Used Car Expert Editor and car pricing guru Matt Tumbridge has called into question new car price lists of premium makes and models.
"Premium car buyers are being lured into showrooms with low headline prices for new cars," he says, "only to find that in order to get the kind of car they test drive or see in the adverts you have to spend a small fortune on extras."
While the ex-demonstrators from the mass market brands and models are usually cheaper than the new price, the premium cars are not because they have had so many extras added.
For example:
- Vauxhall Corsa 3dr 1.0 P is £9,900 new and can be found nearly new (under 1 yr old) for £8,200 on average
- Ford Focus 3dr 1.6 P is £18,300 new and can be found nearly new (under 1 yr old) for £13,300 on average.
But, the premium brands are different:
- BMW X5 3.0 D 5dr starts at £43,000 new but most nearly new (under 1 yr old) models are £46,000 on average
- Audi Q7 3.0 D 5dr starts at £43,000 new but most nearly new (under 1 yr old) models are £47,000 on average
"A lot of people think we've moved on from the days when buying a premium German brand meant you had to spend extra to get things like a radio. But all that's happened is a radio is no longer a gadget – other things have replaced it. So, you get the radio, but to get a car of a suitable spec, you are still paying lots more for extras."