Car supermarkets 'offer value for money'
Car supermarkets 'offer value for money'
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Friday, 24, Feb 2006 05:05
Buying from a car supermarket could save thousands, consumer experts said today.
Compared with a franchised dealer and financing the purchase from the vehicle retailer, car supermarkets allow punters to save by shopping around, according to consumer group Which?
David Evans from the magazine said car supermarkets were often a good way to reduce the "initial outlay" when buying a car.
But he noted some drawbacks.
"They don't always have the specification you might want or the same back-up you get from most dealers," he said.
Franchised dealers also offered trade-ins, servicing and repairs, a big plus-point for the discerning punter, he added.
Dealers were also adjudged more flexible on price and better informed on particular in-house models, compared with a car supermarket.
Another downside to supermarket cars is that they have often been pre-registered, meaning the manufacturers' warranty could be cut into at the time of final purchase.
David Motton, editor of What Car? magazine, said: "A salesperson at a franchised showroom will have greater expertise on particular models and there is room to get a discount.
"If you are a very good negotiator you can get them fairly close, although I doubt you will be able to match them [the supermarkets]," he said.
In terms of finance, punters can also save money by taking out loans from high street lenders rather than the carmakers themselves.
According to price comparison sites uSwitch and moneysupermarket, motorists could save an average of £1,377 simply by choosing a lender.
While a dealer's financing for a £12,000 purchase carried an average APR of 12.8 per cent, a retail bank's personal loan was less than half of that, at around six per cent, leading to a saving of over £1,500.
Claire Alvery, personal loans manager for the Alliance & Leicester, it was "extremely worrying" car buyers financed their purchase from a dealer.
She said nearly half of people borrowed money to buy a new car, with 17 per cent using financing offered by the dealer.