Three in five people (60%) claim that price is very important to them when they are deciding whether to buy a new car and many of us will go to amazing lengths to get a better deal on a new set of wheels.

However, it seems that as a nation we are missing a trick when it comes to financing our cars by not shopping around for the best credit deal according to research from Abbey National loans.

It seems that many of us are prepared to put in some serious legwork to seek out the best deal when buying a car.

In the interests of saving money, people say they would:

• Consider buying a car abroad (41%).
• Online (38%).
• A third (33%) say they would go to an auction.
• Nearly half (45%) would scan the small ads.
• More than three-quarters (77%) would break with traditional British reserve and haggle with a dealer to try to get free extra features such as air conditioning or electric windows.

However:

• Three fifths of people (60%) admit they did not shop around for the best loan deal the last time they bought a car.
• One in five people (20%) say that when buying a new car they would get a hire purchase deal or similar from a showroom, but in many cases they would pay hundreds of pounds more interest compared with the amount they would pay on a low cost unsecured personal loan.

On average, people spend more than two and a half weeks shopping around for the best price on a new car. However, nearly half of us (47%) spend less than 30 minutes looking at the different finance options available when buying a new car.

Abbey National has compared the hire purchase deals quoted by three different car brands on their internet sites with its own typical internet loan rate of 6.9 per cent APR for loans above £5,000. The comparison shows that, on average, people would be more than £1,000 better off with a loan from Abbey National than a hire purchase deal from the showroom.

Gary Hockey-Morley, Director of Product Strategy, Abbey National, says:

“As a nation, we seem to be determined to get a good deal when buying a new car and many of us are prepared to go to great lengths to secure a bargain. However, this is a waste of time if the finance option they choose doesn’t represent good value. What you save on negotiating a free sunroof, you waste on expensive financing.”

“There are some great rates available on unsecured personal loans and yet many people are content to sign a finance deal in the showroom without shopping around, despite the fact that they could save hundreds of pounds by going elsewhere for their credit.”

Around the regions:

People in the North East attach the least importance to the cost of a car, with nearly a third (31%) claiming that it is not very important or not important at all when they are deciding whether or not to buy a new car.

People in the West Country are the most price-conscious with more than three quarters (77%) of people from the area saying the price of a car is very important when deciding whether to buy.

Yorkshire folk are next in the price-conscious league, with 70% claiming it is very important and the Scots come in at third place with 67% of them citing price as very important.

More than half (53%) of Scots said they would consider buying a car abroad to get a better deal, compared with just 28% of people in the North West and 34% of people in Yorkshire and the West Country.

Where we’ll buy:

People in Scotland (46%), East Anglia (49%) and London (45%) are the most likely to shop online for a car to get a better deal. People in the North East (28%), West Country (29%) and South East (29%) are the least likely to shop online for a car.

Buying a car at auction seems to be a very popular option in Yorkshire, where 44% of people say they would consider doing this to get a better deal, compared with just 21% of people in the North East, where car auctions are the least popular.

Gender differences:

Men are more prepared to shop around for a good rate on personal loans than women are. A sixth (15%) of men say they would go to any bank for a personal loan rather than limit their choice to their own bank, compared with just 9% of women.

Nearly a third of men (32%) have used the internet to research buying a new car, compared with under a quarter (24%) of women.

Men are more likely than women to buy a car abroad to get a better deal. 45% of men say they would consider this option, compared with 34% of women.

Men are also more likely to buy a car online, with 42% saying they would consider this option, compared with 33% of women.