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Tyre Company Goodyear Dunlop now has another new managing director for the UK and Ireland.
George Rietbergen is taking over from Mark Brickhill and is already the General Manager of the Netherlands region.
“Since joining the company, Mark has provided significant leadership in the reorganisation of the UK business.
“This experience as well as his strong marketing background will be beneficial in the new role as we go through significant market changes”
Pirelli manufacturers have said that down to the enlarged charge of raw materials they will now be striking a price boost of between 4-6 per cent on all car, motorcycle and truck tyres right across the European market.
This enhancement will come into effect from 1 April 2010. Pirelli have blamed the boost on the price increase of raw materials that have doubled over the past twelve months
A Michelin project that has been proposed for one of the manufacturing sites based at Stoke has moved forward on securing a big multi-million investment (excess of £20m over 5 years) in Remix Truck Tyre retreading operation.
Michelin in Stoke has applied for and accept the Governments Grant aid worth £3.9m on the modernization from the department of business innovation and skills.
They will be working with the regional government agency to make and keep the manufacturing skills base in North Staffordshire.
Whether you’re buying a used or a new car, there’s one thing you can pretty much guarantee – it’s going to fall in value. New cars are particularly bad, given the minute they are driven out of the showroom, they start to depreciate.
Unfortunately, there’s no way of stopping this. But if you’re ultimately aiming to sell on your car, don’t despair because there are ways to boost its value – so you won’t lose out by as much as you think you might. All you need to do is to follow these top 10 tips.
Believe it or not, having a more desirable car colour could add £200 to £500* onto the value of your car.
Unusual colours such as yellow, orange, or pink are generally regarded as less desirable in comparison to colours such as silver, black or grey. So when you’re buying a car, make sure you choose the colour wisely.
Similarly, certain brands of car will lose their value more quickly than others. So if you want to know which car brands are the best at maintaining their value, according to our recent poll, make sure you check out my video: The best value cars.
Badly scratched or tarnished alloys wheels can take £50 to £100 per alloy off the car’s value. So make sure you look after them – it may be worth getting them cleaned up if you’re planning to sell your car in the near future.
Balding tyres, or those near the minimum tread limit, are also likely to impact the value of the car – possibly by as much as £100 to £150 per tyre. So make sure you regularly check the tread. The legal minimum tread is 1.6mm, although the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents recommends that worn tyres are replaced well before this level is reached – ideally when they reach 3mm.
It’s also a good idea to check the tyre pressure once a week. Look in the vehicle handbook, or consult your garage or tyre dealer to find out the recommended tyre pressure. And don’t forget to make sure your car has a spare tyre.
By simply ensuring there are no cracks or chips in your car windscreen, you could boost the value of the car by as much as £300! If the windscreen wipers are looking a little worn, it could also be worth replacing them. Plus, when you come to sell your car, it wouldn’t hurt to give the windscreen a good clean!
Again, by ensuring there are no bad dents or scratches in your car, you could boost the value by as much as £200 to £300 per bumper or panel. Of course, it may work out more expensive to get them removed, but depending on how damaged your car is, it could work to your advantage. Removing any dents or scratches is also likely to increase buyer interest.
The inside of the car is just as important as the outside. Poorly maintained trims and upholstery are not only likely to deter buyers, but they are also likely to lower the value of your car – in fact you could lose out on as much as £500.
You may also want to take this into consideration when you’re buying your car in the first place – a leather trimmed Audi, BMW or Mercedes could be worth as much as £1,000 more than the same model with cloth trim, according to Carsite.
Similarly, make sure you keep your car clean inside. You’re more likely to achieve a better offer for your car at trade-in if it’s clean – in fact, you could get an extra £300 to £400 if you simply clean out any litter, grime and dust.
Also be careful if you’re going to have pets or children in the car – if they damage the interior, this could wipe hundreds off the resale price.
Finally, it might sound obvious, but it’s well worth giving your car a good wash on the outside before you go to sell it.
Having an up-to-date service book and vehicle history is important if you want to get your car accepted by a retailer. Ensuring your car has been regularly serviced correctly could boost the value by around £300 to £400. Always follow your car’s servicing schedule and make sure you get your service book stamped.
If you’re getting your car serviced at a local independent garage, make sure it’s VAT-registered and that the parts used are genuine manufacturer products. You should get receipts and part serial numbers to prove this.
Finally, ensuring you have a long MOT certificate before you sell your car is likely to increase its value by around £200-300. So avoid selling your car when there’s only a few weeks left on the MOT.
These tips were picked from LoveMoney.Com
Michelin a French tyre manufacturer has said that a sudden slump in annual profits for 2009 have fallen during global meltdown.
Net profit was 106m euros ($144m; £92m), compared with 360m euros for 2008. Sales fell 9.8% to 14.8bn euros.
The big company also said that they warned about the rising rubber prices and said it could not give a profit forecast for 2010 due to unknowing tyre market profits.
The shares of Michelin feel nearly 3% in Paris due to the slump.
An unsuccessful risk on tyre selection saw Sebastien Loeb fall 16 seconds lost of leader Mikko Hirvonen at the finish of the second day of the Rally of Sweden.
Little divided the Citroen of reigning six-time champion Loeb from the Ford of Hirvonen for much of the second leg but a vital call on when to adjust tyres saw the leader peer out a few more valuable seconds bearing into the final day.
The vital call came previous to stage 14, when Hirvonen chosen to create the switch to fresh front tyres while Loeb chose to hold off until the subsequent stage to re-shod his C4 WRC.
Hirvonen pulled out 6.2 seconds over Loeb on stage 14, but the Frenchman did gather the same payback from his new rubber when he changed ahead of SS15, finishing that stage over seven seconds slower than Hirvonen.
“It didn’t work out,” a downbeat Loeb explained.
“We had good front tyres but the rears were destroyed and the car was undriveable.
“I couldn’t push, I just had to follow the road and couldn’t attack.
“The rear end wouldn’t follow the front of the car – even after I tried to wear the fronts deliberately.
“Having new tyres at the front and destroyed ones at the rear was worse than have four destroyed ones.”
A police investigation has been taken out after 17+ vehicles that were parked near the DVLA in Swansea (The main DVLA centre), tyres were slashed.
The police officers from the South Wales Department have said that the crime took place near the centre’s head office last Wednesday 3rd in the Morriston area.
The officers investigating have said “we want to trace the owner of a black car, possibly a Ford Focus or Fiesta, seen on 10th Avenue, Clase, on that day”.
Acting Ch Insp Nigel Whitehouse said “17 car owners had so far reported damage”.
But more were expected to come forward.
“We are investigating a number of incidents of criminal damage which occurred in the vicinity of the DVLA throughout the day, when more than 17 vehicles had tyres slashed,” he said.
“I am appealing to anyone who is able to identify the black vehicle, or anybody with any relevant information about what happened, to come forward.”
Not only must you have a bare minimum of 1.6mm of tread across 75% of the centre of the tread but your tyres not have any cracks or splits.
To help you with tread depth, nearly all tyres have a band of raised rubber running across the tyre called the depth gauge. When the tread is level with this bar the tyre will need replacing.
Incidentally, the spare tyre isn’t a part of the MOT test.
THE Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 is another average carrier in the high-performance sector. About six years old now, it is outstanding for replacement with a new edition to be launched soon but the PS2 is still a worthy competitor.
Michelin has an excellent status for ride comfort and the PS2 is no different even though it is an overtly sporty model. The OEM tyre for Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Bugatti, its Variable Contact Patch puts more rubber on the road for enhanced cornering and straight-line routine.
According to the French tyre giant, the PS2 has two distinctive tread patterns and two specialised tread compounds for the highest combination of wet and dry performance in its class. The RRP of a PS2 in 225/40 R18 is $525 (including GST) but a dealer could quote it at $470.