal resident unit . this was the 11 training depot station , which task was the operational training of fresh aircrews .
english electric lightning f . 2a ( xn726 ) the right side in metal . . .
alabama - 3 california - 5 connecticut - 2 delaware - 3 dist . of col . - 1 florida - 4 georgia - 4 illinois - 2 indiana - 1 iowa - 1 kansas - 3 louisiana - 2 maryland - 1 michigan - 3 minnesota - 3 montana - 1 nevada - 1 new hampshire - 1 new jersey - 2 new mexico - 1 new york - 1 north carolina - 7 ohio - 1 pennsylvania - 2 tennessee - 1 texas - 15 virginia - 1 washington - 1 united kingdom - 1 total = 74


my car check is a british vehicle history checking company owned by cdl vehicle information services .

my car check works with the police , the national vehicle crime intelligence service ( navcis ) , the driver and vehicle licensing agency ( dvla ) , the association of british insurers ( abi ) , the motor insurers ' bureau ( mib ) , the finance and leasing association ( fla ) , the british vehicle rental and leasing association ( bvrla ) and the national association of motor auctions ( nama ) , among others , to confirm if a vehicle has ever been clocked , scrapped , stolen or written-off , is still subject to a finance arrangement , or has had a registration plate or colour change .

my car check holds data on all types of vehicles registered in the uk , including cars , vans and motorcycles .

the data is sourced from organisations including the dvla , the police , the association of british insurers , plus members of the finance and leasing association and ccta it has provided advice on a wide range of consumer motoring issues including used car scams , vehicle crime , motor finance , new legislation , the best times to buy and specific makes and models .

mycarcheck

using apkpure app to upgrade mycarcheck , fast , free and save your internet data .
i agree mycarcheck is a scam , but your poorly created site isn ' t helping anyone .
“police don’t generally have the resources to investigate stolen vehicles these days , ” says justin powell , consumer business manager at mycarcheck . com .
this year has seen a marked increase in used - car scams , according to vehicle data provider mycarcheck . com . here are the five most common .
i have used mycarcheck and find them great value , yes there is an option to buy a mileage check but it is very obvious , at least you get the choice .
these are the most common scams reported to mycarcheck’s glasgow call centre from sep 2014 to feb 2015 . please note : most concern private sales as buying from a registered dealer means additional consumer protection .
any consumers who suspect these activities can call mycarcheck for advice . we have good links with popular car buying sites and frequently get such adverts taken down before anyone falls victim to them . mycarcheck . com’s parent company , cdl vehicle information services , performs over a million look - ups a day for companies including autoexpress , comparethemarket , urltoken , go - compare , moneysupermarket , swiftcover , tesco compare and whatcar ? .
you know the saying -
if the uk sneezes , we get a cold
and in my experience that is very often true . so to that end i came across this from mycarcheck , the uk consumer vehicle data provider . it recently reported that 32 per cent of the finance checks it conducted in february 2015 flagged up potentially major issues . to further underline the increasing importance of finance checks , mycarcheck has compiled a list of current used car scams .
according to cdl vehicle information services , which owns vehicle history check site mycarcheck . com , the ‘escrow con’ – where money is supposedly held by a third party – remains the top tactic being used to target motorists buying used cars online .
have used mycarcheck on a few occasions . great way of checking a vehicle out . have phoned them on a couple of times as well to check out various things regarding outstanding finance on searches etc and have to say that the people on the phone couldn ' t do enough to help , nothing was too much bother . had a query where a seller told me finance had been cleared but was still showing on the search , phoned the guys at mycarcheck who then got in touch with finance company on my behalf to check all was ok . kept me updated on the progress . 5 star service from 5 star staff at a 5 star company as far as i am concerned . no hesitation in recommending . .
escrow fraud . if you buy online watch for when cash is supposedly safely held by a third party , says roger powell at mycarcheck . com . “you see an advert for a temptingly priced car and the seller suggests you pay a third party to hold funds until the car is delivered . don’t do it . the car will never arrive and your money won’t be returned . ”
i understand now , the first service was in 2008 when the mini was mot ' d and the mileage was 14 , 900 . cant believe im having this problem over a simple typo , lost a sales aswel from this . would be mycarcheck be at fault here or the dvla etc . ? i will get on the case of the dealers tomorrow , you guys have been great
roger powell , head of cdl vehicle information services , which owns mycarcheck , said : “this is a busy time of year in the used car market as the new number plate launch on 1st march boosts sales activity . when buying a secondhand car it is important to be aware of the risks . many vehicles offered for sale will have a far from perfect history . others will be outright crooked .
i have never seen any of the paperwork involved in hpi or mycarcheck or any of them . just out of curiosity , do they have a disclaimer along the lines of ; ' this information based on what we believe to be true ' , or is it carved in stone . i don ' t think i would be very pleased to have paid someone for information which turned out to be false .
hi guys , really need some help here . im in the process of selling my much loved mini cooper i agreed a price with someone only for him to inform me that he thinks the car have been clocked . this was a shock to me and filled me with dread . after calming down a bit i decided to investigate into this and found the info mycarcheck gave me was very confusing . my car was registered on 01 / 09 / 2004 . i checked the vosa website and tracked the mot records back to its first mot on 07 / 05 / 2008 with the milage of 14 , 000 and the mileage climb seems fine every year . this is where the confusion comes in , according to mycarcheck the recorded mileage on 09 / 04 / 2008 was 149 , 000 ! ( yes correct amount of zeros ) question is can the mileage be recorded before the first mot ? or have the mini had an incredibly had 4 year and then been clocked before the first mot . the car is in stunning condition and runs beautifully . surely it couldnt have done over 170 , 000 . the clock is reading 68000 and that matches wit mots and its service history . please can someone help me as i believe this is an error on the behalf of mycarcheck .
before you pick up the phone , write an email , or place a bid on a car , use the service of mycarcheck . com . great value and the information you will find is well worth the small investment and may save you wasting a lot of time . back this service up with mot info from urltoken and you ' ll have a very sound base knowledge to arm yourself with before jumping into any car purchase .
all mileages are recorded at the servicing . what was the mileage at the first service ? it wasn ' t 50 , 000 miles . and the second service ? it wasn ' t 100 , 000 miles . and the third when it had its first mot . it wasn ' t 149 , 000 miles . ( on minis the inspection check is an mot so the history stored in the car ' s computer verifies all this ) to get this corrected you will need to get proof from mini ( dealer or customer services ) then send a copy to mycarcheck and tell them to correct misleading info immediately .
i was quite surprised at the various levels of checks carried out by different hpi companies . after seeing the urltoken website for comparisons i had planned to get 2 cheaper reports done which together covered at least as many checks as much more expensive ones . i checked out urltoken and found their £15 report to be pretty comprehensive and it also included an important finance check . when the finance section of the report flagged up red i was really pleased i ' d gone for this one . i phoned up the mycarcheck contact number to find out more , expecting to be given a bit of a runaround , but spoke to a very helpful person who not only contacted the finance company , but also got back to me within a few minutes explaining that all was now clear . and he also gave me some other helpful information . conclusion . comprehensive report , decent price and helpful staff . many thanks , and would happily recommend .
there was a similar post not very long ago on the same thing . the info mycarcheck has comes from various sources such as the dealers and traders as well as the previous owners . this is where mistakes are made . i have been contacted after i have sold cars and i cannot remember exactly how many miles were on the clock so i did not complete the form . i have been in dealers ' offices when these questionnaires are being completed and in a lot of cases the salesman simply guesses . so if the car had done 48 , 675 miles the chances are the form will show 50 , 000 just to round up and make life easy . if the mot check comes back looking good , then next step is to compare it with the service history . if that is all good you can contact your mini dealer who will have a record of the work done and mileage etc . if you have diagnostic equipment you can read the service history and see how many inspections , brake fluid changes , brake pads etc that the car has had . this will show you if it has been clocked which it sounds like it has not . its a typo error .
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bt hikes the cost of holding on to their email address to £7 . 50 a month for former customers
help ! my mother ' s will is being flouted and my stepfather ' s daughters have got everything . what do i do ?
market report : german newspaper tycoon builds a 12 . 5 % stake in online estate agent purplebricks despite lacklustre results
an artist ' s dream inspiration ! home of impressionist painter lucien pissarro goes on sale for £2 . 95m - complete with a studio and blue plaque
the hottest spot north of havana . . . my £705 taxi on the copacabana : tony hetherington investigates
' i almost paid a fraudster £4 , 000 for a car he didn’t even own . ' as conmen increasingly target motorists , could you be next ?
michelle wetherell had been looking to upgrade her 11 - year - old honda civic for some time .
the bt call centre worker from devon couldn’t afford a new car and was searching for a used one when her husband ian spotted a newer honda civic within their budget on gumtree .
‘the seller wanted our direct email address as he claimed to be having issues with mailing via gumtree , so we carried on exchanging emails , ’ says michelle , 38 . ‘since listing the advert , he ' d moved to ireland but was more than happy to come over if we were looking to buy . he said he ' d had the car from new since 2008 .
‘i don ' t know what it was , but something told me we should still do an hpi check , even though he’d said it was hpi clear . ’
when the hpi search – which is used to check a vehicle’s history - came back it revealed the car had had two previous owners before the current one and the last sale of the vehicle was in march - a month earlier . michelle rang the seller and asked again how long he ' d had the car . again , he said since 2008 .
‘this started alarm bells ringing , ’ says michelle . ‘he emailed clips ‘from gumtree’ which suggested using an intermediary finance company to protect both buyer and seller , with links . ’
when michelle looked for the company online , nothing came up . she did a search under ‘car selling scams’ and was distraught to read a similar description to their situation .
she says : ‘we were only a few clicks away from setting up an account on the intermediary site and forwarding £4 , 000 , which would have been gone forever .
‘the seller never owned the car , they used photos and adverts from a previous legitimate car sale . i cried when i realised we’d been so close to losing the money . ’
michelle isn’t alone in being targeted by a car scam – but not everyone realises they’re being duped before it’s too late .
when michelle called action fraud to report the incident she was told they’d had a call from a man the night before who’d been scammed by what they thought was the same seller . he’d parted with £7 , 500 .
it warns the latest twist on the scam involves the fraudster claiming the car is being sold by the family of a uk serviceman on active service in afghanistan .
someone scratches your car and leaves a note apologising and promising to send a repair company .
cdl divisional head roger powell explains : ‘the cover story is a laptop needs to be plugged into the car’s engine control unit ( ecu ) to establish the correct paint code . they then claim they don ' t carry that particular paint and will return later , which they don’t . they now have all the information required to create a copy of the owner ' s key and can return to steal the vehicle at any time . ’
a scammer instigates a minor crash with your car , such as braking suddenly so you drive into the back of them . after swapping details , they claim for whiplash injuries from your insurance company , pushing up your premium .
fraudsters steal your number plate or get an identical one made so a car almost identical to yours can carry your plate .
this is sometimes done to avoid parking tickets and speeding fines ( the innocent owner gets sent the bill ) .
stolen cars are also cloned to disguise their identity , and if you ‘buy’ a cloned vehicle you stand to lose the car and the money paid for it . the aa’s advice for buyers is to ask for a v5c registration document and service history , view and buy from the registered owner’s address , never pay less than 70 % of the market value of the vehicle and get a receipt detailing vehicle , price and seller’s details . car clocking
miles are taken off a car’s odometer to increase its perceived value . according to hpi , one in 20 cars it checks records a discrepant mileage , up more than 10 % over the past five years .
check the service history for mileage and that signs of wear and tear in the car match the mileage . you can also get a history check done by hpi for £19 . 99 .
phill jones , commercial director of used car website motors . co . uk , advises : ‘a rough guide to annual mileage should be about 15 , 000 miles . if the car you are looking to buy is five years old with just 20 , 000 miles on the clock , you could look into why it is so low .
‘if it ' s too good to be true - it probably is . ’
bt hikes the cost of holding on to their email address to . . .
is buying a title for £195 ever worth it ? i ' m lord toby - . . .
am i allowed to give my children £10 , 000 in cash for . . .
the 10 devious new scams you ' ve never heard of ( and how . . .
' i was paying £100 a month for directory enquiries ' : how . . .
auto trader said it would give away a new car every time england scored at the world cup - now it has a bill for £187k ( and counting . . . )
james bond aston martin db5 driven by pierce brosnan in goldeneye to go under the hammer for £1 . 6million
ayrton senna ' s record - breaking 1993 mclaren formula one car sells for €4 . 2million in monaco
room for the kids , ripe for the race track and ready to cross a continent : eight of the best cars that can do it all . . . if money is no object
could a dashcam cut your car insurance by a fifth ? 4 . 5million drivers already have one - and experts say they may soon be as popular as satnav
a £600 , 000 deposit , monthly payments of £26 , 000 and £1 . 8m to pay at the end - how the mega - rich finance the most exclusive supercars
britons might be forced to buy a £5 . 50 permit to drive on the continent
volvo xc60 scoops the 2018 uk car of the year award - but out of the 13 shortlisted motors it ' s not the one that our readers chose . . .
rodent - riddled ferrari 275 gtb and shelby cobra worth £2 . 8 million found untouched for 27 years in a garage that was due to be bulldozed
auto trader said it would give away a new car every time england scored at the world cup - now it has a bill for £156k ( and counting . . . )
back of the net ! auto trader said it would give away a new car every time england scored at the world cup - now it has a bill for £187k ( and counting . . . )
most drivers who appeal against tickets are successful . read how you can beat the traffic wardens
there are easy ways to find the cheapest petrol . and there ' s simple tricks that will help you use less fuel
the most potentially dangerous car to be bought second hand has been revealed , according to experts .
four in 10 of the vehicles are being put up for sale after being written off and nearly 30 % are being advertised while still on finance , according to vehicle history experts my car check .
one in 20 of the cars had other issues when prospective buyers checked them out .
other cars in the to be vigilant about include the audi a3 s - line tdi , the ford focus zetec and the bmw 520d m sport .
but the most risky car to buy has been unveiled as the vauxhall corsa sxi .
britain’s flashiest tourist has arrived in london with a fleet of gold cars worth more than £1 million . the young man recently flew into the uk from saudi arabia with a number of his friends . but instead of taking the tube or taxis , he decided to fly a number of outlandish cars across for travelling around the capital
also on the list are the bmw 520d m sport and the vauxhall corsa limited ed .
cars still on finance can be repossessed if the loan isn ' t paid – and whoever buys the vehicle could end up losing cash .
almost half of all used vehicles have a warning against them ,
head of my car check roger powell told the sun .
max george to ditch the wanted tom ' s wedding to jet to russia . . .
ant mcpartlin ' won ' t return to i ' m a celeb this year ' says pal . . .
strictly babe gemma atkinson teases gym - honed abs in skin - tigh . . .
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“as well as confirming if a car has been written - off or stolen , a major part of our business these days is checking whether a vehicle is clear of debt . 32 % of all finance checks conducted by our glasgow call centre during february flagged up potentially major issues , usually outstanding finance secured against the vehicle . of the 30 million cars on our roads , around a quarter are on finance , so this apparently shocking figure is no great surprise .
“as a full member of both the finance and leasing association ( fla ) and the motor asset registration service ( mars ) , our data has saved millions of customers from making an expensive used car mistake . remember : never pay cash , trust your gut feeling and always check before you buy . ”
asset fraud : the vehicle being offered for sale carries outstanding finance taken on by someone else . do not purchase such vehicles . the car is not the seller’s to sell and the finance house will not release their interest or title until the agreement has been settled . some consumers believe they’ll be covered by ‘innocent purchaser’ laws , but this isn’t always the case .
sub hiring : this activity is widespread and many consumers ( often including the seller ) don’t realise it is illegal . the seller admits there is outstanding finance on the vehicle but promises to keep up the payments . firstly , they do not have the right to offer such terms . secondly , you have to consider what could go wrong . if they stop paying , the finance house could seize ‘your’ vehicle .
deposit fraud : a fraudster will use pressure sales tactics to con buyers into paying a large deposit to secure the vehicle . common lines include “i’ve got a definite buyer coming in an hour” and “it’s advertised cheaply for a quick sale” . don’t fall for it . the seller could easily disappear , along with your deposit .
hire car scam : demands for a deposit also feature in the increasing reports of scams involving hire cars being offered for sale . the fraudster will offer the same deal to as many consumers as possible within a short time period , pocket all the deposits ( maybe £1 , 000 each ) , return the car to the hire firm and disappear .
escrow fraud : this is one of the oldest scams and can take many different guises . the main points to look out for are : a ) a uk vehicle being offered for sale from abroad b ) promise of vehicle being shipped once funds are paid into a holding account . escrow fraud communications are usually conducted via email .
swap scam : this increasingly popular con exploits websites where consumers place their vehicle for sale and wait to see what offers they get . fraudsters will express an interest and suggest a tempting vehicle in return , but it will often be on finance ( asset fraud ) or sometimes stolen .
it uses up - to - the - minute data from the police ( npia – previously known as the police national computer or pnc ) , the driver and vehicle licensing agency ( dvla ) , the association of british insurers ( abi ) and major finance houses including lloyds tsb and santander .
to help uk consumers make the right choice , urltoken can confirm in seconds whether your potential pride and joy has ever been scrapped , stolen or written - off , has any money owing on it , has had a plate or colour change and much more .
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my car check’s valuation experts reveal significant trends in the uk used vehicle market and choose a car and bike of the month . head of valuation services gavin amos said : “the launch of the new mercedes c class has made the previous generation models a great value route into this prestige brand . all 2007 onward derivatives are well built , drive beautifully and can stand the miles , with the economical yet powerful diesel variants particularly desirable . there are plenty out there to choose from and full main dealer service history is always a good start . ”
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research by dvla shows that over a quarter of uk motorists have named their car , with 28 % of those surveyed saying that they had given their car a name .
dvla is reminding customers that the only official place to find our services and information is on gov . uk . cyber scams are common so we want to help our customers to spot fraudulent activity .
drivers are being warned their cars will be taken away if they are not taxed , as part of dvla’s national advertising campaign launching today ( friday 3 november 2017 ) .
what will a career in dvla offer you ? flexible working hours , great on - site facilities and fantastic opportunities to develop your career are just some of the benefits you can expect .
we’re the driver and vehicle licensing agency ( dvla ) , holding over 48 million driver records and over 40 million vehicle records . we collect around £6 billion a year in vehicle excise duty ( ved ) .
use the link to find the right number , email or address to contact dvla about vehicle tax and registration , driving licences and drivers’ medical issues .
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car theft in the uk might be at its lowest level for years , but professional gangs targeting luxury vehicles are still making huge profits on the black market .
andrew thornton * thought he’d taken every precaution possible when he carefully locked his prized mercedes clk , closed the driveway gate and went to bed .
it was the last he saw of it . the next morning it had vanished , plunging him into a maelstrom of calls to police and insurers . it was only months later , after he had bought a replacement , that it came to light in a very sorry condition indeed . it was discovered , in bits , in a container after australian police mounted a raid on the docks at perth . unfortunately , andrew’s story is far from unique .
despite the uk experiencing the lowest level of vehicle theft for years – down from 347 , 000 in 1991 to 95 , 681 last year – the proportion of vehicles never returned to their owners is rising .
last year , figures from retainagroup reveal , only 41 per per cent of stolen cars were recovered compared with 51 per cent in 2008 and 70 per cent in 2002 . insurer swiftcover says that in 2011 alone , 65 , 000 british - registered vehicles worth £300 million were stolen and never recovered .
experts say a range of new factors are to blame , starting with the number of dedicated police stolen - vehicle squads actively hunting “missing” vehicles falling from about 50 two decades ago when most police forces had one , to just four today , as they fall victim to savage budget cuts .
this , says dr ken german , former member of the new scotland yard stolen car squad and former president of the international association of auto theft investigators , has given car gangs a “clear run” . it has also coincided with professional gangs using new , hi - tech means to switch their focus to top - of - the - range models , which they frequently spirit abroad , where they make huge profits on the black market .
“once , when cars were easier to steal , many thefts were by so - called joyriders , ” says dr german . “vehicles were often stolen for parts , too , as they sometimes are now . today the big money is in high - value cars for illegal export . large but unknown numbers are shipped abroad to fund organised crime . ”
ian platt , director of the international association of auto theft investigators , agrees . “when car security improved in the 1990s , it became necessary to steal the car keys first , by breaking into someone’s home . now thieves don’t need your key , just a blank one they can electronically reprogram with a piece of kit bought online . organised gangs can easily target luxury cars that fetch high prices abroad . you are unlikely to see it ever again . ” this is underlined by the fact that only about 1 , 000 stolen cars were brought back to the uk last year , by specialised bounty - collecting repatriation agencies .
the bad news for owners of higher - end cars is that many , once stolen , leave the uk within days to feed what the police acpo vehicle crime intelligence service calls an “insatiable appetite” for vehicles in africa , with other popular destinations , say experts , including cyprus , dubai and the far east , spain , eastern europe , the middle east and pakistan .
“today , it is often highly organised gangs who steal cars and they are far more adept at getting rid of them , ” says platt . “they are run like businesses with almost professional infrastructure they employ the best methods of obtaining cars and the best ways of disposing of them . they have a virtual ' export business’ , complete with documentation for stolen cars , and they have the shipping all lined up in advance . they can change number plates and now even have methods of re - registering cars in countries such as slovakia and romania . once your car has been spirited abroad , it can be almost impossible to trace . ”
dr german says , “given that about five million passenger vehicles transit through ports and the channel tunnel , along with more than three million haulage vehicles , plus millions of containers entering and leaving ports , it all provides highly fertile ground for organised crime . ”
the issue recently made headlines when bbc watchdog reported that luxury cars – in particular high - spec bmws – were disappearing from driveways , even though owners still had both sets of keys .
as watchdog reported , thieves broke into the cars before illegally programming the blank keys on hand - held , online - sourced obd devices that access data from the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic port , and driving off in them . bmw , which says it took the matter “extremely seriously” and launched its own investigation , is contacting owners of cars vulnerable to hi - tech attack and is “taking steps to mitigate this type of theft” . it says none of its models built since september 2011 is vulnerable to the methods highlighted by watchdog .
platt says sophisticated obd devices , which are legitimately on sale for the automotive trade , cost £6 , 000 to £8 , 000 online but that cheaper , simpler devices , small enough to be concealed in a fake mobile phone , are now going on sale for as little as £100 : “we are going to see a lot more luxury cars disappearing in future , ” he warns . “generally , any car with a diagnostic port could , potentially , be open to attack and it’s the luxury ones that give thieves the best profits . ”
once your car has been taken , your gps tracking device might not guarantee its return either , says mr platt . thieves are now turning to hi - tech “jamming” devices that block the signal , to ensure they cannot be traced . fortunately , gsm - based tracking devices are harder to foil .
“often , luxury cars which are stolen are immediately sent abroad and resold , ” says robin reames , chief claims officer at swiftcover . he says that more expensive cars , up to £25 , 000 , are “more likely to disappear without trace” . mainstream brands are more likely to be reunited with their owners , with renault ( 72 . 8 per cent ) , rover ( 72 . 7 per cent ) and fiat ( 69 per cent ) reporting high recovery rates .
a one - way ticket to an exotic destination is not the only fate awaiting your stolen car , says dr german . “vehicles are only reported stolen for four reasons : theft for short - term use ( so - called joy - riding ) , for physical value ( scrap metal or stripped for parts at illegal “chop - shops” ) , for financial value ( illegally exported or given false identities and sold on to unsuspecting uk buyers , with estimates for number - plate fraud ranging up to 46 , 000 a year ) or fraud , when owners falsely report a theft for insurance purposes .
“it is a very serious problem and it’s not going to go away , ” says dr german . “last year £1 . 5 billion in criminal profit was generated by car theft in the uk . there’s a lot at stake for the criminals ; they’re not going to let that kind of money go without a fight . ”
smartphones are increasingly delivering better money - saving apps for consumers . photograph : sarah lee
azimo lets people transfer money from the uk to more than 100 countries at a fraction of the rates charged by banks or money transfer services .
to send money , users need to register and enter the recipient ' s bank account details . azimo charges about 1 % of the value of the transaction , up to a maximum of £15 per transaction .
the app claims big savings versus other money transfer methods . for example , sending £500 from the uk to poland would cost £42 . 50 at a typical high street bank , £20 . 90 with western union , or £19 . 70 through paypal . amizo would set you back just £6 . 25 .
most banks and mobile phone networks have developed mobile money apps , most of which work across all networks . it ' s also worth considering o2 wallet and barclays ' pingit . both are free and open to anyone .
already used by a huge number of under - 25s , whatsapp is a cross - platform app that allows you to text people without paying .
to achieve this , whatsapp sends messages across the internet using either wi - fi or the data plan you use for email and browsing the web . the big money savings come while travelling abroad using free wi - fi . whatsapp is so popular there are rumours ( regularly denied ) that google is on the verge of paying $ 1bn to buy it .
but it does not have the market entirely to itself . other services , such as viber , allow you to make free calls and texts to other viber users through 3g or wi - fi .
owned by auction site ebay , redlaser enables shoppers to scan barcodes while out shopping and compare the price of an item with both offline and online stores . you can also read reviews , ratings and information about searched products .
once you find the cheapest price you can buy the item via the app , have it delivered to your home or arrange to pick it up from a local retailer . redlaser can also scan food labels and barcodes and alert you to any ingredient to which you might be allergic .
there are a number of other comparison shopping apps that do similar things . idealo also lets you scan the barcode on a product and search for the cheapest place to buy it .
calling
free
0800 numbers or premium rate 0845 and 0870 numbers from a mobile phone can cost a small fortune . o2 , for example , charges contract customers 20 . 4p a minute to call 0800 , 0845 and 0870 .
08 wizard works by replacing 08 calls with an 01 or 02 landline number . this allows you to make the call using your free inclusive minutes if you ' re on a contract , or at a lower rate if you ' re on pay - as - you - go .
to use , simply input the 08 number and the app will come up with the corresponding 01 or 02 number and redirect your call .
instead of having your wallet weighed down by numerous loyalty cards , loyalli combines them into a smartphone app . already , 600 retailers use loyalli as their loyalty reward scheme . each has a
qr code
which the customer scans with their phone in order to add a
stamp
to their
card
. however , it is still early days for this app and others like it , such as stampme , and few of the big - name coffee chains are members .
there are numerous
daily deals
sites available now including groupon , wowcher , living social , kgb deals and secret escapes . they all work in a similar way by negotiating discounts with retailers and service providers and passing on savings to consumers .
redeemia saves you the hassle of trawling through each individual website or app each day by capturing the best deals from each site based on your preferences and location . so if you ' re looking for a spa day in bristol , for example , it lists all the deals from the different providers .
the app from the website of the same name , myvouchercodes uses gps to send you the best money - off deals for eating out , shopping , health and beauty , travel , entertainment etc , wherever you are .
instead of printing a voucher off the internet and taking it to a retailer , you simply show the voucher on your phone screen at the store to get your discount . handy if you ' re in pizza express and realise you ' re the only one about to pay your bill without a money - off voucher .
whereas other apps and websites compare the cost of hotel rooms , trivago goes one step further and compares room rates on the main hotel booking websites such as booking . com , urltoken and lastminute . com . so if you want to stay in a particular hotel it can tell you the cheapest site to book it through .
alternatively , if you need a hotel bed for tonight it can also use your current location to find a nearby hotel with availability and , again , the cheapest agent to book it through . kayak runs a similar
search one and done
service for comparing hotel websites .
the aa parking app promises that you ' ll never need to waste time and petrol looking for a parking space again . it directs drivers to nearby available parking spaces ( where car park data is available ) and enables them to compare the cost of each car park .
it ' s also worth taking a look at the park - up app , which claims to find the cheapest parking spaces in most major british cities .
admittedly only useful if you ' re buying a secondhand car , but spending a few quid on this app could save you a lot of money in the long run .
for £2 . 99 you can check a car ' s history and see if it has been stolen , was an insurance write - off , is registered as scrapped or any other signs that mean you should steer well clear .
if the listed mileage seems too good to be true , a further £2 . 99 will bring up records from the dvla , garages and dealers that will reveal if it has been
clocked
.
for another £1 . 79 you can get a valuation check and find out the forecourt , private sale , trade - in and auction prices for the vehicle .
this article was amended on 12 april 2013 . we incorrectly stated that redeemia is available on android phones . in addition , we incorrectly said that it would cost £32 . 64 to send £500 to poland using western union . to clarify , using a western union agent would cost £20 . 90 . customers would be charged £37 if using the money in minutes service or £9 . 90 for the direct to bank account service .
this article contains affiliate links , which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase . all our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative . the links are powered by skimlinks . by clicking on an affiliate link , you accept that skimlinks cookies will be set . more information .
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new and used car sales are accelerating and with the new 63 number plate registration available from september , now could be a great time to buy .
motorists have always loved having the most recent plate on a brand - new car , says mike baunton , interim chief executive at the society of motor manufacturers and traders ( smmt ) .
“whether it’s the kudos of a new plate or the knowledge it’s the most efficient and secure vehicle on the road , there is pride in ownership . and there are some cracking deals now . ”
according to the smmt , new car sales this year are expected to pass 2 . 2 million , the highest number since 2008 . used car buyers are also getting into gear , says david bruce , director of aa cars . “we’re expecting dealers to be busier than they have been for some years . ”
whether buying new or used , these 10 tips will help you drive away a bargain .
whether you’re buying a new or used car , draw up a checklist of everything you need from a vehicle , says lee basham at ford retail . “how many people will be using the car ? will you need it for long journeys or pottering about town ? how efficient does it need to be ? how many doors do you want ? do you need a big boot ? ”
draw up a shortlist of cars that fit your criteria and check out expert and owner reviews such as whatcar . com , autotrader . co . uk , urltoken and buyacar . co . uk .
don’t just focus on the car’s price tag , work out whether you can afford to insure , tax and fuel it . check insurance costs for various makes and models on websites such as confused . com , urltoken or comparethemarket . com .
you should also compare fuel efficiency and vehicle tax status at the government website carfueldata . direct . gov . uk .
a new car may cost more than an old one but it should be cheaper to run .
a brand - new peugeot 208 costs £1 , 030 a year to run on average but a five - year old example of the same vehicle costs £1 , 778 which is £748 more . similarly , running a new ford fiesta costs £1 , 134 , compared with £1 , 673 for a five - year - old model : that’s an extra £539 .
new cars are more fuel - efficient and cheaper to insure , says peter harrison at moneysupermarket . com , the website that conducted the research . “a new vehicle will always cost more to buy but savings on running costs could help you finance a new or nearly - new model . ”
the best time to buy is at the end of the month as salesforces attempt to hit their targets , says adam harvey , managing director at london executive . “you will typically get a better deal on the 29th rather than the second of the month . ”
larger used - car dealers will rotate cars on the showroom floor every two months , then auction off cars that haven’t sold , harvey says . “if you regularly monitor when a new car comes up on the showroom floor , wait till the seventh week to make an offer and you might just get lucky . ”
if you’re looking to buy a convertible , you are likely to get a much better deal in the winter months because the prices shoot up in summer , he says .
september is a good time to pick up a bargain , says tim naylor , editor of the bca used car market report . “most new car sales trigger a chain of used car sales . the plate change will also create an influx of ex - fleet cars and dealer part - exchange cars . good news for buyers . ”
you could try to pick up a bargain at auction , naylor says . “set yourself a budget , examine the stock carefully and inspect the car before you bid because motors are ‘sold as seen’ . ”
find the location of a nearby auction house at urltoken or buy online from used car supermarket sites such as autotrader . co . uk , exchangeandmart . co . uk , urltoken and carcraft . co . uk .
if you can pay cash , you’re in a strong position to haggle down the price , says david black at consumer intelligence .
“some manufacturers offer 0 per cent deals on cars but whether you get this rate depends on your credit status . ”
peer - to - peer finance site zopa currently offers competitive unsecured loans starting at 4 . 8 per cent for a £7 , 500 loan , black says . clydesdale bank and derbyshire building society also offer competitive aprs from 5 per cent . the less you borrow , the more you pay . if you want to borrow just £2 , 500 , zopa offers the cheapest deal at 9 . 5 per cent followed by hitachi at 10 . 6 per cent .
the array of finance options can be confusing , says steve fowler , editor - in - chief of auto express and carbuyer . co . uk . “compare the overall cost of all finance options , including deposit , monthly payment and final payment , before sitting in front of a salesperson who may be hellbent on trying to bamboozle you . ”
remember to take computer print - outs of car prices and finance deals with you into the showroom as bargaining tools , fowler says .
take a test drive and check everything works , fowler says . “test the engine and gearbox , all the lights and anything electrical , even the stereo . if you’re not sure , get an expert to check the car over first . ”
if the car is more than three years old , a full year’s mot is a good sign of mechanical fitness . “also get a history check to make sure there are no hidden secrets such as major accident damage or outstanding finance ( see box below left ) . ”
if there’s a shadow of doubt about a car or dealer , walk away . “there’ll always be another car that’s just right for you , ” fowler says .
some cars are more reliable than others , according to research from what car ? and warranty direct .
japanese brands still top the reliability list , filling seven of the top 10 places , led by honda , followed by suzuki , hyundai , subaru , toyota , lexus , chevrolet , mitsubishi , ford and mazda .
chas hallett , editor - in - chief at what car ? , says : “luxury and prestige marques bentley , land rover and porsche are most likely to break down . ”
haggling is easier if you come prepared , says stephanie savill , who runs a motoring club for women , the foxy lady drivers club .
she says : “too many motorists pay over the odds for new cars , not knowing how far to haggle or what their own car is worth in exchange . ”