We can’t all be Cristiano Ronaldo. When Manchester United’s pampered star player wrote off his Ferrari on the way to training, it didn’t cause him too much bother. He had his Bentley delivered in time to drive home.

The rest of us mere mortals don’t have that luxury. While Ronaldo will be able to buy a replacement Ferrari with his loose change, for many small businesses the outlook is as bleak as last week’s winter weather.

And while the credit crunch looks like it’ll rumble on for the rest of the year, there are things you can do to lessen the impact – unlike Ronaldo, treat your vehicle with care!

You’d be surprised how much you can save by paying attention to small details – like keeping the tyres fully inflated. You could save £20 a month in fuel costs alone – not to mention making the tyres last longer.

If you’re running a fleet of five vans, that would save you nearly enough money to buy a new Piaggio Porter – on offer for just £100 a month. Here’s another backhanded benefit of the downturn – manufacturers are keen to do deals.

Vauxhall’s January sale has some spectacular discounts, especially on the Movano. So now might be a good time to look at buying, if you can afford to. If not, how about a car club offering vans by the hour for under £5?

It’s wise to keep your speed down too. Business users will now be means-tested if caught speeding. And you can bet the fines will be based on your pre-credit crunch financial results.

Mark Bursa - editor

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Piaggio Porter – for just £24 a week

Piaggio is offering its Porter microvan and pick-up range on a special finance offer of just £24 a week. The offer is available until the end of February.

Keep your tyres pumped to save fuel

Vans with tyres under-inflated by 10psi can use at least 2.5% more fuel on the correct pressure – which could mean between £100-£240 a year on wasted fuel.

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Zipcar, the worldwide car club, is adding Caddy vans to its London rent-it-by-the-hour club with prices starting at under £5 per hour, including the Congestion Charge.

Off-road capability for enhanced Citroen Dispatch

Citroen has given the Dispatch van enhanced off-road capability thanks to a limited-slip differential, bigger ground clearance and special snow and ice tyres.

Nissan NV200 will offer class-leading loadspace

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Driving fines now linked to how much you earn

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