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LINDSEY ROGERSON
DRIVERS thinking of buying a new car next month should start doing their homework now if they don't want to end up out of pocket. UK-wide it is estimated that new car owners could collectively save £228m simply by shopping around for the best finance deal for their chosen car.
Being savvy about what and where they buy, as well as thinking green, could help shave thousands more off the price of a new vehicle this August.
Fuel consumption
Cost-conscious drivers should check the fuel costs of their vehicle against a similarly sized alternative.
As a rule
of thumb, the more powerful the engine the more expensive it will be to run, so downsizing to a less powerful model will not only slice thousands of pounds off the list price but will also save in fuel and insurance costs.
According to the Which? guide to buying a car, a Ford Mondeo 1.6 Edge will cost £14,480 to run for three years (or 36,000 miles). That is almost £6,000 less than the more powerful Mondeo 2.3, at £20,160 for three years.
The cars which claim to be cheapest to run are electric and hybrids. According to Which?, the three-year running cost for the Toyota Prius is £14,040, compared with the £17,640 cost of running a similarly priced non-hybrid Toyota Avensis.
The savings for
drivers of hybrid and electric vehicles extend beyond fuel costs. In his last Budget in March, Gordon Brown rejigged car tax to the benefit of drivers of green cars. Drivers of the Honda Insight Hybrid and Smart Fortwo now pay no vehicle excise duty (VED), while owners of the Toyota Prius pay just £30 a year. Drivers of non-green, four-door saloons will pay up to £205 a year in VED.
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Source:
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=1141722007 |
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