Parker’s Car Price Guide: April trends, best buys and great deals

Buying a new small car in future could more of a guarantee of stable depreciation than ever. Parker’s depreciation studies over the last few years have shown that small cars are invariably the safest bets to minimise the amount of cash lost in car ownership. Not only do they sip fuel, but in outright cash terms, they depreciate the least. In the March budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an overhaul of the road tax system beginning next year. Ultimately people who choose the cars with the lowest emissions will stand to gain most, as many small cars and diesel family cars will be subject to lower road tax. Small cars will remain attractive buys to second and third owners with their low running costs. Larger petrol cars, with higher carbon dioxide emissions, will continue the trend of the last few hears of showing heavy depreciation. However, this has little to do with the higher levels of road tax proposed over the next few years — the high cost of fuel plays a much bigger role.

SMALL CARS:
New: Panda bargains as spotlight hits Fiat 500
Fiat’s Panda is probably not attracting much attention in showrooms at the moment with all the interest in the new Fiat 500. We found several dealers with Pandas on 07-registration plates advertised at less than £5000 - that’s £2000 lower than the official list price. Most of these cars were the base 1.1 Active model, which is ideal as a compact practical runabout, and comes with a 54bhp engine, electric front windows, twin airbags and central locking. However, the 60bhp 1.2 Dynamic model would be more desirable with a little more kit, and isn’t much more expensive.

Used: Picanto is a stylish and cheap runabout
Kia’s Picanto helped breathe new life into the small car market when it was launched in 2004. For the money it offered an exceptionally comfortable, refined and well-equipped model, and the earliest examples of these models are now edging closer to the £2000 barrier. The cheapest we found was a 1.1 SE model with 50,000 miles on the clock. This 54-plate car comes with air-conditioning, alloy wheels, alarm and electric windows. Lower mileage models are priced at about £2500 and above.

FAMILY CARS:
New: Rare savings made on new Toyota Auris
Finding cut-price new Toyotas happens very rarely, but we stumbled across a handful at Motorpoint recently. They were all base-specification Auris models with three doors, but were being offered with metallic paint for £10,000 against an official on-the-road price of £12,645. Car supermarkets such as Motorpoint often add a couple of extra fees to the advertised price, but this would still work out at £2500 off what these cars could cost if ordered from a Toyota dealer. These T2 models come with remote central locking, air conditioning and electric front windows.

Used: X-type reaches new audience below £5k
Jaguar’s X-type hasn’t been the global sales success the company hoped it would be when it was launched, but it has been a relatively popular car in the UK. The earliest examples are thirsty petrol models which are not as desirable as the later diesels, but are good to drive and in 2.5-litre and 3.0-litre form offer the security and superior all-weather traction of four-wheel drive. We found a private seller offering a mint condition 50,000-mile 2.5-litre manual car for £4700. A classy motor with plenty of life left in it for not much cash.

4X4S AND PEOPLE CARRIERS:
New: £5k saving to be made on new Chevy 4x4
£5k saving to be made on new Chevy 4x4 The Chevrolet Captiva hasn’t been on sale for long, and is marketed as a ‘premium SUV without the premium’. Of course, it isn’t really a premium 4x4, but it is a decent and practical product with seven seats available on most models. We found a few Captivas at a Peugeot dealer. They were already registered on 08-plates, but a few were still showing delivery mileage. The diesel versions are best and the cheapest one was on sale for £15,999 - a saving of £5000 over the official list price. This was a five-seat version, but the same dealer was also selling a seven-seat model for £1000 more.

Used: Citroën people carrier at bargain prices
The Citroën C8 is probably the most prolific of a trio of people carriers launched jointly with partners Peugeot and Fiat in 2003. The fact that these larger people carriers are going out of fashion in favour of more compact seven-seaters like the Vauxhall Zafira, as well as a lack of appetite for petrol versions means there are plenty of cheap ones about. Low annual mileage drivers SX automatic with 55,000-miles on the clock - average for its age - for £5450. This comes with electric sliding rear doors.


SPECIALIST CARS:
New: Make a £10k saving on a pre-reg Citroën C6
Citroen’s impressive and elegant luxury saloon, the C6, was launched in the UK almost two years ago, but sales have been very slow. Some Citroen dealers are now offering pre-registered examples the top of the range V6 diesel Exclusive model for less than £28,000 – still an expensive car, but that’s £10k off the official list price.

Used: Used Chrysler 300C at Mondeo money
Chrysler’s 300C has been around for a few years now and the initial novelty value that helped keep used prices high initially is beginning to wear off, especially as a revised model has just been launched. We found a private seller with the desirable diesel version on a 56-plate asking £15,495. A great deal of car for the money.

Manufacturer promotions
Despite the credit crunch, manufacturers are warming buyers up for spring with plenty of low finance deals. We found 0% APR offers on selected Chevrolet, Citroen, Fiat, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan, Renault, Saab, SEAT, Skoda, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volvo models. Other promotions include: Daihatsu extending the warranties on Terios and Sirion from three to five years; Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep reducing several models by over £2000 and Kia offering buyers a diesel Ceed for the price of a petrol.