The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the October new car registrations data and the new car market seems to have stabilised. The total UK car sales in October were 134,944 units (up 2.6%) and this is the second increase in three months. The market is still on track to achieve the full year prediction of 1.923 million units, however the SMMT remains cautious about sales in 2012.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, said,”October’s new car market rose 2.6% on last year -a positive result despite the uncertain economic climate. We expect market conditions to remain challenging and hope the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later this month will help to boost economic growth and consumer confidence”.

Headlines from the October data

• Registrations in October were helped by a sharp recovery in the small car markets, with the Supermini segment up 17.4% and the Mini segment up 4.7%
• The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model on October and year to date
• The Volkswagen Golf was the best selling diesel model in October
• The Fleet market (25 vehicles and above) grew by 7.9% to 73,712 car units registered
• Business regsitrations (sub 25 fleets) was also up by 9.7% to 6,189 units
• Private sector (consumers) fell by 4.3% to 55,043 units

Ford Fiesta

Car registrations fell by 8.9% in September to 335,246, however the overall market remains up at 7.8% over the year-to-date position at 1,635,659 units. However if you take out the affect of the Car Scrappage scheme in 2009, the figure for September was 16.9% ahead year-on-year, and on a par with 2008.

The full market year is still expected to hold at two million cars, up marginally on 2009. The strongest performers in September were Fleet (25+vehicles), diesels and alternatively fuelled cars. Private registrations were down 19% at 170,951 and Business (sub 25 fleet) was down 8.5% at 18,269 cars. Yet again the Ford Fiesta topped the charts and was the best selling model in September as well as year-to-date.

Total commercial registrations were up by 3.7% to 242,908 for the rolling year with 39,942 vehicles registered in September. Vans were at 35,309 for the month and up 10.6% to 212,576 for the rolling year, however Trucks were down 28% to 30,332 for the rolling year, with only 4,633 registered in September.

• All data is supplied courtesy of the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders)

The simple answer to this question is to compare prices from multiple finance companies, however where do you start. There are hundreds of contract hire companies on the Internet, however not that many who actually supply the finance.

If only you could compare prices Direct from the finance companies life would be much easier. Well now it is following the launch of Comparecontracthire.com the UK’s first business and personal contract hire comparison site. All prices are imported into the site from the finance companies directly.

On an Audi A3 Diesel Cabriolet 1.9TDi Sport 2 Door Manual model, the least expensive price showing on the same standard terms is £267.45 excluding VAT and £347.98 excluding VAT from the most expensive finance company.

That is a whopping £80.53 a month difference over 38 payments, or a £3060.14 saving just by comparing prices on a like for like basis.

Every manufacturer make and model is on the site allowing you to pick and choose the right car at the right price.

The Mail on Sunday has featured personal car leasing today (or personal contract hire as it is more commonly known) as a way a private individual can finance their next car.

Basically, because used car values are dropping, leasing could provide an option to protect you. Rather than buying a vehicle with your hard earned cash or using other forms of finance like hire purchase to eventually own the car, you rent the vehicle for an agreed period, with car leasing.

Maintenance costs can be incorporated as well into the monthly lease payment to give you even more protection from the costs of motoring. Graeme Banister, head of Jamjarcars, a Royal Bank of Scotland subsidiary said ” Leasing a vehicle makes perfect sense during the current economic conditions. Fixed monthly payments and protection from plummeting residual values and unforeseen maintenance costs provide high reassurance”.

Robert Hartley,  a finance manager for a pharmaceutical company, drives a lot on business and expects to change his car again in another three years. He has just swapped his three year old Renault Grand Scenic for a new version of the same model, on a contract through Jamjarcars. He said ” I was quite shocked by the low trade in value offered by a dealership and thought I would look at alternatives to buying outright”.  He estimates he will save £2000 over the three years of the lease, compared with trading in his current car and taking out a personal loan to fund the difference.

Personal contract hire is an option private buyers should therefore consider before they commit to buying.

The Mail on Sunday has also given good advice, in that buyers should compare “like with like” when checking lease deals and don’t forget to add the VAT to any rental quoted.  This is because car leasing is usually aimed at business customers, many of whom can recover some of the VAT added to the rental. 

Many companies offering car lease prices also inflate the initial rental (first payment) or reduce the annual mileage of the contract to make the ongoing rental look cheaper. It can be a time consuming process to look at several rentals, from different companies and to make sure you are comparing like for like.