Those are mostly piece-of-string questions. Bargains can be found at many places for all kinds of reasons, such as whether end of month is approaching or how long a car has been on a forecourt; end of year is good for buyers as most people are spending on other things then. And until you have bought the car and driven it for a while, you won't know whether it is really a bargain. All you can do is decide which model(s) interest you, how much you can afford, and then shop around. History is something you can follow up by asking the right questions and checking the MoT website.

For nearly new cars, November can be a good month.

Places like motorpoint can sometimes get a batch of cars in of the same make/type - and price them to sell.

There are online brokers if you're looking to buy new.

But without some indication of what you're looking for, its hard to help.

Years ago I went round the small garages, and the cars weren't great, I remember one where the paint had run below the front pasenger door, just out of view. Many garages would not allow a test drive, which raised my suspicions. A colleague bought a car at auction, at Blackbush, he found out it had been clocked so he was in effect done over. I bought a 4 year old used approved car from Nissan, it was expensive and only lasted 4 years before the engine flew south for the winter. The best buys I've heard of from colleagues and friends have been private sales, with FSH, and one owner. Generally I find when dealing with someone, especially trades, you can get a feel for what the person is like, and hence their trustworthiness. I guess the one careful lady owner is the sterotypical ideal, as long as she is not a test driver for Ferrari or similar.

!) Do your research, set a budget and filter your choices down to a top 3 .

2) Use a dealer-it's brave soul who buys unseen on line

3) Go midweek, in termtime, last week of month, mid morning when the showroom is slow/empty. Bad weather is helpful and the day after England has lost any sporting fixture is even better..

4) Look at vehicles -IN STOCK-and be prepared to pay cash. Prefereably nearly new( 3 months old is best-massive depreciation in those first 12 weeks or so)).These are second hand cars therefore not available on "options/balloon payment plans".

5) The best deals of all are when a when a model is due for a facelift. Dealerships want to shift old stock and shift it quick.

6) Don't be fussy about colour and remember that used cars with high spec are often relatively under priced .

7) Look at the £figures carefully and if part exchanging-it's the £Price to Change that counts.

If you're buying used then the time of year is pretty irrelevant. If you're buying new then you could potentially save some cash and buy just before the plate changes. The flipside is that the car will be worth less.

If you really want peace of mind then main dealers and credit cards are your best options.

As everyone has said though, without a specific car or use in mind, we can only advise so much.

Edited by Bicycle_Repair_Man on 25/07/2018 at 15:38

I've used Car Giant (used to be called Great Trade Centre) in White City a quite a few times as well as a few friends and family. Cars are generally auction prices plus about 10% (ie good value) and are nearly all ex-lease cars. Never had a bad car from them, trade in values have always been better than expected - there are usually around 3,000 cars to choose from. I don't know if they are hard to deal with should there be a problem because I don't know of anyone who's had a problem.There's no bartering, you pay what you see (plus an admin fee.)

www.cargiant.co.uk/