See all Motoring NewsWith 181 registrations fast approaching, the thought on everyone's mind is not ‘which car should I buy?’, but ‘which is the best bargain?’ After all, price is the first thing we look at when considering a new car, and there are few things more satisfying than knowing that the shiny new lump of metal on your driveway comes with a hefty discount, or a super-low interest rate.
Now, as ever, take what follows with the usual pinch of salt — interest rates can rise and fall, you must be able to keep up repayments, PCP isn’t automatically the best solution for everyone and keep an eye on the depreciation curve. With all that in mind, let’s start with…
10. Get zero emissions at zero interest
Fancy going electric in the new year? Well, then a very good choice is the new Renault Zoe 4.0, which packs a claimed 400km range (300km, realistically, which is still very good) into a compact hatchback body. It’s smart looking, nice to drive and kind to polar bears. Making it even more appealing is the fact that Renault is offering zero per cent Hire Purchase finance on the Zoe for 181, which means you can make almost as much of a saving on your finance as you will on your fuel bills.
9. Zero reasons not to buy an Alfa
We do love an Alfa Romeo round our way. Forget the old horror stories about rust, unreliability and fiery electrics — modern Alfas are head-on competitive with the likes of BMW and Audi, and the Stelvio SUV and Giulia saloon are amongst the best cars the storied Italian car maker has ever made. Better yet, you can have either (or the smaller Giulietta or Mito hatchbacks) on zero per cent interest Hire Purchase plans (or 2.9 per cent PCP) if you order one before the 31st of December. That’s a lot of Italian style for not much money.
8. Get the best-seller with €4,000 off
Fancy a new Hyundai Tucson? Yes, you probably do, seeing as it’s been the best-selling car in Ireland for the past two years. Well, now you can get one even cheaper, as Hyundai is offering a €4,000 ‘scrappage’ bonus if you trade in any car up to ten years old against a new Tucson. That also comes with a 5.9 per cent PCP offer and monthly repayments starting from €403.
7. Buy a car, get the Christmas shopping for free
Kia is offering anyone who orders any 181 model by the 23rd of December a complimentary €500 SuperValu voucher, which should ease the cost of all that turkey and sprouts. Of rather more lasting value, Kia’s also offering zero per cent Hire Purchase finance on the cee’d, pro_cee’d, cee’d SW estate, Soul crossover, Optima saloon, Optima Sportswagon estate, Niro hybrid and Sportage SUV.
6. French style for baguette money
Citroen has some pretty good offers in play for 181, and its range of cars is the most impressive it has been in years. The new C3, C4 Cactus, C3 Aircross and C4 Picasso are all available with as much as €4,500 ‘scrappage’ trade-in, three years’ free servicing, or 2.9 per cent interest PCP plans. Plus, you now get a five-year unlimited mileage warranty and the C4 Picasso has been given a major standard equipment upgrade.
5. Go hybrid for less
With diesel starting to be something of an ugly word, it’s looking like a good time to switch to hybrid power, especially for those living and driving in town. Toyota, long the hybrid king, has some very sharp offers for those looking to trade into a half-electric car. Across the range, it’s offering as much as €4,500 scrappage bonus if you’re trading in an older diesel car, and you can have three years' free servicing if you’re not trading in. Toyota also claims that the combo of its hybrid economy, low PCP rates, residual values and lower tax mean that, essentially, you can upgrade to a hybrid model for no extra overall cost. And if you decide you don’t like hybrid after all, Toyota will swap you for a petrol model, at no cost, after six months.
4. Ford is slashing its 181 prices
Ford is, along with most brands, offering buyers the chance to trade-up into newer, cleaner, less polluting vehicles in 2018. But, unlike the others, it’s not offering a specific ‘scrappage’ trade-in scheme, it’s just knocking down prices to make the newer, cleaner stuff more affordable. And these are some pretty hefty discounts, like as much as €5,305 off the cost of a Focus ST-Line, €6,000 off a Kuga ST-Line, €6,000 off an S-Max, or €1,000 off the new Fiesta.
3. Premium German product, marked down
BMW has twigged that a great many Irish car buyers have been taking advantage of the fall in value of Pound Sterling and been shopping in the UK for bargains. To tempt those buyers back to Irish dealers, they’ve been knocking down prices in a campaign called Sterling Value. So, you can save €2,792 from a 1 Series, €3,490 off a 3 Series, a 5 Series is €4,762 less and an X1 is €3,505 cheaper. It’s essentially a nine per cent price cut across the range (yes, even off the mighty new M5 and the i8 hybrid sports car). BMW is also offering a €2,000 scrappage trade-in bonus for anyone with a pre-2009 diesel car. Mercedes is offering a similar €2,000 scrappage for older diesels, and chopped a hefty ten per cent from its prices earlier in the year.
2. Nissan will swap your car in January 2019
So, if you buy a new Nissan Qashqai, Juke, Pulsar, or Micra in January 2018, Nissan will swap it, 12 months later, for another new car, identical to your 181 model, for free. That means that you basically get a year off worrying about depreciation, and can have a fresh car (in a different colour, even) one year further down the line.
1. Volkswagen Group chops of €6,000
If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you’ll know that Volkswagen has blotted its copybook by lying about its diesel emissions. To make amends, VW has been paying hefty fines and had to promise to invest heavily in zero-emissions technology. Happily, VW is also offering you the chance to trade-in your smoky old diesel against a shiny, new, low-emissions model and you can get between €800 and €6,000 of a discount for doing so. The good news is that this offer runs right across the Volkswagen Group and its four brands (five if you count Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles), so you can get €3,000 off the price of a new Golf, €5,000 off an Audi A4, €2,750 off the SEAT Leon and €3,750 off a Skoda Superb, amongst many, many others.