With the new ‘20’ plates less than a month away, now’s the time to get a good deal. While everyone else holds off for the new registration, manufacturers are offering huge discounts to entice drivers into new vehicles in February.
More discounts and deals on new cars:
Consumer motoring magazine What Car? has done its research into the subject and uncovered the biggest discounters in the car market, with Citroen taking top spot. According to What Car?, the French company’s dealers are slashing prices by an average of 16.44 percent, which means buyers save an average of £4,431 on a new car.
Following close behind Citroen was VW-owned Spanish firm Seat, which is offering an average of 15.56 percent off its cars, while sister brand Skoda is offering customers an average saving of 11.68 percent. Nissan, meanwhile, is cutting prices by an average of more than 14 percent.
And other companies offering savings of more than 10 percent include Volkswagen (11.09 percent), Mercedes-Benz (11.02 percent) and BMW (10.41 percent). Vauxhall came just under the 10-percent mark, with average savings of 9.09 percent.
What Car?’s research also showed huge discounts on individual models, with Fiat offering almost a third off its Golf-rivalling Tipo hatchback. The lowly 1.4 Easy model is available with more than 28 percent off its £15,180 list price, meaning you can pick one up for a shade under £11,000.
The only other model to offer a discount of more than 25 percent is the Citroen C4 Cactus 1.5 diesel automatic. With list prices of just over £24,000, the French brand is offering 26.84 percent off, bringing the price down to just over £17,600.
Even more desirable models are hardly immune to the high discounts. What Car?’s data shows a 1.5-litre petrol VW Passat in SE trim is available with a discount of more than 22 percent, saving customers more than £5,500.
And the BMW 4 Series Convertible in desirable M Sport trim and with the silky 35d straight-six diesel engine powering all four wheels is available with a similar discount. More than 22 percent off means a saving of almost £12,000.
“The months leading up to March often see buyers doing their homework before signing on the dotted line,” said What Car?’s editor, Steve Huntingford. “Our latest Target Price research shows new car buyers can save on average 8.99 percent when they buy through What Car? New Car Buying. What’s encouraging is that some of the most popular models on the road are being offered with very high discounts, exceeding 20 percent in some cases.
“Our research also suggests manufacturers are responding to the general dip in sales, with discounts this year nearly 22 percent higher than last year. That makes it a great time to shop for a new car.”