08 April 2008 / by Rebecca Sargent
New research has shown that it is not just car insurance that drivers should be shopping around for – they can also save money by haggling and shopping around for the best price on a new car.
According to research from Sainsbury’s Finance, bartering is not just for the marketplace, and in addition to comparing car insurance quotes, collectively, Britons could save themselves £286 million by going the extra mile and pushing salesmen for a better price on their motors.
The study showed that there are around 1.5 million Britons planning to buy a brand new car between March and October 2008, and of these, as many as 195,000 said they do not intend to haggle at all over the price.
According to Sainsbury’s Finance, bartering over the price of a brand new car could save Britons an average of £1,468. A further 403,000 of Britons questioned who said they were willing to haggle are likely to lose out on discounts by giving up too easily.
It has now become popular for drivers to shop around for car insurance, but Sainsbury’s Finance have found that in addition to this and haggling down the price of a car, drivers should also be shopping around for the best car finance deal.
Sainsbury’s Finance argues that around 24.5 per cent of brand new car purchases are bought on finance with a loan, and consequentially a lot of money could be saved through comparing the market.
Head of Sainsbury’s Loans, Steven Baillie, said: “Our latest research reveals that the number of people looking to buy a brand new car has dropped by more than half a million on the previous six months.
“Clearly people are more concerned about their finances and so those still looking to buy should haggle as hard as possible. Further more, those looking to finance their purchase through a loan need to make sure they shop around to find the best deal for them.”
© Fair Investment Company Ltd