Ford list prices are due to fall between 6% and 15% for Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Kuga models in August. This is because fleet drivers are taxed on the list price, not the transaction price (the transaction price means the net discounted price to a fleet operator) and Ford is focussing on securing this business ahead of individual motorists.

Kevin Quigg, Ford Dealer Council chairman said: “There was an immediate effect in the showroom as a result of the lower list prices on large cars [in April and for fleet buyers again]. Ford dealers are delighted to see the company continuing to lead the market by applying the initiative across the entire Ford car range.”

Sadly Ford dealers didn’t do at all well in the recent AutoExpress poll of c20,000 customers so perhaps Mr Quigg needs to address the service gap in terms of reported poor standards of workmanship, poor technical knowledge and poor helpfulness scores otherwise they won’t keep that business, fleet or private buyers.

I was surprised I must say to read the Daily Telegraph’s InBrief PR this week stating that Vauxhall and Ford dealers, Britain’s two biggest selling car brands, are the worst in the country, according to this survey.

Could it be that Ford is too busy courting the fleet wallet to bother about the private and typically female purse? This wouldn’t be very foxy at all because so many of us drive Fords and with Hyundai champing at the value for money, customer service and warranty bit they could lose that female support if they don’t pick their skirts up fast.

FOXY Steph

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Of the mainstream insurance names you will recognise are Prudential (who we don’t hear of much for women drivers by the way) and Royal Sun Alliance (whose advertising brand is More Than and features the lucky dog…). That makes a total of nine and you might be surprised to hear that the missing name is Adrian Flux (in 7th position above M&S, the Pru and Cooperative) which is a great performance.

We know and like Adrian Flux through previous classic car insurance dealings and have watched them grow without hearing the usual criticisms about customer service and claims handling. They were ahead of the game when it came to multiple car policies and they would always quote for unusual vehicles, cherished, classics and vintage. Similar to the affinity team, Adrian Flux got close to a lot of car clubs so they could understand their market and do a good job. This is recognition for these efforts – well done.

In the ‘not very well done’ pile are Tesco, Kwik-Fit, Budget, Endsleigh and  Aviva (used to be Norwich Union with that cringe-making Quote Me Happy ad…).  Plenty more in the ‘fairly awful heap’ including Cornhill Direct (I don’t know them), AXA, Swinton (I don’t think they should be here), AIG (not surprised…), Diamond (for women drivers and part of Admiral Group), AA and Quinn Direct (Northern Ireland I believe).

Just for the record Tesco is bottom of the breakdown rescue performance chart with the AA (another surprise) performing badly for value-for-money.   LV=’s Britannia Rescue comes in at the top of the charts, followed by GEM Motoring Assist, Autonational Rescue, AutoAid (great value for homecover in particular) and Mondial.

The Auto Express car insurance surveys are more reliable for women drivers than many others because their survey samples are usually huge. And I like this information because it pays to shop around for user feedback not just price… which is why members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club compare notes within the Club to help each other I guess.

FOXY Steph