Well personally i'd never buy new and i dont advise people to buy new. The ideal formula is to buy a three-year old car, low mileage and above average condition for its age, any teething issues sorted on warranty with a main dealer service history and a high proportion were maintained by fleet managers. Its essentially a new car for a significant amount off. Thats the route i'd always recommend to go down.

In terms of bargaining it depends on the car, if its a car very much in demand with strong residuals etc you'll find a dealer harder to budge than on a car which a dealer is essentially over a barrel to sell. Like there were bargains floating around when it became known through the internet certain manufacturers had to sell cars within a certain timeframe or they wont comply with upcoming emissions regulations etc, we essentially had dealers bent over the desk on that one. Im not sure theres any situations like that happening currently. An ideal car to go for is something which they have over supply of, a car they've built alot of, anticipating strong sales (decisions on how many to make wouldve been taken 2-3 years ago) and it hasnt happened and the cars have to shift. Petrol models, saloon cars, cars with a slightly higher tax band etc that sort of thing can be a good bet. But 2-3 years ago in this case was during the height of the financial crisis and production was being scaled back and oversupply was a problem then, cars built and ordered in good credit times were then stacking up lacking customers, it was easier to get a deal then than it is now. Or anything from a Chrysler dealership, their cars always flop, should be desperate to flog anything.

BMW are the experts of ripping you off as virtually everything is an optional extra, the Germans are hard to extract a bargain from.

Ive only dealt in used cars and in my experience dealers like people who can just pay for it rather than go down the finance route, but in terms of delivery time i wouldnt know as ive never bought new either but i have bought and sold nearly-new cars and i would still advise looking at three-year old cars in franchised dealers personally.

Edited by jamie745 on 09/09/2011 at 00:03

There are lots of ifs and buts in this debate, but in general terms cars that hold their value well, such as most German models and cars in great demand like Minis, are worth considering buying new. If they lose value quickly for whatever reason (Fords, Vauxhalls and most French and Italian cars), best to buy at a year or so old as you could get a bargain.

Finance is an essential consideration but not the only one. If you like the idea of a new car, and you want to get the full manufacturer's warranty, you may prefer a new car even if it's not financially the best bet.

Dealers don't always prefer cash buyers as they get commission on selling finance packages. If you decide on a particular car, it's worth checking outr what's available even if you instinctively don't like using finance.

It's impossiblr to generalise about extras, as manufacturers differ in what they offer as standard. Generally if you're in a hurry to buy a new car, you have to accept what's in stock or available through the dealer network. If you want particular items of extra equipment, you may need a factory order.

I get accused on here of being in the pay of Skoda - I'm not, just a very satisfied owner of my second Octavia estate - but the Octavia does tick your boxes (bullet points a few posts above here). The 1.8T, or 2.0 vRS like mine would be more exciting to drive than another Avensis.

The Honda Accord is good but expensive for what it is, and a Mazda 6 is worth looking at if it has to be Japanese. You could also consider the Hyundai i40, so far available only as an estate.

Yawn....

usual dated stuff about German cars having everything as expensive extras, Skoda being wonderful and MB having poor service.

- The Germans have moved over to the same model as most other manufacturers. You get a base car, a more luxurious one, a sporty one.... etc. You get more kit the more you pay (surprise....) and you can choose from some other extras. But if you want one from the dealer network for immediate delivery tyou take your pic on spec.

- I'll quote from my Skoda feedback form "If Skoda was the only car manufacturer left on the planet, I'd buy some better walking shoes..."

- MB had some real problems with quality and customer services a decade or so ago but I think they've fixed them and (like every other manufacturer) have satisfied and disastisfied customers.

Personally, I've never experienced better service and reliability from Honda and Subaru or worse from Toyota and Skoda. But that's a straw poll of one and who am I to tell you what to buy?

Here's my advice.... buy the car you really like and negotiate VERY hard. There won't be many folks who offer folding money for THAT car today. Ignore the BS about finance and special offers, the saleman's boss's boss will want the sale for business reasons not just commission - good discounts are achievable on most things, especially if there is stock in the network.

Go for it.