Aggressive price cuts and a shortage of second-hand cars means that new cars are now cheaper than used ones for the first time ever.
Now UK consumers can save more than £1,000 by purchasing a brand new vehicle instead of its second-hand equivalent as showrooms desperately slash their prices.
Experts have put the bizarre situation down to dealers offering heavy discounts to kick-start sales while prices of used cars have been pushed up due a shortage in supply.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1168927/Aggressive-price-wars-mean-CHEAPER-buy-new-car-used-one.html#ixzz0vcyOSjzt
Now UK consumers can save more than £1,000 by purchasing a brand new vehicle instead of its second-hand equivalent as showrooms desperately slash their prices.
Experts have put the bizarre situation down to dealers offering heavy discounts to kick-start sales while prices of used cars have been pushed up due a shortage in supply.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1168927/Aggressive-price-wars-mean-CHEAPER-buy-new-car-used-one.html#ixzz0vcyOSjzt
New car sales have plummeted by more than 200,000 in the first three months of the year and Parker's, the car buying price guide, have said this is the first time since they started business in 1972 that customers have been able to pick up new cars for a cheaper price than second-hand ones.
Figures released on Monday showed that car sales plunged more than 30 per cent in March, compared with a year earlier.
Parker's said, for example, it has found a 2008 Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 litre with 5,160 miles on the clock for £6,494. A new, pre-registered 2009 version is available from one dealer for £5,995, a saving of £500.
Other examples of bargain cars include a Peugeot 308 2.0 SE reduced to £14,620 compared to last year's version with 1,748 miles on the clock priced at £17,000.
A new Citroen C5 2.0 Tourer estate had a saving of £505 if bought new.
A spokesman for Parker's said: 'Price cuts on new cars designed to shift stock, and big discounts from car supermarkets, mean that the price of selected new, pre-registered cars can be the same and, in some cases, even lower than one-year-old used cars with several thousand miles on the clock.'
However, they warned that it would not last long.
Brian Harris, consumer editor for Parker's said: 'This will only be a temporary phenomenon as the used market will correct itself.
'Several manufactures are now increasing their prices.
'In the meantime buyers should shop around and pick up a bargain.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1168927/Aggressive-price-wars-mean-CHEAPER-buy-new-car-used-one.html#ixzz0vcyXSymo
Figures released on Monday showed that car sales plunged more than 30 per cent in March, compared with a year earlier.
Parker's said, for example, it has found a 2008 Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 litre with 5,160 miles on the clock for £6,494. A new, pre-registered 2009 version is available from one dealer for £5,995, a saving of £500.
Other examples of bargain cars include a Peugeot 308 2.0 SE reduced to £14,620 compared to last year's version with 1,748 miles on the clock priced at £17,000.
A new Citroen C5 2.0 Tourer estate had a saving of £505 if bought new.
A spokesman for Parker's said: 'Price cuts on new cars designed to shift stock, and big discounts from car supermarkets, mean that the price of selected new, pre-registered cars can be the same and, in some cases, even lower than one-year-old used cars with several thousand miles on the clock.'
However, they warned that it would not last long.
Brian Harris, consumer editor for Parker's said: 'This will only be a temporary phenomenon as the used market will correct itself.
'Several manufactures are now increasing their prices.
'In the meantime buyers should shop around and pick up a bargain.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1168927/Aggressive-price-wars-mean-CHEAPER-buy-new-car-used-one.html#ixzz0vcyXSymo
