DEALS ON WHEELS
DURING a miserable week for the UK motor industry, there is at least one silver lining — if you’re looking to buy a new car. Follow a canny strategy and you can save thousands of pounds. UK car sales slumped by 6.8 per cent overall in 2018 and by nearly a third for diesels, according to this week’s figures. What’s more, thousands of job cuts at Jaguar and Ford may mean misery for car-makers and dealers. But it spells huge opportunities for those looking to bag a new car.
That’s because car firms are desperate to shift stock and are giving dealerships big incentives. These are essentially cash inducements from manufacturers that allow dealers to offer big discounts so they can meet their sales targets. So it’s up to you to haggle hard.
And you can often get a better deal towards the end of the month, too — as a dealer may be just a few cars short of hitting a target — and will therefore be willing to cut the price further.
A perfect storm of factors is blamed for the sales drop: uncertainty surrounding Brexit; the Volkswagen ‘dieselgate’ scandal; the demonisation of diesel when engines are improving; and delays of new models caused by a new emissions testing system.
What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said: ‘Dealers are incentivised to sell a certain number of cars every month. So there are offers to be had.’
The What Car? Target Price (whatcar.com/new-car-deals) gives an indication of how much discount buyers should expect off the list-price of each model.
For example, if you are looking at a Volvo V60 2-litre D4 (190) Momentum five-door automatic with a list price of £34,960, expect a cut of £3,069 to £31,891, about 9 per cent discount. If you’re seeking a Ford Focus 1.5 Ecoboost 150 Titanium 5-door hatchback priced £22,400, expect a saving of £1,662 down to £20,738, a cut of about 7 per cent. For a Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI EVO Match hatchback costing £22,400, expect to save £1,764.
A Skoda Superb 1.5 TSI Sportline DSG costing £29,660 should be available for £27,065 — a saving of £2,595.
And for a BMW 118i (1.5)M Sport costing £26,530, What Car? says the target price should be £24,487, giving a saving of £2,043.