new cars

If you’ve got the cash, then there’s not a lot that can beat choosing a new car. You can have the one you want, in the colour you want, with all the right bits and pieces fitted and you’ll be the first person to drive it. The UK Government old car scrappage scheme has now finished but there are still plenty of deals out there.

There are a few things to bear in mind if you are looking to buy a new car.

Depreciation

New cars are obviously more expensive than the same one second-hand but they depreciate faster. This means that the amount that you can sell it for drops the fastest in the first months of its life.

Showroom Tax

The Government have recently announced a controversial one-off ‘showroom tax’ that came into effect in April 2010. The amount that you pay depends on the Carbon dioxide emissions of the car you buy — below 165g/km there is no tax but it rises steeply above this from £70 up to £515. Expect these amounts to increase in years to come - keep your eyes open for Budget announcements. Have a look at the Government’s VCA website for more info. This showroom tax is in addition to the annual VED, which itself can vary from nothing to £435. The lowest 9 bands (of 13) are shown below :-

CO2 VED Banding	Showroom Tax	VED Tax	Total
Band A ( up to 100g/km)	0	0	0
Band B (101-110g/km)	0	20	20
Band C (111-120g/km)	0	30	30
Band D (121-130g/km)	0	90	90
Band E (131-140g/km)	0	110	110
Band F (141-150g/km)	0	125	125
Band G (151-165g/km)	0	155	155
Band H (166-175g/km)	70	180	250
Band I (176-185g/km)	100	200	300

Insurance

As you’ll have paid a fair amount for your new car, you’ll almost certainly need to have Fully Comprehensive insurance so that you don’t lose everything in the event of a shunt. You might also want to consider ‘gap insurance’ to provide you with the difference between the current market value and the new cost in the event of your car being written off in an accident.

Fuels and emissions

There is now a wider choice of the type of fuel a car will run on. Electricity has joined petrol and diesel as a power source, but not without some complications - Review the alternatives here. The ur1stcar Car Chooser will help you decide what's best for your particular circumstances and wallet.

Safety

New cars are generally much safer in the event of an accident than older cars but it's the age of the design that counts. The newest designs are most likely to have optimised body structures, a higher number of airbags and availability of active safety systems such as Stability Control to help you avoid the accident in the first place.

YoungMarmalade offer car, insurance and finance packages on new and nearly-new cars — they specialise in vehicles with 4 or 5 star EuroNCAP safety ratings.

Options and accessories

There is also the advantage of being able to specify options and accessories that suit your fancy and your wallet but take care when making your choices so that you don't 'personalise the car too much as you could restrict potential buyers when the time comes to move onto urnxtcar.

You also need to know that any options and accessories you fit are likely to depreciate at least as quickly as the car itself. You need to think about what potential buyers will be looking for in a second-hand car. This generally isn’t the same as for a new car — price is usually at the top of people’s list and if yours has lots of kit, you might be tempted to try and get some of your money back, then potential buyers might just pass you by.

Some options are better than others for this — metallic paint finishes are usually amongst the best - but take care what you choose. You might love the way it looks but will enough other people when you want to sell ? If it is ‘this year’s colour’, what will happen next year?

Put simply, think very carefully before you over-specify or over-personalise your new car. This is particularly important at the cheaper end of the market where expensive options will be a greater proportion of the value of the car and you could lose out big time when you come to sell.

Where to buy

Your local dealer would seem the obvious answer but you can get much better deals if you shop around, especially if you use the power of the internet.

If you've decided what car you want you should get quotes from several dealers and then get haggling for the best deal or alteratively use AutoeBid - they run a 'reverse auction' for new cars. That's where you say what you want, a metallic blue Citroen C1 1.0 petrol 3 door for example, and what you're prepared to pay for it, then car dealers bid against each other for your business. You choose which deal suits you. If none do, then you don't buy, simple.

Also have a look at DealDrivers and Cars2Buy for the best deals on new cars before you make your mind up - you’ll be pleasantly surprised at their prices.

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