How do the providers make money on a Five Pound Car History Check

Well after trawling over the different providers features and benefits it made me wonder how the providers are actually making money out of these checks - RAC are looking to charge a fiver and there is mycarcheck looking to go for a quid less, yet I note that most charge twenty - is there a catch in this... or is it a genuine offer - Well we think that the providers are using the service as an entree into other financial services that they want to upsell, for example car insurance. However this may be no bad thing. If you see a car you like, check its history and choose to buy it - having an offer of a insurance quote, or even better 7 days free insurance can be a bad thing can it?

So we say make hay whilst the sun shines and get all your family a car check for christmas - especially if you are stuck for ideas on what to get the mother in law...

failing that try getting a car warranty and watch her smile...

How do price comparison sites make a profit?

How do price comparison sites make a profit?

When you are planning a major purchase on the High Street you may trudge through a few stores to compare prices. If though you have access to the internet you could see what is being charged for the same item by scores of different retailers by going to a price comparison website. GUS - the group that owns Argos and Homebase - clearly believes these websites are the thing of the future. GUS has just spent £270 million buying PriceGrabber.com an internet price comparison company based in America. Jim Hodgkins, speaks for GUS. He is Managing Director of Experian Interactive part of the GUS group. Andrew Craig knows all about these price comparison websites - He's Editor of Web User Magazine.

Transparency on Comparison Sites

I note that in the news yesterday that there have been calls for comparison sites to confirm that they are checking the whole market and not just looking to make money out of the best deal. Well www.comparecarchecks.com does check the market and all of it - unlike some of the other sites that just refer just 1 or 2... We are also looking to disclose the sites that we receive a fee for introducing the business and not - as we dont believe that this is a bad thing, it just means that we can offer our services to you free, and you pay no more than buying the product direct. So if you want to compare car checks visit comparecarchecks.com

Greedy Gordon

So, Greedy Gordon has decided to fleece us further by implementing the fuel tax increase he promised us back in April. Odd that, a politician keeping his promise. With crude oil now at $83 per barrel, and interest rates creeping up, even greater pressure on our personal budgets is just what we're all crying out for right now.

What's the betting that when the PM calls an election next year, he'll try to sweeten us all up with a small cut in the duty on fuel? He'll have already enjoyed an extra 2p per litre flowing into his coffers for six months – except it's not 2p per litre – it's actually 2.3p per litre. Not only do we all fork out fuel duty (which is a tax), but we also pay VAT on that duty (which is a tax). So we're paying a tax on a tax! If you pay 95p for a litre of unleaded, nearly 64p of that goes straight to the Treasury!

Unsurprisingly, the antis are saying the latest increase isn't enough, and that we should be forking out at least a fiver for every litre we put in our tanks. Predictably, Transport 2000 (largely funded by public transport operators and now known as the Campaign for Better Transport) is saying the increase is welcome – as long as the extra money raised is spent directly on public transport. Hmm, let me see – I bet that's exactly why Gordon Brown has instigated the rise – to spend all the extra cash on buses.

Of course we're told that such increases are essential if we're to stop the world overheating, but the Government knows only too well that it's convenience, not price, which dictates the mode of transport we choose. That raises the issue of whether or not mankind has really had any effect on the Earth's climate, but that's one for another day methinks…