Failure To Haggle On The Price Of New Cars Could Cost Motorists Nearly GBP230 Million

November 7, 2009

Sainsbury's Finance offers loans at just 8.0% for Sainsbury's shoppers

LONDON, ENGLAND, November 07, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- New research from Sainsbury's Finance has found that collectively British motorists could save themselves an incredible GBP229 million over the next six months, if only they were prepared to haggle on the price of their new car.

Of the 1.14 million people planning to buy a brand new car between September 2009 and February 2010, around 121,000 say they do not plan to haggle at all over the price they pay. This is despite the fact that depending on the car they want to buy, they could obtain a discount of up to 50% on the list price. Indeed, according to What Car? the average discount you should be aiming for on a brand new car is around GBP1,893.

Sainsbury's Finance's research also highlighted that a further 420,000 people could pay too much for their brand new cars over the next six months because they are only prepared to haggle 'slightly' over the price. Only 52% of those people buying a brand new car said that they would haggle 'very hard' or 'hard', compared to 67% in February 2009.

As well as haggling over the price of the vehicle, it also pays to shop around for a competitive rate when looking for car finance. Around 26% of the money paid for brand new cars in the next six months will be financed through loans. Sainsbury's Finance is currently offering a personal loan rate of 8.0% APR Typical to Sainsbury's shoppers applying online with a Nectar card for loans of between GBP7,500 and GBP15,000.

Steven Baillie, Head of Sainsbury's Loans said: "The car industry is still going through a difficult period, with sales of new cars in September for example down around 20% on previous years despite some help from the Government's car scrappage scheme. From the buyer's point of view this means that now is a good time to negotiate a significant discount on the price of a new vehicle. Our research suggests that with stereotypical British reserve, many of us don't haggle hard despite the big savings that can be made, so we'd urge car buyers to give it a go.

"As well as obtaining a good deal on a new car, it's also important to shop around for a competitive rate if you are planning to use a loan to help finance your purchase."

Customers taking out a Sainsbury's Loan can choose to make no repayments for the first three months, receive an instant decision and have their cheque delivered to their door within 24 hours.

However, if you wish to haggle yourself, here are some tips from Sainsbury's Finance:

You can often pick up a good price on a new car just before the introduction of new registration plates as any cars left over from the previous new registration become less attractive.

When manufacturers are introducing a new model, you can sometimes pick up a great deal on the old model.

Car dealers looking for a quick sale will sometimes throw in additional features that are not included as standard (e.g. better car stereos; sunroofs etc).

Be aware of the discounts you can obtain on the car you want. Having knowledge of these can be very useful when negotiating on price. The What Car? Target Price will show you the average discount that you should aim to achieve for a particular make of car.

Know what car you want and the size of your budget and stick to it.

Keep your excitement in check. If you look too keen the car dealer may be less willing to negotiate on price. Make them think that you are prepared to walk away.

For more information on Sainsbury's loans or its competitive car insurance call 0500 40 50 60 or log on to http://www.sainsburysfinance.co.uk.

For further information, please contact:
Ian Morris / Max Duddy
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
020 7638 9571

Notes to Editors:
(1) Applicants must supply their Nectar card number when applying for the loan and have shopped in Sainsbury's in the last 6 months
(2) Research conducted by TNS with 1967 people between 31st July and 9th August 2009. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 16+). The consumer omnibus research conducted by TNS uses a large sample size that reflects the demographic profile of GB. Given this it is possible to extrapolate figures for GB from the research results within appropriate confidence intervals.
(3) Car broker Broadspeed.com, 2008
(4) What Car? Target Price, 2009
(5) Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Sept 2009
(6) Terms and conditions apply

Sainsbury's Finance:
To view our latest press releases and product information, please visit the Sainsbury's Finance online media centre at http://www.sainsburysfinance.co.uk/media.
Sainsbury's Finance offers a range of quality, competitively priced, award-winning products. It opened for business on 19th February 1997 and was the UK's first supermarket bank. It is a 50:50 joint venture with Sainsbury's and Lloyds Banking Group.
Sainsbury's Finance offers the following products: Credit Cards and Loans, a range of Savings products and Car Insurance, Life Insurance, Home Insurance, Travel Insurance and Pet Insurance
For further information and general Sainsbury's Finance enquiries customers can call the freephone number on 0500 40 50 60 or visit http://www.sainsburysfinance.co.uk

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