Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
JUST THIS MONTH both BMW and the Volkswagen Group have issued recalls for some of their vehicles. Recalls usually happen for safety reasons and should be taken seriously. If you’re worried about the implications for you and your car, here’s everything you need to know.
Check the VIN
If you hear of a recall of a specific model manufactured between a certain date and you are unsure if this applies to your car you can check your car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see when the car was made.
You can find the VIN on the at the base of the windscreen on the driver’s side, on a sticker on the driver’s door or in the front of the engine block.
You can then use a free online VIN decoder to find out when your car was manufactured.
You will receive a letter
Normally, manufacturers that issue recalls send letters in the post to all potentially affected customers. The letter will contain advice on how the recall will be conducted.
Manufacturers use the assistance of data from the Department of Transport’s National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) to contact customers. Therefore, it is important that your NVDF information is up to date at all times.
If you wish to amend these details, for example, if you change address, you should contact :
Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division,
Department of Transport, Shannon Town Centre,
Shannon,
Co. Clare.
Locall: 0818 411 412
Fax: (061) 363480
Email: motortax@transport.ie
Contact the manufacturer
If you have concerns, you can also contact the manufacturer’s local retailer directly. Your local retailer will advise if your car is affected or not. You can find your local retailer on the manufacturer’s website.
When a recall is issued, most manufacturers also set up a dedicated phone number and website to deal with queries. You can usually find this information on the manufacturer’s main website.
For example, on the BMW Ireland Facebook page, the recall notice states that customers can contact the BMW team via social media or email or phone. It also advises customers to have their car’s chassis number (VIN) handy.
No cost to you
When you make contact with the manufacturer you will be advised of the recall process and how to get your car fixed. The car will be fixed without any cost to the customer. The cost of repair or adjustment is borne by the manufacturer and this is a legal requirement for all vehicles sold in Europe.
Want to make sure you don’t miss out on anything going on in the world of motors? Like us on Facebook and and follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
“This is why Snapchat fully deserves a €16 billion valuation” And yet the article doesn’t explain why Snapchat deserves a €16 billion valuation. Sure, I understand its potential revenue raising abilities. I understand its appeal to advertisers. I understand that it hosts a lot of personal information which would be invaluable to potential investors and advertisers. But why, exactly, is it €16 billion? Why not €15 billion? Or €1000 trillion? How did they arrive at a figure of €16 billion?
I think the headline means, “Snapchat has recently been valued at $16bn. Here’s why it’s so popular/unique”.
Yeah, but we know why it’s so popular and unique. We see articles about it every second day. If, at this stage, you don’t know about Snapchat’s popularity and uniqueness then the likelihood is you just don’t care, in which case you wouldn’t be reading this anyway. We have still to see how exactly the 16 billion figure was calculated, which I what the headline alludes to.
What I was saying above is that Snapchat has three major features that could be massive money spinners for them, and how it’s effectively become a multimedia platform as well, they’re the most quantifiable ones unless you’re privy to their future plans then fire away.
As for how a company is valued, that takes into a number of factors into consideration which would include money raised (so far, it’s raised $648m in 6 different funding rounds), current popularity, the potential for growth in both revenue and users, (which links to the last one but anyway), the value of the industry (instant messaging would be the obvious one, but it’s now become a media entity and has video on its side so that’s two, three if you include Snapchat Stories and its potential for widespread event), assets (both digital and physical), is it public or private, and so on.
Determining the exact reasons why it settled on $19/€16 billion to the point of a formula isn’t possible since you don’t know what factors they’re prioritising ahead of others. Also, when you’re dealing with a private company as unlike Facebook, Apple, Twitter or any other public company, they’ve no obligation to share details about their plans or forecasts to anyone.
In Snapchat’s case, it’s potential in three areas as I mentioned above: events, multimedia (it trying to become a Netflix-style entity for articles, music and TV), and payments/ecommerce as they’re the ones that have a massive influence on this valuation. Also the core psychological element of Snapchat of limitation (which is oddly overlooked and was the main reason I wrote this in the first place) is such a massive factor and that seeps into all of its features. If Snapchat was just about self-destructing photos/videos on its own, then it would have been overshadowed by Facebook Poke back in 2012 or accepted Facebook’s $3 offer back in 2013.
The discussions I’ve seen on the subject (on Twitter and other sites) only mention Discover as if that was the sole reasons behind such a high valuation. The main point above is that it’s rarely one factor that leads to that, (especially when it’s well-known), and it’s weird how other features are forgotten about just because they’re not as new or shiny as the latest thing (or the tired ‘sexting’ angle that’s peddled out regularly).
Give it 3 yrs and youll see all such companies worth a fraction of todays value, times they are a changin
I get all that. The fact still remains that the headline suggests that the accompanying article will explain exactly how the figure of 16 billion was reached. I was curious to know how they got that figure. And yet, I’m still none the wiser. Should it have a large valuation? Obviously the answer is yes, and you have explained that both in the article and your comment. But we’re still no closer to understanding the 16 billion valuation. Sorry, but I’m a stickler for this kind of thing. If you know how, then say it and let the headline reflect it. If you don’t, then don’t mislead the reader into thinking you do, only to leave the reader empty handed.
If everyone on snap chat had a super sweet party = 16 x the amount of willie photos ever sent = 16billion
On Sesame Street their number of the day is 16 x 1billion. Tomorrow it will be $43 Billion
I’d say the long term bet is when an analyst bets a pension fund on this.
I’d be nervous.
It could only ever be a trade sale to Google or the like …. Its a very limited product. If a pension fund manager bought snapchat, they should be sacked.
Nothing on this Earth deserves to be valued at €16 billion
So what’s your idea of a max cap value so Andy?
You haven’t seen my willy.
If I owned it I would sell now
Fapchat
It deserves about a 16 CENT valuation. It’s ridiculous, and hopefully a fad that will die quickly. If the world is lucky, some evil company will pay 16B, then go out of business when people realise how stupid Snapchat is.
Never seen such anger directed at a mobile phone application before! Got dumped via Snapchat did you? :-)
have your say