Compare the best brand new car deals

At What Car? our aim is to make car buying as straightforward as possible, so our New Car Buying service puts you in direct contact with approved franchised dealers. Dealers typically set prices according to demand, stock availability and regional variations, so our Target Price is set by daily mystery shopping, and is a guide to what we believe is the most you should pay. Our Target Price team is constantly researching what discounts are available, so you don’t have to go through the hassle of haggling.

Simply click the ‘Get best price’ button by the car you’re interested in and we’ll alert dealers so they can send you the latest car deals near you. We’ll prioritise local dealers, but also show you some of the best deals from around the country. Once you send an enquiry through our secure messaging service, dealers will respond via our platform, by email or phone. Find out more here.

You can request quotes on as many different cars as you like, and your personalised ‘All my offers’ page makes it easy to compare them all in one place. To message dealers through our platform, just click the ‘My account’ icon, which can be found in the top right hand corner of the navigation bar on whatcar.com.

We always advise comparing the total price you’ll pay over the length of a deal when comparing new car offers. Most new car buyers use finance, and so should consider monthly repayments, the APR interest rate, length of the term, the mileage allowance, manufacturer contributions and what the optional final payment will be. Our website regularly rounds up the best deals according to how much you want to spend, including for those with new car budgets of £200 a month and £300 a month.

What Car? New Car Buying provides an excellent way to compare prices between dealers when you are looking to buy a car. The prices have been pre-haggled, meaning you get a clear and immediate idea of pricing without any hassle. If you have a used car you are looking to sell, leveraging the current high prices of secondhand in your favour can help offset the cost of the new one.

Since the pandemic discounts have been harder to come by. However, it is still sometimes worth shopping around at the end of each quarter, when some dealerships will have sales targets to hit and so might be open to bigger discounts. It’s also worth shopping at quieter times of the year to buy a car - the summer, or before Christmas. Another good time to seek discounts is when a car is about to go off-sale, or when number plates change in March and September. Some car dealers hold Black Friday events in November.

There are pros and cons of getting a car on a lease deal. It gives you lower monthly costs, meaning you get the chance to drive a new vehicle that you may not have been able to afford otherwise. In addition to this the rentals don’t change and you don’t need to worry about selling the car afterwards - you simply hand it back at the end of the term. The disadvantages of leasing a car are that you do not have the opportunity of owning the car and fees may apply if you exceed the stated mileage limit. If you want a car long-term, then leasing will ultimately work out more expensive.

PCP is a form of finance, and is the most popular way of buying a new car. Unlike hire purchase agreements, which divide the total amount borrowed into equal payments, PCP deals involve smaller monthly bills, followed by a larger final payment if you want to keep the car. However, most people never pay this; instead they hand the car back and start a new PCP deal. Find out more here.

There are no hard and fast rules as to the best month to buy a new car, although you may find dealerships are quieter in April and October following number plate changes in March and September. Theoretically, the fewer the customers a dealership has, the more likely you are to get a deal.

It’s also worth hunting down a deal at the end of each financial quarter – March, June, September and December – because dealers may be chasing the last few deals to hit their sales targets.

Many car manufacturers will offer 0% finance deals at some point, although usually only on certain models, trims or engines. Our listings of 0% finance car deals is the perfect place to start your buying process.

The cheapest way to buy a new car is usually by paying cash, because you’ll not pay any interest.

However, that’s not always the case, particularly if a car is offered with 0% finance. You should also consider the impact of any deposit contributions, price reductions or other offers on the total deal. If you’re in the position of being able to pay cash or take finance, you should always crunch the numbers to see which makes the best finance deal before you start the buying process.

Unless you’re buying something rare and collectable, then used cars will usually be cheaper than buying new – when you consider the total cash price.

But, because of the way PCP finance deals are sometimes incentivised through 0% finance or through deposit contributions, monthly payments on a new car can actually work out less than they would for a used car.

When you take out most kinds of finance, be that a PCP car finance deal, bank loan or credit card, you’ll be expected to pay interest. This is expressed as an APR – annual percentage rate. On a 0% APR finance deal, you won’t pay any interest. That means if you borrow £20,000 to pay for a car, you’ll pay back £20,000.

Low interest rates, particularly 0% APR finance, can be extremely attractive because they can represent a huge cost saving over the course of a finance agreement.

However, in order to be eligible for a 0% APR finance deal, you’ll usually have to meet certain conditions. This could include paying a larger deposit, choosing a particular model, trim or engine, or agreeing to a finance agreement of a specific length. These deals may only be offered to borrowers with stellar credit ratings, too.

But, if the deal suits you, a 0% APR finance deal is always worth considering – something you should do at the start of the buying process.

Low interest rates, particularly 0% APR finance, can be extremely attractive because they can represent a huge cost saving over the course of a finance agreement.

However, in order to be eligible for a 0% APR finance deal, you’ll usually have to meet certain conditions. This could include paying a larger deposit, choosing a particular model, trim or engine, or agreeing to a finance agreement of a specific length. These deals may only be offered to borrowers with stellar credit ratings, too.

But, if the deal suits you, a 0% APR finance deal is always worth considering – something you should do at the start of the buying process.

A personal contract purchase (PCP) gives you the option to buy the car outright at the end of the agreement. Personal contract hire (PCH) – also known as car leasing – is essentially long-term rental, and you’ll hand the car back at the end of the agreement.

They both require a deposit or advanced rental, the monthly payments are low and there are stipulations regarding annual mileage.

To help decide which is best for you, consider how likely you are to want to purchase the car at the end of the finance agreement, because it’s not an option open to you if you lease. Also consider the size of the deposit, the monthly payments and (where appropriate) the PCP’s balloon payment to work out how much each option will cost you in total. Running the numbers before you start the buying process can help you seek out the right option for you.

The advantage of 0% car finance is that you’ll not pay anything to borrow the money, meaning it could save you a huge amount over the entire course of the finance agreement.

The disadvantages of 0% car finance deals are that only certain models, engines or trims may be included in a 0% deal. You will also likely have less flexibility in the size of deposit or the length of the finance agreement.