Drive an easy bargain

What's the story with new car costs?

While it might sound unlikely, there is a way to get your hands on a top-of-the-range car for nothing, and it doesn't involve theft or being appointed to ministerial office. All it takes is a little research, a weekend away and a fairly long road trip home and you can drive for thousands of miles at little or no cost to yourself.

In fact, if you're really cute about it, you can actually make your car earn money instead of costing you a packet. At least that is what Donagh Regan from Co Kerry believes, and, listening to him talk, it is easy to be convinced.

Regan's strategy for profitable motoring involves a short flight to London each year to visit the Car Giant, one of the largest car showrooms in Europe, where he buys a new motor. It costs him up to €10,000 less than it would at home and, even after he has added 20,000 miles, the cost of a few minor repairs, and crippling Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) he can still sell it after 12 months for almost exactly what he paid for it.

In April of last year he visited the North London showroom and bought a 2003 Audi A4 100 with 50,000 miles on the clock, which would have cost around €28,000 in Ireland. It cost £9,660 (€14,154) and, while it did not come with a warranty, he made sure that standard safety checks were performed. The registration number was put through the stolen car register to make sure it was genuine, and the mileage on the clock was verified.

He then drove his new purchase home, stopping off in Tallaght, where he was mugged by the taxman in the form of VRT. The tax is calculated using the price the car would be expected to sell for on the Irish market, which in this case was €5,559 taking the cost to €19,713. The London flights, his hotel accommodation and the petrol to get home came to €407, bringing his final bill to €20,120. A year on and he sold the car for just under €20,000, giving him 20,000 "free miles" and avoiding depreciation, which would normally have been around €5,000.

With savings like this, it is hardly surprising that Regan is not alone in making the annual pilgrimage to Britain's car showrooms. The number of imported vehicles coming into the country was 54 per cent higher in the first quarter of this year when compared with the same period last year, and 80,000 vehicles are likely to be imported in 2007.

A recent survey in this newspaper's motoring supplement made for interesting reading, and indicated that people keen on a car bargain do not even have to go as far as London, as there are plenty of real deals to be found north of the Border. A 2004 1.8-litre Toyota Avensis in Northern Ireland worked out at 34 per cent, or €7,238, cheaper than a virtually identical car in Galway, while €3,013 was saved on a 2004 Ford Focus 1.6 LX model compared to a similar car on sale in Co Kerry. The saving on a 2004 Mercedes E220 CDI Classic was €10,433, while a 2004 Audi A4 1.9 TDI (a car not dissimilar to Regan's) ended up costing €4,100 less in the North.

The savings in a showroom the size of Car Giant are even greater, which explains why it currently sells around 100 cars a month to Irish buyers. It has a regularly updated, easy-to-use website which lists in excess of 5,000 cars for sale.

Many of them are ex-company cars which, Regan says, tend to be kept well and do a lot of motorway miles, leading to less wear and tear.

"You have to do the research to make sure you are getting a good deal," Regan says. "If you don't do that, you might get into trouble. If a bargain seems to be too good to be true, it usually is."

He advises potential buyers to always check the VRT due on any car they are buying, and says it is essential to shop around. "Some cars, such as the new-style VW Passat, are holding their value in the UK because they are sought after and very sexy," he says. They are priced accordingly. There are other models that are not so sought-after in the UK, "so you can make a real killing," Regan says.

When you decide on a make and model, it is obviously important to ensure you are not being sold a lemon. After all, London car dealers do not, it must be said, have the greatest reputation for honesty and decency in the world so buyers should be wary.

Displaying great confidence, Regan says it is enough to bring a torch to have a good look into the engine and an old pair of jeans so you can get underneath and have a poke around. He also suggests you bring a magnet to check for fillers on the bodywork. While this may work for some, if you're as clueless as PriceWatchwhen it comes to cars, there will be little or nothing at all to be gained from peering hopelessly under the bonnet, no matter how powerful the torch is.

If you know a mechanic, bring them with you or, more realistically, engage the services of the AA or the RAC in Britain to check the car out for you instead. It will cost a couple of hundred euro but the peace of mind you get will make it money well spent.

When it came to selling his Audi, Regan found that some people asked him whether it was "a genuine Irish car" and, when he said it wasn't, seemed put off by its origins - although he is quick to point out that a genuine Irish-made car hasn't existed since Ford shut down its Cork manufacturing plant in the mid-1980s.