The AA has highlighted the “big savings” that can be made by car buyers who are not only prepared to shop around for their car, but also for their finance.

The car club points out that with more than 400,000 new cars set to change hands during March, the AA says that buyers could make “big savings by not only shopping around for their car, but for their finance as well.”

Lloyd East, general manager, AA Personal Finance said: “Our research suggests that most buyers simply accept the first offer of finance they get, which means they could be wasting as much as £1,000 by not looking for the best finance deal.”

“Over half (51 per cent) go to their bank or building society and another quarter (27 per cent) will accept a finance deal from the car retailer.”

While most customers haggle over the price of a new car savings made in the showroom can quickly get wiped out by paying over the top for finance.

“Last year, car retailers provided £6.9 billion for new car finance. But this is where some of the highest interest rates are charged,” Mr East said.

One of the best places to shop around for car finance is the internet, but last year only 13 per cent of loan applications were made in this way.