UK News - Buy one £20,000 car, get one free!
Nov 02 2008

It's the kind of offer you normally see at the supermarket - buy one, get one free.

But with the economy in crisis, car makers have been forced into making the same deal to shift their vehicles.

As sales plummet, dealers are offering one make of family saloon for £20,000 with another one thrown in for nothing.

The AA described the offer as 'almost unbelievable'.

Hundreds of brand new Dodge Avenger SXT 2.4i saloons, equipped with leather seats, climate control, alloy wheels and satnav as standard, are being sold off at a loss.

With fewer people buying new cars, price comparison websites such as Broadspeed.com are able to offer the unsold vehicles at a bargain basement price.

AA spokesman Vanessa Guyll said: 'In 23 years in the industry I have never seen anything like this - it's almost unbelievable.

'Many within the industry will react with shock at this. There is no doubt the problems in the car market are severe and this shows that dealers are now being forced to offer extraordinary deals.

'Dealers have a lot of stock they cannot shift and clearly they are now prepared to do so at a loss.

'The credit crunch has had an enormous impact and it's very hard to get a loan but it's actually a brilliant time to buy a car if you have the money.'

Broadspeed.com managing director Simon Empson said: 'Some manufacturers have got five to six months of unsold stock. The motor trade is beyond desperate - it's in crisis.'

New car sales fell 21% in September, the fifth consecutive monthly drop. Registrations were 330,295 last month, down from 419,290 in September 2007.

Source: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk