CAR buyers face a two to five per cent rise in the price of new vehicles this year, a motoring chief is predicting.

The rise in the price of steel and the increase in oil prices were largely to blame for the price hike, added Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) chief executive Christopher Macgowan.

He also warned that car prices this year could be hit by rising inflation and expected tax increases.

Mr Macgowan added that skills shortages and competitive issues, particularly among component suppliers, threatened the wellbeing of the UK car industry.

Last year, new car sales just failed to reach the record set in 2003, with the 2004 total reaching 2.56m.

Mr Macgowan estimated that the 2005 total would reach about 2.48m and 2006 would be 2.42m.

He was speaking following news revealed at the weekend that the SMMT had altered its forecasting procedures for fear of falling foul of new European competition regulations.

Individual manufacturers will still meet the SMMT every three months to give forecasts but their individual forecasts will not be published in case this is in breach of new laws.

Mr Macgowan said there was nothing inappropriate about the forecasts and he stressed that each company always gave the overall industry figure, rather than their own individual projected sales totals.

He said any suggestion of collusion was 'vigorously denied', adding:

"We would never embark on anything that is inappropriate."

Nearly half of Britons cannot change a car tyre, while basic vehicle maintenance is also beyond many motorists.

As many as 44 per cent were unable to complete the tyre-changing task, the survey from the Saga Motoring Assistance company found.

About the same number do not check what is wrong with their vehicle before calling for assistance.

Scots appear to be the least capable of carrying out car maintenance, while those in south-west England are the best.

The survey of 1,935 adults showed that women are much worse at car maintenance than men, with 69 per cent admitting that they cannot change a faulty lamp bulb and 64 per cent saying they would not know how to change a tyre.

Motoring groups recommend motorists check the oil level once a fortnight, however the research shows that only 13 per cent check this often, 33 per cent check once a month and 13 per cent only check when the light comes on or if something goes wrong.

Saga director, Michael Cutbill, said:

"Our survey seems to provide another indicator of our becoming a 'pay someone else' society.

"For those who don't want to get their hands dirty, having a reliable breakdown service is a must."

A report from Churchill Car Insurance has revealed the most common places to be involved in parking accidents and found that the number-one crash hot-spot in town is the petrol station forecourt.

The study also shows 1.5m UK drivers crash each year when parking their cars.

The new Town Crash Index from Churchill showed that drivers are ten times more likely to have an accident in a petrol station than when driving children to school or even parking at work.

The insurer reviewed over 50,000 accident claims and found that one in four car accidents happen when parking.

Darren McCauley, of Churchill, said: "The top three locations for accidents are all high-paced, distracting environments.

"Petrol stations are tight on space, especially when lining up to the pumps and multi-storey car parks often have narrow bays and tight corners.

"With supermarkets, the high volume of cars coupled with roaming trolleys makes the ideal ingredients for an accident."

Guisborough's Jonathan Cocker was hailed as motor racing's youngest ever British GT Champion at the Motor Sports Association's prestigious Night of Champions awards ceremony at the Royal Automobile Club on London's Pall Mall.

Jonathan, 18, drove to six victories in a Porsche 911 GT3 during the 2004 season to clinch the British GT Championship, against competitors in other exotic, high-performance sports cars such as Ferraris, Corvettes and TVRs.