With American carmakers General Motors and Chrysler on the brink of collapse, the future of the automotive industry has never looked so grim. Tonight
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Monday, 12 January 2009, 8:00PM - 8:30PM
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The purchase of a car is the second largest expenditure item for consumers, after buying a house. And with the credit crunch biting, it's one of the first things consumers are cutting back on with UK sales of new cars down 37 per cent in November compared to the same period last year.
But with dealers desperately trying to entice shoppers with incentives, could this actually be a good time to buy?
Motoring columnist Quentin Willson navigates through the market to find the best deals for Tonight viewers in various economic predicaments.
Pippa Doran wants to trade in her two-year-old Citroen C2 VTS and buy a new car. She has a budget of £10,000 but will she be able to get a decent price from the dealer for her old car and should she be waiting for a few more months for prices on new vehicles to come down even further?
John Labella drives a seven-seater Mitsubishi Shogun but would like to downsize to a more fuel efficient option. Unfortunately, the value of gas guzzlers has plummeted and John thinks he won't be able to sell his Shogun for more than £5000. He still owes £10,000 on it and thinks he will have to mothball the car because of the cost of running it. Tonight gives John a Peugeot 308 to drive for a week to see if the savings that could be generated would be worth taking a loss on selling the Shogun.
Twenty-seven-year-old Ellie Metcalf has had her driver's licence since she was 17 but has never owned a car. Tired of commuting to work on the train - it costs her £2,500 a year - she wants to buy a second-hand car but on a budget. Quentin finds her five vehicles that represent best value for money to choose from.
And Quentin also takes another buyer hopeful to an auction in Manchester, a method of selling which is growing in popularity, to see if the promise of rock-bottom prices is all it's cracked up to be.
Monday 12 January 2009
Factual
The state of the UK car market.
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