... In some countries similar specced cars were being sold for around £4,000 less than what we have to put up with in the UK. I may be 15 years old but I have put a lot of research into this subject and it is my aim to explain what has been done about it and what still needs to be done.
THE ... Read review
Advantages: We don't have to worry about language... Disadvantages: ...but instead we have to worry about the deal we are getting in the UK
...cheapest new car in the UK with their Nippa at £4,724 and has since been quite popular. Mitsubishi have let the air out of their prices significantly but that is because they are trying to make themselves poular again, while SEAT have adopted the value for money strategy and has since been praised for it showing low prices can work.
Then there is the showroom scandal which was most surprising because it involved Volvo and Ford. Their ... .../>
Used cars in the UK can be very cheap as in good ol'Blighty there are many cars that depreciate heavily like the Vauxhall Omega whoch has since become very popular.
You can haggle to get the price down and you can try and get discounts and special offers like free insurance for a year - something Citroen have recently adopted and have since moved to the top of the sales charts - are very common.
It's been in the news, the magazines and for a time last year on all our lips - no I'm not talking about David Beckham, but the scandal that was and still is British car prices.
I am writing this because I found some class work I did a couple of years ago about the very thing and as I got an A* and a special mention - Your name read out in assembly, it was a great privilege - I thought I should let you share it too, albeit updated. Hope you like it...
THE ARGUMENT
It's remained quiet for several years but after the crisis of petrol prices, attention turned towards car manufacturers and how we were being charged so much more than anyone else on the continent. Since we were fed up of being ripped off, cars were next in line for a slating. In some countries similar specced cars were being sold for around £4,000 less than what we have to put up with in the UK. I may be 15 years old but I have put a lot of research into this subject and it is my aim to explain what has been done about it and what still needs to be done.
THE DEFENCE
There can be no accusation without defence but there is very little reason for such descrimination. Economy usually comes up several times but we aren't the only country to experiance money difficulties so why are we being signalled out as the rip-off nation. It's not just cars that we pay more for but clothes, food and almost everything else and that can't be denied.
THE FACTS AND FIGURES
If I haven't explained enough already I shall let the facts talk for you. I am going to put some cars down and you can compare their prices. You may be very surprised...
BRITISH PRICE: £10,500 IRISH PRICE: £8,341 SAVING -£2,159
As you can see the differences are different but most are over £1000. That £1000 can go towards other things. The Land Rover is a shocking £7,000 less elsewhere in Europe. These are just two countries but there are many contries in the world and Britain is at the bottom.
WHATS THE SITUATION NOW?
Granted, manufactrers have listened but only with one ear because although prices have dropped we are still being ripped off. We asked them to lower prices and they have but some are really small. Some manufacturers lowered their prices, like Mercades and Daewoo, but a couple of weeks later they went back up without even noticing. And thats the thing, prices are rising again but so slowly you don't notice.
But credit has to go to a couple of manufacturers who have kept their price promise. SEAT, Perodua and Mitsubishi have continued to slash prices in the face of competition. Perodua currently have the cheapest new car in the UK with their Nippa at £4,724 and has since been quite popular. Mitsubishi have let the air out of their prices significantly but that is because they are trying to make themselves poular again, while SEAT have adopted the value for money strategy and has since been praised for it showing low prices can work.
Then there is the showroom scandal which was most surprising because it involved Volvo and Ford. Their dealers upped prices to what they wanted to fool unaware customers to gain more money and commission. That has since been rectified.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Of course there is the option of going abroad and going on the internet and they are all successful albeit the right precautions are made. Going abroad is much better because you can see and touch the car you are about to buy.
But going abroad means you have to wait for delivery and that incures a charge although that isn't too much.
Going abroad doesn't mean spending loads on a flight to the other side of Europe or to Germany or Scandanavia because you can go to Ireland. As you have seen further up my op, Ireland offers extremely cheap cars just across the pond and as they drive on the right, you don't have to pay a premium for changing from left to right-hand drive.
Used cars in the UK can be very cheap as in good ol'Blighty there are many cars that depreciate heavily like the Vauxhall Omega whoch has since become very popular.
You can haggle to get the price down and you can try and get discounts and special offers like free insurance for a year - something Citroen have recently adopted and have since moved to the top of the sales charts - are very common.
Remember the language barrier is also a problem and it may be an idea to get an idea of their langauage before you go.
OVERALL
Prices are still very high and although they are gradually falling they aren't falling quickly enough as Euro prices are also dropping too. My Dads comapny are also very interested in getting cars from Europe so we have been researching and Europe is more sound. I'm not asking to boycott showrooms but they need a bit of pressure so they get their work done.
Advantages: By shopping around you may get a better deal Disadvantages: Can be time consuming and we lose out to the Europeans again!
...movement to and from the UK as additional costs need to be factored in.
But, back to cars....
We can all carry on whinging about the prices that we are being made to pay but it doesn't stop us buying. The car is moving away from being a luxury item to a necessity. Remember though, there are ways you can save money on a new purchase...
BUY ABROAD
If you are prepared for a little bit of hassle then you can buy your car abroad at European prices. ... ...a car back to the UK and any customs duties that may become payable depending upon your circumstances.
European manufacturers are obliged to offer the cars as left and right hand drive and so there will be no problems there although you may find a reluctance from some dealers to offer the UK models as they want to maintain the high UK prices.
BUY ONLINE
Online merchants have been steadily chipping away at the prices of cars in the UK. Big names ...
CareBear 21.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of UK Car Prices
I think more and more people are getting the picture now about buying cars abroad, there's nothing wrong in it, and dealers over here now do all the buying and bring the car over here for you. The normal dealer in Britain are now saying they're lowering their prices to match European dealers prices, but there's still a big gap between their prices. Alot of dealers over here arn't even lowering the price of their car at all, just trying to confuse ... ...over here for £15,000 with £2000 cash back in your hand, they know not many people pay for all the car straight away, so they have you up against the wall for £2000 more in some high intrest loan, than they would have if they would have just knocked £2000 of the price, so that's just a con. And all when you could have gone to a dealer down the road that could have imported you the same car for around £9000. A wopping £6000 less, and that really is ...
andyluk 08.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of UK Car Prices
Advantages: Could buy cars from anywhere. Disadvantages: Would cost a lot to change.
The arguments continue over the dearer price of cars in this country compared to the prices of cars on mainland Europe. Over and over again we are told that the prices in the rest of Europe are cheaper than in this country, but why is that? Well a major reason has got to be that most of the world drives on the right hand side of the road and the majority of cars are therefore manufactured with a left hand drive. To produce the smaller number of right ... ...to right is obviously going to cost more money. It is about time now that we accepted that this country (and the few remaining other countries that still drive on the left) needs to change. There is no logical reason for us to be out of step with the rest of Europe over this matter any longer. I know that in the short term this would be very inconvenient (and expensive) as road layouts would need to be changed and drivers would have to be re-educated, ...
daseaford 30.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of UK Car Prices
Advantages: Can't think of any Disadvantages: We don't get value for money
We all know that new car prices in this country are too high. The high car prices in this country has been well covered in the press over the last few years and people have stopped buying new cars as a result. Everything in this country is more expensive than it should be, it's just that new cars are thousands of pounds more expensive than they should be. This all stems from the fact that we Brits are a very tolerant lot. We will complain amongst ... ...We hear all sorts of excuses and we believe some of them. Rover were one of the worst culprits. You could buy a Land Rover Discovery from Holland for at least a couple of grand less than you could buy one from a dealer in this country. As we all know, Rovers are made in Britain. Why, then, is it cheaper to have one made in Britain, shipped to Holland and then go over to Holland to bring it back? This is madness surely. If Rover had dropped their ...
adamdavid 04.10.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of UK Car Prices
Advantages: NONE its not fair Disadvantages: everything......it stinks
I think its disgusting that cars that are build in this country with british parts and by british workers cost more than the exact same car shipped to another counrty on the continent. How can the likes of Rover, Toyota and ford justify this? Another thing is the stupid deals they offer us. For example cash back! you buy your car for about 10 grand and two months later they send you a cheque for £500. Why dont they just take it off the price anyway?
... ...for trade ins, this would get the bangers off the road and lots of folk buying a brand new motor.
The level of equipment in a new car is a joke aswell.
We as consumers demand full safety as standard that means driver and passenger air bags and side impact bars.
Why buy a brand new car costing about £7000 without even rear wash wipe or electric windows when we can get top used car with only a few thousand on the clock with all the gadgetry? ...
zef 12.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of UK Car Prices
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