Over a fifth of new cars will be bought in March
Motorists throwing away money on car finance
Wednesday, 13 Feb 2008 12:52
Motorists are throwing away money by not shopping around for car finance, according to figures released by uSwitch.
The consumer research company estimates £174 million will be wasted this March because UK motorists sign up to car dealer finance rather than looking for a low-rate personal loan.
An average car dealer finance loan charges 9.88 per cent APR, over three per cent more than the best unsecured personal loan deals available.
Shopping around could save motorists up to £1,094, uSwitch claims.
"Brand new cars are already a big expense but consumers can unwittingly inflate the purchase price by up to £1,100 by choosing the wrong finance deal," commented Mike Naylor, from uSwitch personal finance.
"Finding a competitive loan and having the money ready to buy the car immediately will not only ensure that people get cheaper finance but it also gives them more bargaining power to get the best purchase price
"Just because a car dealer can offer you a good deal on a new car, it doesn't always mean that they will offer the best deal to finance it," he concluded.
Almost a fifth of new car purchases were made in March this year as motorists bought new registration vehicles and uSwitch expects the same will happen this year.