Fleet Directory News » Daihatsu

Driveaway Continues its Success

Simon McBride — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:16:56 +0000

HPI has reported that its insurance product Driveaway is continuing to go from strength to strength. Daihatsu and SsangYong are the latest major motor manufacturers to sign up to Driveaway.
So what is it?
The product allows dealers to offer comprehensive insurance to customers purchasing new and used vehicles for a seven-day period. Unlike similar product offerings, dealers act as “introducers” and therefore do not have to be FSA regulated to provide Driveaway.
Provided in partnership with Norwich Union, Driveaway can be organised the instant the purchase of a vehicle has been agreed. The customer simply rings the dedicated call centre to initiate cover. There is no paperwork or additional administration for dealers to worry about and a cover note is automatically despatched via email to the dealer allowing them to tax the vehicle. Daihatsu and SsangYong will now roll out Driveaway across their dealer networks.
Nigel Unwin, marketing director of SsangYong said, “Our entire Approved Network has begun to offer Driveaway to customers. The overriding benefit is that it removes sale obstacles, enabling dealers to quickly secure a sale and leave customers with the satisfaction that they can drive away as soon as the deal is signed.”
“Driveaway is a clean and smooth solution that totally removes inconvenience for our dealers and for our customers,” adds Roy Marshall, aftersales director at Daihatsu. “Our customers and dealers have really appreciated the ease at which tax and insurance issues are resolved – it gets the deal done to the benefit of everyone.”
That’s a sentiment echoed by Daniel Burgess, automotive director at HPI, “With times so tough, it is no surprise that Driveaway has been so successful. Any product that helps dealers close a deal is invaluable. Without having to worry about FSA regulations, the dealer can get on with the business of selling and customers can take advantage of extremely competitive insurance package where average premiums recently fell to their lowest level this year.”
Simon McBride

Diahatsu adds + to Sirion Range

Simon McBride — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:20:47 +0000

Daihatsu has announced that the new Sirion will have an extra trim level and it will be called ‘+”.
The Sirion ‘+’ will feature extra equipment including a large electric sun-roof with a rain-sensing and anti-trap feature, front fog lamps, side protection mouldings, leather steering wheel and leather gear-knob for manual models.
This new ‘+’ model costs an extra £895 for all models except the top-of-the-range Sirion 1.5 SX which carries a £725 surcharge.
Priced from £7,995 on-the-road for the Sirion 1.0 S, the entire range is extremely well-equipped with, for example, air-conditioning, ABS with EBD, driver, passenger and side airbags, radio/CD player, four electric windows and remote central-locking.
Daihatsu has enjoyed a 40 per cent sales increase with Sirion this year, the maker believes that this rise is due outstanding fuel economy and low exhaust emissions that the Sirion offers.
For example: the 1.0 litre version, records 64.2 mpg on the Extra Urban Cycle and qualifies for a £35 annual Road Fund Licence. As a further incentive, all Daihatsus now come with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty plus five years’ UK roadside recovery.
Simon McBride

N.T. SHAW signs on with Daihatsu

Simon McBride — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:36:35 +0000

N.T Shaw has joined forces with Japanese compact car specialist Daihatsu as the maker has increased its UK dealer network in Lincolnshire following this appointment. The Coleshill-based importer has signed up to eight new dealers so far this year and aims to grow its 120-strong network to an eventual 140 showrooms.The family-owned dealer, N.T Shaw first opened its doors more than 30 years ago and will offer a full range of new and used Daihatsu products. Proprietor, Nigel Shaw said: “We are delighted to be appointed to a franchise that is synonymous with reliable, low-polluting and economical compact cars. Despite the difficult economic climate, we hope to not only generate repeat business from satisfied customers but also to win new converts.” Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director, Daihastu Vehicle Distributors Ltd said: “For us the dealer creates opportunities in the marketplace regardless of where they are located. With ever-increasing fuel costs and tighter budgets, the dealers are the key to the fortune of Daihatsu in the UK.” Meanwhile, Daihatsu’s new five-year warranty introduced this year is proving a strong attraction to the brand with sales up more than 16 per cent year-to-date.

Simon McBride

Parker’s Car Price Guide: April trends, best buys and great deals

Lee Sibbald — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:22:00 +0000

Buying a new small car in future could more of a guarantee of stable depreciation than ever. Parker’s depreciation studies over the last few years have shown that small cars are invariably the safest bets to minimise the amount of cash lost in car ownership. Not only do they sip fuel, but in outright cash terms, they depreciate the least. In the March budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an overhaul of the road tax system beginning next year. Ultimately people who choose the cars with the lowest emissions will stand to gain most, as many small cars and diesel family cars will be subject to lower road tax. Small cars will remain attractive buys to second and third owners with their low running costs. Larger petrol cars, with higher carbon dioxide emissions, will continue the trend of the last few hears of showing heavy depreciation. However, this has little to do with the higher levels of road tax proposed over the next few years — the high cost of fuel plays a much bigger role.

SMALL CARS:
New: Panda bargains as spotlight hits Fiat 500
Fiat’s Panda is probably not attracting much attention in showrooms at the moment with all the interest in the new Fiat 500. We found several dealers with Pandas on 07-registration plates advertised at less than £5000 – that’s £2000 lower than the official list price. Most of these cars were the base 1.1 Active model, which is ideal as a compact practical runabout, and comes with a 54bhp engine, electric front windows, twin airbags and central locking. However, the 60bhp 1.2 Dynamic model would be more desirable with a little more kit, and isn’t much more expensive.

Used: Picanto is a stylish and cheap runabout
Kia’s Picanto helped breathe new life into the small car market when it was launched in 2004. For the money it offered an exceptionally comfortable, refined and well-equipped model, and the earliest examples of these models are now edging closer to the £2000 barrier. The cheapest we found was a 1.1 SE model with 50,000 miles on the clock. This 54-plate car comes with air-conditioning, alloy wheels, alarm and electric windows. Lower mileage models are priced at about £2500 and above.

FAMILY CARS:
New: Rare savings made on new Toyota Auris
Finding cut-price new Toyotas happens very rarely, but we stumbled across a handful at Motorpoint recently. They were all base-specification Auris models with three doors, but were being offered with metallic paint for £10,000 against an official on-the-road price of £12,645. Car supermarkets such as Motorpoint often add a couple of extra fees to the advertised price, but this would still work out at £2500 off what these cars could cost if ordered from a Toyota dealer. These T2 models come with remote central locking, air conditioning and electric front windows.

Used: X-type reaches new audience below £5k
Jaguar’s X-type hasn’t been the global sales success the company hoped it would be when it was launched, but it has been a relatively popular car in the UK. The earliest examples are thirsty petrol models which are not as desirable as the later diesels, but are good to drive and in 2.5-litre and 3.0-litre form offer the security and superior all-weather traction of four-wheel drive. We found a private seller offering a mint condition 50,000-mile 2.5-litre manual car for £4700. A classy motor with plenty of life left in it for not much cash.

4X4S AND PEOPLE CARRIERS:
New: £5k saving to be made on new Chevy 4×4
£5k saving to be made on new Chevy 4×4 The Chevrolet Captiva hasn’t been on sale for long, and is marketed as a ‘premium SUV without the premium’. Of course, it isn’t really a premium 4×4, but it is a decent and practical product with seven seats available on most models. We found a few Captivas at a Peugeot dealer. They were already registered on 08-plates, but a few were still showing delivery mileage. The diesel versions are best and the cheapest one was on sale for £15,999 – a saving of £5000 over the official list price. This was a five-seat version, but the same dealer was also selling a seven-seat model for £1000 more.

Used: Citroën people carrier at bargain prices
The Citroën C8 is probably the most prolific of a trio of people carriers launched jointly with partners Peugeot and Fiat in 2003. The fact that these larger people carriers are going out of fashion in favour of more compact seven-seaters like the Vauxhall Zafira, as well as a lack of appetite for petrol versions means there are plenty of cheap ones about. Low annual mileage drivers SX automatic with 55,000-miles on the clock – average for its age – for £5450. This comes with electric sliding rear doors.

SPECIALIST CARS:
New: Make a £10k saving on a pre-reg Citroën C6
Citroen’s impressive and elegant luxury saloon, the C6, was launched in the UK almost two years ago, but sales have been very slow. Some Citroen dealers are now offering pre-registered examples the top of the range V6 diesel Exclusive model for less than £28,000 – still an expensive car, but that’s £10k off the official list price.

Used: Used Chrysler 300C at Mondeo money
Chrysler’s 300C has been around for a few years now and the initial novelty value that helped keep used prices high initially is beginning to wear off, especially as a revised model has just been launched. We found a private seller with the desirable diesel version on a 56-plate asking £15,495. A great deal of car for the money.

Manufacturer promotions
Despite the credit crunch, manufacturers are warming buyers up for spring with plenty of low finance deals. We found 0% APR offers on selected Chevrolet, Citroen, Fiat, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan, Renault, Saab, SEAT, Skoda, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volvo models. Other promotions include: Daihatsu extending the warranties on Terios and Sirion from three to five years; Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep reducing several models by over £2000 and Kia offering buyers a diesel Ceed for the price of a petrol.