13 February 2008
Motorists reluctant to drive a harder bargain with their car dealer will lose out on £174 million of savings this year, research from uSwitch has shown.
Customers are charged an average APR of 9.88% for the typical UK car loan - more than 3% higher than a competitive unsecured loan.
This means that motorists could save up to £1,094 by shopping around, the study found.
Mike Naylor, Personal Finance Expert at uSwitch, commented: "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.
"However, there is a simple win-win solution - 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."
Around 2.4 million cars were sold in the UK last year - almost one-fifth of which were bought during March, when the licence plates change each year.
According to uSwitch, around 224,644 drivers will use car dealer finance to purchase a new vehicle in March 2008.
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