New Car 09 Plates Money Saving Tips

There are a few short weeks before the new 2009/09 plates come in to play but before you think of buying a car new or second-hand, there’s a lot to consider before you put down your hard-earned cash for a family runabout or a top of the range sports car.

1. Narrow down your options
The National Franchised Dealers Association advises to start with the basics. What sort of car do you need? Ask yourself the questions:

- Do you mainly transport adults, children, loads of stuff, or all three?
- Diesel, petrol or alternative fuel?
- Long or short journeys?
- Automatic or manual?
- Small engine for town or larger engine for motorways?
- How many doors - two, three, four, five?

Once you’ve sorted that out, make a list of makes and models and check reviews and owners’ insights - try owners’ club websites for honest opinions.

2. Vehicle Excise Duty
Petrol and diesel cars emitting less than 100g/kg of carbon dioxide pay no duty at all, but those with emissions of 226g/kg or more pay £400 a year, with that sum likely to rise year-on-year.

If you’re keen on two models and everything else is equal after a test drive, you might think that the one with the lower emissions will save you money - but that’s not necessarily the case. High emission cars are becoming so unpopular that they might make a better second-hand buy, despite the tax.

3. Depreciation…
Depreciation in the first year can range from more than 40% on some popular models to around 12% on others. Over three years, according to Which?, the value can drop between 50 and 77%.

Recently, high emission cars have been losing even more because of excise duty. If you’re buying a big second-hand car, you could pick up a bargain - if you can afford the tax and higher fuel bills.

If you’re buying new, unless you intend to keep your car for many years, it could be worth paying a bit more up front for a model with low depreciation in order to get considerably more back in a couple of years’ time. Car magazines, specialist websites and dealers’ guides can help you to decide. Check out www.whatcar.com for independent news and reviews or even our very own site.

4. Running costs
You should also look at other running costs, such as insurance, fuel economy and servicing charges. A cheap car that costs a fortune to keep on the road isn’t really economical. See if you can work out the total cost of the cars you are interested in over the years - you may well see a difference of thousands of pounds.

5. See what you can afford
If you’re going to use credit to buy your car, then check your credit report, the personal history of the credit you’ve taken out, such as loans, cards and mortgages, plus your repayment record and other information that helps lenders to decide if you’re likely to repay what you owe.

A good credit report showing that you make repayments on time and have not stretched yourself to the limit will make it easier for you to get the deals you want. A history of missed repayments or court judgments could harm your chances - so check your credit report carefully to see that it is up to date and accurately reflects your circumstances. A single administrative error might add thousands to your car finance bill through higher interest rates - or even result in credit being refused.

6. Find the right finance
You may have a budget in mind but, unless you are a cash buyer, it will depend on the finance deal you can get as much as the price you negotiate for the car.

Hundreds of thousands of cars every year are bought on car dealer finance. It’s the simple route but it can be expensive, with an average interest rate of upwards of 10%. Search the price comparison websites and you could take 4% off that.

Make sure that lenders understand you only want information when you make enquiries. If they think you’re actually applying for credit, they’ll leave the record of a credit search on your credit report. Lots of these can make other lenders suspicious - they may think you’re desperate for money or even that a fraud is taking place.

Also check out insurance, use our GoCompare links for the very best insurance deals. You may think you can afford a luxury sports car but if you can’t get insurance for it, or the insurance costs as much as the car then you will need to think twice unless your name is Wayne Rooney!

7. Massive savings to be had
New car sales have been falling off a cliff, with 21.2% fewer sold this September compared to last year, so dealers are desperate to shift stock. This means both cracking savings through the dealer network, but even better, unbelievable discounts through the buy a new car online network. Check out our Vauxhall Vectra deals at nearly half the usual retail price, brand new!!!

So there you have it what with the VAT cut and dealers scrambling to get your business there really never has been a better time to buy a new car online

This entry was posted on 27 January 2009 at 12:04 and is filed under Buying Advice. You can leave a response here.

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