With average delivery times stretching to two months, new cars that are not ordered within weeks are likely to be handed over and paid for after the new year VAT increase, needlessly costing their buyers quite large sums.

The much-heralded Scrappage Scheme, though extended, is not expected to last much into the new year, either.

Tim Wait, Director of CarQuake, the UK’s foremost new car website, comments: “At the moment, thousands of new car buyers are walking blindly into substantial losses. On a £20,000 car, the January change in VAT alone could easily be worth a the equivalent of alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors or metallic paint finish, while the end of Scrappage could make a substantial difference to the type of car they can afford. And all they have to do is buy now, to avoid paying later.”

‘Buy Now, Don’t Pay Later’
On January 1, 2010, VAT is to be restored to 17.5%, with the biggest impact on high ticket purchases such as new cars. On average, the VAT change will push up the price of a £20,000 car by around £500.

“Many new car buyers don’t realise how important timing is,” continues CarQuake’s Tim Wait. “If you order a car in December and it’s delivered in January, you’re likely to be making your main payment in January – whether it’s cash or on credit. And therefore you pay January’s VAT. And the time to avoid that scenario is now.”

Buying now can still also be best advice in general car pricing. Wait adds: “Retailers have been faced with downward pressure on prices: survival means they’re now much more competitive. But manufacturers are pushing prices up. And as Scrappage comes to an end, the new year won’t just see higher VAT but also higher retail prices.”
Speaking for the consumer, Tim is quick to point out that there are some very good reasons to buy a new car in the next 4-6 weeks…

• Only 15% VAT to pay if you buy your new car before the end of 2009
• Strong second hand market for used cars, ensuring that you get a good part exchange price
• The opportunity (where appropriate) to participate in the government Scrappage scheme which has been extended for a further 100,000 vehicles but is likely to run out by the end of the year
• The possibility of avoiding manufacturers’ 2010 price increases

He concludes: “Based on our experience, we recommend that consumers act while market conditions are so favourable, a condition that only has a few more weeks to run. The future promises higher car prices, higher interest rates and higher VAT. Our advice is definitely: Buy Now – Don’t Pay Later.”

CarQuake (www.carquake.co.uk), a new automotive website, launched in late 2006, has deliberately taken the view that if people are paying good money, then they want a really new car from a UK Franchised Dealer.

“If you search online for new cars, all you see is confusion, and most of it is deliberate” suggests John Braithwaite, Director and Co-Founder of CarQuake. “Genuine new car buyers are contacting brokers and non-franchised dealers expecting to discuss ordering a new car and are being told that the car isn’t quite as new as they thought it would be. It’s become common practice: traders hoping to convert buyers into a different kind of car and they can pocket the profits.”

“We’ve had a number of buyers find CarQuake and get new cars ordered at prices less than they were going to order nearly new” he continued, “and that, in the end, is only good news for the new car buyer and franchised dealers.”

To back up this assertion, John Braithwaite selected three cars with prices on CarQuake (as of December 2006) which are not beaten elsewhere…

Ford Fiesta 2.0 ST
CarQuake Price: £10,895 (save £2,700)
Average ‘New’ Discounted Price: £12,000; Average ‘Nearly New’ Price: £11,250

Skoda Octavia 2.0T FSI vRS
CarQuake Price: £15,495 (save £2,050)
Average ‘New’ Discounted Price: £17,000; Average ‘Nearly New’ Price: £15,600

Renault Clio 1.2 Campus
CarQuake Price: £5,495 (save £2,480)
Average ‘New’ Discounted Price: £6,500; Average ‘Nearly New’ Price: £5,995

The competitiveness of franchised dealers through CarQuake brings sharply into focus the fact that buyers don’t have to accept “nearly new” if what they actually want are “really new” cars.

When most dealers and car businesses are battening down the hatches and wishing the year to be over, and even looking ahead to March for the next proper pay day, CarQuake is going from strength to strength.

The stats of the website tell their own story:
• Month-on-month growth in visitors to the website is running at 20%
• Month-on-month dealer recruitment is growing at 30% per month
• Month-on-month sales to new car dealers is growing at 35% per month

“Every year dealers have to face the fact that the last quarter of the year can be particularly disappointing for new car sales. March always looks a long way off” said Tim Wait, Director and Co-Founder of CarQuake.

“And, yet, CarQuake is bucking the trend and growing rapidly in this period” he continued, “we’re proving that there are new car buyers out there, and they’re attracted to our no-nonsense approach to new cars. The customer expects a great deal – and that’s exactly what they get with CarQuake: the easiest way to buy a new car at a great price!”

“We hoped that CarQuake would appeal to the new car buyer, and we haven’t been disappointed. Customers are getting fantastic deals on new cars (up to 33% discount). Dealers speak to real buyers and avoid being dictated to by brokers, so they’re happy too. We’re proud of our performance since our launch in September and are truly looking forward to next year.”

So, for all those people out there thinking of a new car in 2007, a tip – keep a close eye on CarQuake… because that’s where the new car buyers seem to be heading, and that’s where the best deals direct from franchised dealers can be found. You don’t have to wait ‘til March either, there are great deals on CarQuake right now.

Stop Press… ALL prices on CarQuake are for NEW CARS, from UK DEALERS, TO ORDER and at STAGGERING DISCOUNTS. With no nonsense!

But that’s not all… it has a very important further difference: the prices offered on the website are REALLY new cars. This may seem obvious, but deliberate confusion is rife in the marketplace where prices advertised as ‘new’ cars are not all they seem to be.

Competition is so fierce that often online brokers and car supermarkets promise new cars which are anything but new: they are already registered, are ex-demonstrators, are sold as fleet (so the buyer becomes the second owner of the vehicle) or are only available in certain colours. Yet, these businesses use misleading discounts and marketing messages to deliberately draw buyers in with the express aim to sell them a used car.

“The thing is – it still affects our credibility” said John Braithwaite, Director and Co-Founder of CarQuake, “you wouldn’t believe how many enquirers still ask if our cars are imports, or if they are really new cars, or what the cost of registration is. They’re expecting to be disappointed, even though, throughout the CarQuake site, we only talk about new cars direct from the franchised dealer, and stress that our prices include all charges to the customer – fuel, delivery, tax, everything.”

“I guess it’s because they look at our new car prices and can’t believe that they are real,” he continued, “but they are, and the reason why we have the prices we do is because we cut out middlemen. We put customers directly in touch with the franchised dealer and allow them to sort the rest out. All new cars come from dealers… so why interfere in the process?”

It’s this kind of irresistible logic which has contributed to the early successes of the CarQuake website. Browsing round the website, it’s clear that this is one website which won’t compromise when it comes to finding the best deals.