How good a negotiator are you? If you could get £3,000 off the list price of a car, in exchange for accepting just a few miles on the clock, would that be good. What about if we didn’t stop there, but you went and got another £250 off, would that seem worthwhile?
Well, the strange circumstances of the moment mean that if you act fast, you can. There are hundreds of nearly new cars on main dealer forecourts, with less than 20,000 miles (which means they really do feel like new) for £3,000 less than list price. And if you buy now, you beat the 2.5% VAT increase. So a car that was around £13,000 new can be yours £10,000 with just 15% VAT. Here are three I have been thinking about:
Mazda 3
If you don't want to look like everyone else, want performance, reliability and value then the Mazda 3 is worthy of a test drive.
Most economical: 1.6D
Best used buy: 1.6 TS
UsedCarExpert.com faults to check: 10
Used Car Expert magazine price guide: A 2008 1.6 TS with average mileage of 15,000 will be around £9,500, saving £4,500 over the list price.
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Kia Cee’d
The Kia Cee'd is an impressive all-round family hatchback, with an even more impressive 7 year warranty. Essentially the same car as the Hyundai i30, so be sure to check both out.
Most economical: 1.6 CRDi
Best used buy: 1.6 CRDi
UsedCarExpert.com faults to check: N/A – 7 year warranty
Used Car Expert magazine price guide: £12,895 when new you can now have a 2007 year car with 15,000 average miles for £8,500. Saving you over £4,300.
Nissan Micra
Cheeky, practical and well equipped. Easy to drive and live with and there are increasing numbers around which is driving down prices.
Most economical: 1.5 DCI
Best used buy: 1.2 S
UsedCarExpert.com faults to check: 7
Used Car Expert magazine price guide: £8,300 - £9,000 when new, a 2007 year car with 10,000 average miles will be around £6,000, saving £2,300 to £3,000.