2013's most popular new cars
With sales of new cars on the rise, we take a look at the most popular models and how to cut the cost of a car with a '13' numberplate.
New cars with '13' number plates have been on sale for a little over a month now and early indications are they are selling well.
In March, 394,806 13-plate cars were sold, up 5.9% on the figure recorded for March 2012. Of these, a total of 202,249 (51%, or just over half) were powered by petrol, while 187,239 (47%) had diesel engines.
From March 2012 to March 2013, sales of petrol-powered cars rose by 8.7%, but diesel-engine sales rose by only 3.2%. This indicates a slight decline in the popularity of diesel, which now costs more to buy than petrol. However, it's getting cheaper, as explain in Supermarkets announce 2p per litre diesel cut.
What's more March was the 13th month in a row that new-car registrations rose, taking registrations to their highest level since 2010, when the Scrappage Incentive Scheme artificially boosted sales.
The UK's 10 most popular new cars
One encouraging trend for car manufacturers is that sales in 2013 have risen across all segments, with sales of Mini and MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle, or 'people carriers') models doing notably well.
In the first month of '13' plates, these were the UK's 10 best-selling new cars:
|
Model |
March sales |
|
Ford Fiesta |
22,748 |
|
Vauxhall Corsa |
16,169 |
|
Ford Focus |
15,434 |
|
Volkswagen Golf |
9,978 |
|
Vauxhall Astra |
9,559 |
|
Nissan Qashqai |
8,465 |
|
Volkswagen Polo |
7,431 |
|
BMW 1 Series |
7,001 |
|
Peugeot 208 |
6,726 |
|
Mercedes C-Class |
6,628 |
As you can see, Ford takes first and third place with its ever-popular Fiesta and Focus models. Right behind Ford is Vauxhall, claiming second and fifth places with the Corsa and Astra.
It's also interesting that smaller, compact and fuel-efficient cars dominate this top 10. This is probably due to the soaring cost of fuel, with petrol prices rocketing from around £1 a litre five years ago to roughly £1.40 today. Indeed, with drivers cutting down on their mileage and switching to more efficient models, fuel sales have plunged by a fifth (20%) since 2008.
How to get more car for less money
Here are five rules to help you get that new car cheaper:
Shop around
In this new age of austerity, you'd have to be crazy to pay full price for big purchases. As always, the trick is to play off different dealers and salesmen against each other to drive down the final price.
You'll need to take a few test drives to find the right vehicle, but never rush in by buying a car straight after a spin around the block. Getting the lowest possible price takes time, effort and research, so don't be sweet-talked into 'doing the deal today'.
Get online
The very best place to investigate makes, models, prices and discounts is on the internet. However, if you can't be bothered to do this legwork yourself, then umpteen broker websites are waiting to serve you. Three of the best-known firms in this field are Broadspeed, Drivethedeal and Motorpoint.
Grab freebies and extras
Dealers work desperately hard to distract you from demanding discounts. Often, they do this by offering financial incentives such as 'we pay the VAT for you', cashback rebates and interest-free finance. While these freebies are a bonus, don't let them divert you from your core goal, which is to secure the lowest on-the-road price for your chosen vehicle.
In addition, to add more value to your deal, ask for a few optional extras to be thrown in. These free add-ons could include metallic paint, an immobiliser, an extended warranty, a year’s Vehicle Excise Duty (VED, or 'road tax') or even a free tank of fuel.
Find your own finance
Sometimes, dealers will offer you discounts, but only if you take their finance package. Alas, research from The AA found that taking dealer finance could cost you up to £2,000 more than finding a low-cost personal loan.
In other words, what the dealer loses on the car, he claws back through expensive finance. So when buying a new car, don't be lured into forecourt finance, because it is much cheaper to dip into your savings or get a table-topping personal loan.
Ignore dealer insurance
Another add-on that boosts dealers' profits is over-priced insurance cover, such as payment protection insurance (PPI), car insurance and breakdown cover. PPI -- widely discredited cover against death, accident, sickness and unemployment -- is probably the worst of the bunch, but other dealer-sold polices generally offer very poor value for money.
Instead of being influenced to buy insurance in the showroom, always search online for top-notch polices.
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More on cars:
Supermarkets announce 2p per litre diesel cut
How to find cheaper diesel and petrol
The places your car is most likely to suffer pothole damage
The cars most likely to be vandalised or stolen
Five ways to get the best new car deal
Claim compensation for pothole damage to your car, bike or motorcycle
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@electricblue - spot on! We have three cars on the fleet here - and all of them together are worth less than £10k! One is capable of hacking through a snowdrift and pulling 2.5 tonnes of trailer. One is a reliable old german pre-CAT4 diesel tank 6spd saloon and one of the best old oil-burners ever made - 200k on the clock and starts first time - every time all year round. The third is a bit of fun two seater that gets taxed only in summer. It's down to basic maths as you say. Tax is £225 a year for all of them and the best on the combined mpg is 45 and the worst 28. It's all down to the miles you drive and depreciation. All of our old crates have 'bottomed' out on depreciation - so that's nothing every year. If you say 33mpg av and assume a combined total of 15k miles a year - that's 454 gallons of juice at say £6.50 a gallon (£3000) + £675 tax and about the same insurance (cheaper to insure old cars). If you buy two uber-cheap new eco-cars (£20k) that'll be combined fuel of 55mpg av. Let's say it's only £120 tax between them and £600 for both insurance and 15k miles. 273 gallons @ £6.50 = £1774.50. Looks fine - until you realise two new cars depreciate by about 15-20% in year one and another 8-10% in year two. So in your first year (being kind - you lose £3000! That means you have one car less than us - far less fun and flexibility - worry about every dent in the paintwork in the supermarket car-park and you've spent well over a grand more than us! Oh - and if that weren't bad enough - you are contributing massively to global warming because of the CO2 produced making cars - and you aren't contributing to the local economy of independent garages (I didn't add in the £170 for MOT's - but as we are well over a grand up and 2 of our cars can receive basic servicing on the drive - it's not an issue).
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I find some of these comments interesting because I have just replaced my MK2 Galaxy with a MK3 and in the process have looked at a whole range of alternatives, not only for myself but for my sister who needs a car to ferry our aging mother about. The results have been largely disappointing as designers do seem to have lost the plot. Having had all 3 versions of the Galaxy my opinion is that the MK1 was by far the best all round vehicle and I now prefer driving my wife's 10 year old Picasso and much regret letting our son have my old MK2 Galaxy. It does seem that there is an assumption that everyone wants all black interiors with heavily tinted windows and suspension based on an F1 car. It is very noticeable that passengers in the new Galaxy, and to an extent in the MK2, tend to go quiet and struggle to make polite conversation wheras the MK1 and the old Picasso leaves them cheerful and chatty. At just 6 feet tall I struggled to get in many of the new models and gave up on some, particularly the Vauxhall Insignia. Most cars are now full of buttons and LCD displays and I cannot understand how replacing the old standard of 3 knobs for heating with up to 20 buttons and a complicated LCD display can be considered a safe alternative. I even have severe doubts about many of the economy claims as my old MK1 Galaxy was at least 5 MPG better than the new one. It was also a lot more comfortable and pleasant to drive. It also didn't make the neighbours think the Mafia had come to tea Contrary to some of the comments I found that the cheaper basic models were often preferable to the more expensive gadget riddled top of the range ones.
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The list sums-up the British. Small minded. Matches our small yet overpriced houses. I wonder if we will ever wake up. Why do people buy the Vauxhall Corsa? I didn't particularly want to slag off a car, but they are so bad, and we have such a large choice of cheaper and better cars. The doors are as heavy as hell, the gear change is woolly, the steering is sloppy and the road holding feels poor. Even the switches feel cheap. Not that I'm a Ford man any more, but even Fords do a much better job and at a better price usually. I'm surprised Hyundai are not on the list. I see a lot of i10's prepared for the new plates at my dealers.
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03 June 2013