Do you remember what happened in last summer’s Budget?

No - Nor did I, but the former Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a radical overhaul of the UK’s system for taxing cars, with some going up dramatically, and it all happens from 1st April 2017.

Here’s some of the headlines:
The vehicle excise duty (VED) or road tax or road fund licence, as it’s sometimes called, will still have 13 different CO2 bands for new cars which will determine how much you pay in the first year of ownership.  But going forward only electric cars with zero emissions will qualify for the lowest band therefore being tax free.

Except for these zero emission cars any vehicle costing less than £40,000 will be paying £140 a year after the first year, regardless of whether they are Hybrid, Petrol or Diesel.

Why do you mention £40,000 I hear you ask?  Well over this figure cars will attract a premium fee of £310 a year for years two to five of ownership, regardless of the CO2 emissions, so that is £450 a year for 4 years.

Of course with Ford as a new car we don’t have much to worry about on the £40,000 list price new duty, but these changes still have a relative bearing on some of our range, for example 

Over the first four years of ownership
Example 1: Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost if taxed before the 1st April it will be Zero but after the first of April that will become £540

Example 2: Focus 1.0 125ps Ecoboost if taxed before the 1st April it will be £120 but after the first of April that will become £560.

Although this is a big hike in yearly cost if you are paying nothing at the moment, it will have a bigger effect if you buy a car in excess of £40,000 with CO2 of over 255 as after April 1st you will be paying £2000 in the first year and £450 for the next four years.

What should I do? Well, if you don’t think you will be changing your car soon, nothing, as the tax due on your current car does not change. If you were thinking of changing your car this year act now and get one before the 1st of April 2017, and save yourself some money over the coming years.

The one thing you should do before buying any car though is to make sure you understand the new system.

VED for cars registered after the 1^st April 2017

CO2 emissions in g/km	First year rate	Standard rate
0	£0	£0
1-50	£10	£140
51-75	£25	£140
76-90	£100	£140
91-100	£120	£140
101-110	£140	£140
111-130	£160	£140
131-150	£200	£140
151-170	£500	£140
171-190	£800	£140
191-225	£1,200	£140
226-255	£1,700	£140
Over 255	£2,000	£140

The table below is for all cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017.

VED Band	CO2 Emissions	Annual rate	First year rate
A	Up to 100 g/km	£0	£0
B	101-110 g/km	£20	£0
C	111-120 g/km	£30	£0
D	121-130 g/km	£110	£0
E	131-140 g/km	£130	£130
F	141-150 g/km	£145	£145
G	151-165 g/km	£185	£185
H	166-175 g/km	£210	£300
I	176-185 g/km	£230	£355
J	186-200 g/km	£270	£500
K*	201-225 g/km	£295	£650
L	226-255 g/km	£500	£885
M	Over 255 g/km	£515	£1,120

Could it really be -20 pounds & degrees in Buckingham and Bicester

Did you see the weather warning headline yesterday put out by the Express newspaper?

SNOW BOMB: Wall of SNOW to SMASH UK as deadly blizzards hit in COLDEST freeze for 53 YEARS

BRITAIN faces a historic CHRISTMAS WHITEOUT with “dangerous" blizzards and near record-low temperatures threatening the worst festive freeze for half a century.

I don’t know how true this is, it’s in a national newspaper so who knows, I have checked a few weather sights and they’re all a bit woolly about a white Christmas, so rather than have our customers getting into trouble over the festive period I thought I would send you a little guide on what you need to pay attention to.

Antifreeze – Did you know it weakens with age (I know how it feels) and becomes less effective, when was the last time yours was checked or replaced?

Washer bottles – with the roads giving off so much spray in winter, keeping the windscreen clean Is very important on any journey, during and after a cold snap we see many people with split washer bottles where the wrong fluid or water mixture has frozen and expanded the bottle to breaking point, make sure you have the right mixture in your bottle so it doesn’t freeze in the bottle or pipes.

Tyres – Don’t be running around in wet cold conditions with worn down tyres get them checked, if you don’t know how ask someone in the know.

OR

We normally charge £20 for a Winter check but with the possibility of it being -20 we want you to be safe so they are now -£20 i.e. FREE to all our customers, just pop in to Buckingham or Bicester Ford and get a FREE Winter check before Christmas it only takes 20 minutes.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – If you have any elderly friends or neighbours who you think would benefit from this please pass it on and we will look after them for free.

If you need the correct washer fluid we sell it premixed and probably the cheapest in town, I noticed it at £5.99 at the garage where I fill up, same size £4.50 for one or £8.50 for two.

World Challenge

Buckingham Ford have been the proud sponsors of a young girl called Neve, and this is Neve's story;

I am in year 12 at Waddesdon School and next year I will be going on my World Challenge - My team and I will be travelling halfway across the world to Tofo to help a primary school become a safe place of learning for the children who live there.  We take it for granted that we can go to school, have the resources to learn, have enough food and a comfortable place to live. However, not everyone is this lucky.

Whilst Tofo beach attracts wealth from international tourism, the area immediately surrounding it is scattered with small communities who do not benefit from this economy. Most of the villages consist of palm thatched huts and the inhabitants practice subsistence farming to survive. Likewise, the schools in the area are chronically under resourced by the government and as such are in desperate need of renovation.

The community engagement phase will offer a unique opportunity for me and my team to immerse ourselves in the community, giving an insight into a rich new culture.  The language, daily routine, activities, facilities and cultural sensitivities will all be new and different to what we are used to, and we are hoping to be accepted into the community to help in any way we can.  We need to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for a month of hard graft, making memories, friendships and lives better for those in the Tofo community.

To further Neve's fundraising she will be holding many more events for you and your family to get involved with, so show your support and follow;

https://www.facebook.com/worldchallengegascoyne/?fref=ts

 NEW models...

Ford have announced the new models...ST-Line, with a bit of sporty styling touches and full focus on efficiency rather than speed.
New sport-themed editions of its Fiesta, Focus, and Mondeo
Named ST-Line , they feature styling add-ons designed to echo the look of the full-house ST hot hatchbacks but in cars with more modest performance and better fuel efficiency.

All three cars have sports suspension, a unique design of alloy wheels and a subtle body kit on the outside, plus a sports steering wheel, sports seats and alloy pedals in the cabin. The exterior styling models include a rear diffuser and a lip spoiler, dark surrounds for the front fog lights and a honeycomb design for the front grille.

The Fiesta version is offered with a choice of the 99bhp or 123bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine, or the 138bhp version of the same motor. There is a diesel option, too; the ST-Line edition can be ordered with Ford’s 1.5-litre 94bhp TDCi unit, offering CO2 emissions of 94g/km.The Fiesta ST-Line is available in three and five-door variants, with prices starting at £15,645,

The Focus ST-Line will be offered with two diesels - the 118bhp 1.5 or the 147bhp 2.0 - and a range of petrol engines with power outputs from 123bhp to 180bhp.

Focus ST-Line costs from £20,595 and is offered in both five-door and estate form.

The Mondeo ST-Line features engines from the top of the Mondeo range - the 148bhp and 178bhp 2.0-litre TDCi diesel units. It's available with automatic Power shift transmission and four-wheel drive as optional extras, and will come in hatchback or estate body styles.

Ford expects up to 10% of Fiesta buyers to pick an ST-Line - and the company is already lining up additional models, believed to include the Kuga and S-MAX.

We have Focus ST-Line in our showroom at Buckingham for you to see,as well as examples of the stunning Fiesta Black edition and Focus Red/Black editions,come and try one out today !!!

Saving Christmas

Yes it’s a long way away and not something you think about when you get your car serviced, but it could have unforeseen connections like what happened to Mr and Mrs Smith from Buckingham on Christmas day.

Every Ford we service you have the option of taking our FREE Ford assist package which includes breakdown cover, recovery, at home service covering the UK and Europe. Yes as I said it’s FREE with every Ford car and Van we service any age any mileage and is there when you need it most, that doesn’t have to be Christmas day.

So when you book your car in for a service, just think what’s included it’s not just the service you get on the day, but what comes with it – sometimes the back up between the service is just as important to what you receive on the day.

We have been quoted between £89 and £149 for the same level of breakdown cover you will receive with our FREE Ford assist.

“Just wanted to say a great big thank you to Buckingham Ford who by looking after our car each year includes us in Ford Assist.

On Christmas Day we packed our car up to join our children and grandchildren for present opening and dinner only to find our car wouldn't start.

So on Christmas Day Ford Assist sent out a pick up lorry and mechanic; unable to get the car started (alternator had died) gave us a telephone number whereupon a gentleman from Enterprise hire cars picked us up and took us to Northampton to get a hire car free for the next 6 days as they don't count weekends or Christmas Day and Boxing Day and saved our Christmas from being ruined. 

So a great big thank you and very well done for everyone who did so much to help it was much appreciated :)”

Why do we do this- Because it can save Christmas and many other important days of the year.

Hello,
 
I’m finding writing this quite hard as last week I was fortunate enough to visit the D-Day landing beaches, memorials, cemeteries and museums, a present from my family for my 50th birthday.
 
I felt very privileged to see all of this.  I already knew a fair bit about D-Day but nothing prepares you for some of the stories of that day in 1944, just how much was given up for us to lead the lives we live today.
 
Don’t worry I am not leading into any EU referendum debate.
 
The difficulty I am struggling with is that although Ford Motor Company have always been very supportive of the serving members of the armed forces, it has just been announced that special allowances available to existing personnel are now available to Ex-Service Personnel and Veterans.
 
I know we have veterans from conflicts since WW2 but with the experiences I had last week I can’t help thinking that it would have been nice to have done this for them as well.
 
On the brighter side if you know or are in fact yourself Ex-Military Personnel or a Veteran please spread the word that through us Ford has some very generous discounts available.
 
On a lighter note I was lucky enough to have a ride in one of Ford’s military vehicles from 1944 last week.  This was one of the facts I learnt as I didn’t know Ford produced the “Willys MB” more commonly known as a Jeep which was why I always presumed it was made by Jeep.
 
Have a great week.
 
Ian

We're doing something right?

There is nothing nicer than loyal customers who put their full faith into us all here at Buckingham Ford. We pride ourselves on our reputation through out Buckingham and its surrounding areas. We are constantly reminded of the work we do by our customers with their kind words and continuous business. Some of our customers started with us back in 1996 where they purchased their first car, serviced their first car and continued to move on up in the world alongside us with their brand new Ecosport, Fiesta or Focus, or even buying their children's first car.








As part of our collection and delivery service we are able to make life a little easier for our customers. Early last week a long term customer took full advantage of this service and popped in to express his gratitude and to tell me how pleased he was with the customer service he received. Harry our parts administrator delivered Mr and Mrs Gilder's car after they had the work done and spent 15 minutes with the couple to run through things and insure they were pleased with the work they got and the work they booked in for, he then explained all the technical details of their service to insure they fully understood. Dare I say we had very happy customers.

Thanks Harry
I carelessly knocked and disassembled a wing mirror on my wife''s Fiesta - she was not happy! Nothing was broken but it was beyond me to piece it back together. Harry at Buckingham Ford fixed it in less than 5 minutes for no charge. Very impressed. Needless to say the Fiesta will be serviced at Buckingham Ford from now on.
John Westlake

That Extra Mile
Excellent service from Chris and the service department at Buckingham. Chris and his team always goes the extra mile to make sure my needs are met, whether that be making a courtesy car available for me or just being helpful and friendly and explaining things in a non technical way.
Gary Giles

Concession Wednesday

With prices going up for everything left, right and centre, we at Buckingham Ford want to give back a little bit back to our older generation who gave us an extra helping hand getting off our feet back in 1996.

We are now proudly launching concession Wednesday's.

This is for Buckingham and surrounding villages retired who are looking for that safer drive. We at Buckingham Ford will be offering you some great offers you cant resist, even if its a nice cup of coffee and a chat. 

So look out for our Concession Wednesday treats and we hope to see you soon.

Thank you to Alan and Sandy for being great customers for 17 years 

 11 cars, 1 great business

Being keen, aspiring golfers we need a practical cars, my wife has a focus and I’ve just part exchanged my Mondeo for a Focus,

I am amazed at the space within the car and the newest modern technology updates e.g. sync 2 DAB navigation.

 We have a strong relationship with the Redding family and the rest of the Ford team, we will continue our journey with this business as we have relied on them since our first buy back in March 1998.

 Mr and Mrs Hastings.

Christmas Parade 2015

How have we reached this time of year already? Feels like just last week we were entering the New Year.

If your a Buckingham local then your'll know Buckingham has always been one for putting on a Christmas parade. If your not a local then your in for a treat and what a better place to watch it than in our warm show room. The parade comes straight past our door, with a great view, great company and a lovely cup of tea or coffee. Yes James does make a great cup of tea! So come along on the 12th of December and get into that festive spirit.

Tyres in Winter

Tyres in Winter

Tyre Technology
Air temperature is a crucial factor in a tyre's ability to perform. When the temperature drops below 7 degrees, the tread compound in winter weather tyres begins to harden, providing the car with less grip.

The tread compound in winter weather tyres contains more natural rubber and advanced silica compounds to minimise the hardening effect, giving extra grip and shorter stopping distances in cold, damp winter conditions. 

Together with sophisticated multi-sipe tread patterns the combination is one that no summer tyre can match, making winter weather tyres the safest option from October all the way through to March. when temperatures rarely rise above 7 Degrees. 

This especially applies to commuters and business motorists who are on he roads in coldest conditions in the early morning and evening. Tests conducted by British Tyre Manufactures' Association found that a car braking at 60 mph on a wet road at 5 degrees stopped five metres shorter, equivalent to more than one car length, when fitted with winter weather tyres.

Newly introducing the MICHELIN Cross-climate tyre with revolutionary performances that keep you safe in every weather conditions. It offers the advantages of summer tyres in wet braking, dry braking, longevity, & fuel efficiency, and the advantage of winter tyres in traction and braking for consumers driving in cold or occasional snowy conditions. With the simplicity of only one set of tyres all year long.

Win £100 of Garden centre Vouchers

Treasure hunt at Buckingham garden centre until Wednesday 16th of October when the draw will be made.

Win £100 of garden vouchers for the Garden Centre.

Just pick up an entry form and as you wander around you will find the answers to the questions, you may occasionally find a car hidden anongst the flowers while walking through the gardens.

We have given you some very good clues on the entry form so you shouldn't find it too hard, it could even be something for the children to do white you shop in peace.

Can you beat out pot hole?

I've got a challenge for you - I'd like to see whether you can beat our pothole.

At our Buckingham Ford office we're unfortunate to have a rather large pothole on the road right where you might want to park your car, so if you're in the area, watch out for it! (Its got its own fence now, so you should be alright.)

So, now that you've seen the pothole in all its glory, can you beat it?

As you can see, ours is pretty large, but don’t worry, none of our great deals have disappeared down there yet. Send your pothole pictures to info@buckinghamford.co.uk and the best one will win something (maybe the ruler in the picture, if you're lucky).

For all non-pothole related enquiries, call us on 01280 812121.

Just to set your mind at rest, whilst there is a tyre track over the hole, we're fairly sure the car didn't fall down it.

18 years of fun meeting great people

Buckingham Ford back in 1996

Yes it's 18 years ago today that we opened the doors as Buckingham Ford, taking over from the Phillips family who had been working from this site since the late 1800's as Phillips and sons.
 
Over that time we have met some great people as customers who we now consider friends, we have also been lucky that we have a great team of people working here, with four who have been with us since we started.

Although Mike and I are from far away in south Bucks (Aylesbury) most of our staff are local people with over 70% growing up and going to school in Buckingham before working with us, it is true that we have always looked to employ local people, as we always wanted to be the local garage.

We have been promoting some special Birthday celebratory offers this week, of which some are to the right hand side here, some I did not agree on, I just think James got carried away with the sherry in the Birthday cake when he worked them out.

So here's to the next 18 Years of Buckingham Ford and a big thank you to you for helping us make this happen.

Car Air con not as cold as last year?

It happens to us all, as the temperature is rising we all start to notice that we need the Air conditioning more in our car.

Did you know your car Air Con can lose 10% of its efficiency every year, even more if you haven’t been using it regularly?

As the refrigerant is under pressure in the system, it can weep through joints in the pipework, making the Air conditioning work harder to keep you cool.

We always see a steep rise in bookings for Air conditioning servicing and regas when the temperature rises, and the last week is no exception.

So what’s really cool, just to be different as the temperature has risen we have decided to reduce our price for an Air conditioning regas by £20 to just £49.

As our summers can be brief don’t wait weeks for an appointment, we guarantee we will get this booked in, in the next 24 hours for you.

Have a cool summer.

Buckingham Christmas parade

James "Lazy Rudolf" Emmett from our showroom, being a lazy reindeer driven about by Neil "Santa" Tuckett of Tuckett brothers Ford Model T Specialists.

Followed by the Fiesta that is currently in Buckingham Garden Centre for our joint competition to win this very car (or one just like it) if you go into Buckingham Garden Centre it is free to enter, competition closes December 20th,.

Good luck

To find Buckinghams best driver

This week we have had many more drivers take the challenge, Jenny from AtHome in Well Street , Buckingham is still top of the table, Mark from Barbers in High Street Buckingham improved on his colleagues performance. 

We also Had Nicky for Cakes by Nicky in Bicester and Joff from Natitas Design all drove the New Fiesta with its very quick 1.0 Ecoboost engine, for two days.
Nicky loved the new Fiesta so much she didn’t want to give it back, and even though she only used it around town the little Fiesta still returned a healthy 45.8 mpg. Nicky said “I want one. I can’t believe that is only a 1.0 litre engine”

Joff Cheney from Navitas design on Buckingham industrial estate returned a very good 52.8mpg and covered over 100 miles in his two days, but is a little nervous that Michelle from Meet and Mingle in Bicester will beat him this week. 

This coming week as well as Michelle Howie we have Jo Moir from Style by Jo, Kelly from Kelly Jo Photography, Nick Maples from Arthurs Radio hairdressors and Mike from Buckingham Garden centre.

If you wish to take part, or just want to follow the progress over the next 6 weeks Follow on Facebook for daily updates on who is taking the challenge. If you want to take part, just call James at Buckingham Ford on 01280 812121 or Jeff Lawrence at Bicester Ford 01869 323272. All entries are subject to status.

Leader board
Name                  Company                     MPG
Jenny Dobbs         AtHome                      54.9
Ian Redding    Bicester/Buckingham Ford 53.3
Joff Cheney    Navitas Design                   52.8
Nicky Churchill      Cakes by Nicky         45.8
Mark Green         Barbers                       44.9
Paul Griffin           Barbers                       41.6

Are you an eco friendly driver

Welcome to the environmental challenge, over the next 6 weeks we want to get as many local people to take up a two day challenge to see who can get the best miles per gallon from the new Ford Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost. 

We already have many willing volunteers, well who would say no to a free car for 2 days!

You need to be over 25 and hold a clean driving licence, and been driving for over 12 months, and that's it, you don't need to be an existing customer either, just live in the Buckingham, Bicester or Brackley area.

We know that the New ecoboost engine is good for the environment already as it emits so little, the road fund licence is free on on this little car, yes you heard me right Nothing, Nil yes exactly £0. we also already know the government figures on this car are very good with a combined MPG of 65.7.

So watch this space for updates.

We are a Badger free zone

I just had to share this when I was shown it. 

This is very very funny, and you will NOT find a badger at Buckingham or Bicester Ford.

We are a Wiggle free zone.

View Badger at work here

If you have ever experienced the Badger at another dealership, come and see us for a refreshing change.

• Take a test drive not a short trip around the block
• We give you all the facts, and don't hide behind a monthly payment
• 1000's of new and used cars available to us, so you don't have to buy the one we have here, you can choose.

I got this email yesterday about James.

                "Just a quick note to say how pleased I am with the new Focus ST I purchased from you. Fabulous colour the Spirit Blue and the power and drivability of the car really is breath taking. So, thanks for persuading me to purchase it. Also many thanks for the help and advice you gave me with the models, optional extras and the general understanding of the car."
Many Thanks
Keith