Car prices rise, while discounts fall

What Car? can reveal that car prices have risen by an average of 9% in the past 12 months, while discounts have shrunk by 13% at the same time.

The good news is you can still haggle an average of 1699 off the list price of a car, although thats more than 200 less than the average discount a year ago.

Renault is currently the most generous manufacturer with an average of 2009 (13%) off its range, while Mini is the stingiest with typical savings of just 125 (1%) off its cars.

During the past year Ford has increased prices the most, with average increases of 14.7%, and a staggering 32.6% hike on a Fiesta 1.25 60 Studio 3dr.

'Price rises can be partially attributed to the weak value of the pound compared with the Euro, but we wouldnt be surprised if some makers are looking to recoup some of the cost of the scrappage scheme, too,' said What Car? editor Steve Fowler.

'Everyone's feeling the pinch at the moment, so its more important than ever that car buyers do their research and haggle hard - never pay more than the What Car? Target Price. If a dealer won't play ball, leave your phone number with them and walk away. In my experience it wont be long before they call.'

What Car?'s team of mystery shoppers visits hundreds of car dealers up and down the country to calculate the Target Price for every car on sale. Its the very most buyers should pay in most cases bigger savings are up for grabs. If buyers can't find a dealer that will match the Target Price, What Car? guarantees to put them in touch with one that will.

Price rises
Biggest Price Hikes
Ford Fiesta 1.25 60 Studio 3 dr
Ford Mondeo 1.6 110 Edge 5 dr
Fiat 500 1.3 MultiJet Lounge
Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec 3 dr
Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 CTDi 160 Exclusiv 4drRetail Price
11,536
19,044
13,100
18,279
20,139Price Rise
2414/32.6%
2590/19.0%
1671/17.6%
2323/17.6%
2510/ 17.2%What Car? Target Price Saving
1020
2490
0
2402
2650

See our full Target Price feature here.