New car on finance before new number plate release?

lucky_me_2

Hi all,

I am looking to take out a finance agreement for a new car. Is it worth looking at this before the new number plates are released? Am I right in thinking that all car manufacturers release new plates in March?

If so could I look at using this to my advantage to get a good deal on a car this weekend, if so any tips? I'm not great at haggling and in the past have ended up signing on the dotted line with a rubbish deal.

Any help, tips or advice would be very gratefully received :-)

eschaton

lucky_me wrote: »

Hi all,

I am looking to take out a finance agreement for a new car. Is it worth looking at this before the new number plates are released? Am I right in thinking that all car manufacturers release new plates in March?

If so could I look at using this to my advantage to get a good deal on a car this weekend, if so any tips? I'm not great at haggling and in the past have ended up signing on the dotted line with a rubbish deal.

Any help, tips or advice would be very gratefully received :-)

You may well get a better deal depending on the car - as long as it is paid for before the end of the month.

You will be relying on dealers that need a sale to meet targets for the current month.

Also worth asking after a deal is agreed, what deal they would give for a 13 plate car. If not much then a 13 plate car makes sense.

lucky_me_2

Thank you very much for the good advice. I am going to have a look at the weekend so will see what they can come up.

eschaton

lucky_me wrote: »

Thank you very much for the good advice. I am going to have a look at the weekend so will see what they can come up.

If you are happy with a 62 plate car, you should be able to push a decent deal as February will be a very quiet month for them.

Also consider a car at a few months old, ex demo etc.. After 11 brand new cars in a row, my current car was bought at 3 months old and I paid £22k against £28k list price.

anotherbaldrick

If you are uncomfortable about having a car with a 13 in the registration go for a 62 . I believe it is going to be offered as the alternative for purchasers of 13 reg cars who are superstitious.

keith1950

Hi, new plates are released by the DVLA not car manufacturers.

You will always get a better deal with a pre-registered vehicle as they are already at the dealers so you have limited choice of specification.

If you want your full choice of every feature on the car it is usually ordered in from the manufacturers so any discount will be limited.

lucky_me_2

Thank you to everyone for your advice.

I am going to go to a few dealers at the weekend an see if I can get a good deal, I'm not particularly bothered about a new 13 plate but I know they'll try and sell me the newest most expensive option available. I'm just going to try to stick within my price range and get as much for that price as I possibly can.

lucky_me_2

Also I forgot to ask - when I called a certain dealer asking about ex-demo they said its always best to buy brand new because of the warranty being better/longer. Is this the case with a 12 plate? I'm assuming so long as its a new car I am still entitled to the manufacturers warranty or am I wrong?

johnnyreggae

The manufacturers warranty usually begins on the date of first registration

a 12 plate would be registered between March & August 2012 so the warranty would already have been in place for at least six months

You should be entitled to the balance of manufacturers warranty (provided it was correctly transferred - see the recent thread about Vauxhall's lifetime warranty)

eschaton

lucky_me wrote: »

Also I forgot to ask - when I called a certain dealer asking about ex-demo they said its always best to buy brand new because of the warranty being better/longer. Is this the case with a 12 plate? I'm assuming so long as its a new car I am still entitled to the manufacturers warranty or am I wrong?

It will be longer as it starts on date of registration but it won't be any better as it will be the same warranty.

Salesmen spouting pish like this is what gets them a bad name.

Also look out for their con with finance when they quote flat rate and not APR.

keith1950

Hi, if it is a brand new pre-registered car you will get the full warranty, if you buy a second hand 12 plate you will get the the remainer of the warranty from the first owners purchase date.

Unusual advice about the ex-demo's because generally speaking they make a lot more from the sale of a used car than from a brand new one.

Demo's are newish second hand cars and could have up to 5,000 miles on so you would get the remainder of the warranty.

A genuine pre-registered car should only have delivery mileage on it, that is, up to 10 miles max. unless it has been driven from another dealer and the customer has agreed to this.