Nearly new cars: September 2024
Fancy the a brand new car but don’t want to pay the full recommended retail price? Save thousands by picking up one of these nearly new cars
If you want the best deal on a new car, buying brand-new is unlikely to get you the best deal, especially as the industry recovers from the pandemic and supply shortages. That's where nearly new cars come in.
The best way to save money on a new car is to look at a nearly new cars. They look and feel like the freshest new models on the market, not to mention still featuring that new-car smell, but they can cost substantially less to buy. What's not to like?
Nearly new cars will have been used to some extent and that might be a problem if you like to know exactly where your car has been.
You'll also have your choice restricted to whatever is available, relying on the taste of others. But, if you can find a car that ticks all of your boxes, you'll likely be able to buy it for far less than the list price.
Toyota Aygo X
The Toyota Aygo X is a small hatchback designed for the cut and thrust of the urban jungle. So while it might look like a small SUV, the plastic cladding around the wheelarches is actually there to ward off wayward shopping trolleys.
Cheap to run and super easy to drive, the Aygo X is well equipped, too. Any nearly new deal should include a decent chunk of the standard Toyota three-year warranty, which can be increased to up to 10 years or 100,000 miles as long as you get your car serviced at a Toyota approved location.
- Toyota Aygo X 1.0 VVT-i Pure
- Price: £12,877 or £179.24 per month over 48 months
- OTR Price: £16,140
- Saving: £3,263
- Mileage: 309
- See this deal
Dacia Duster
The Dacia Duster is one of the best-value cars on sale in the UK today. It combines decent equipment levels, comfort and reasonable efficiency in a popular and appealing small SUV package. Yes, the Duster might lose out to more expensive rivals when it comes to feeling upmarket, and it's not quite the sharpest to drive, but as a value for money proposition, the Duster is seriously hard to beat.
- Dacia Duster 1.0 TCe 90 Essential 5dr
- Price: £14,650 or £230.96 per month over 49 months
- OTR Price: £17,295
- Saving: £2,645
- Mileage: 1
- See this deal
Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf was a pioneer of mainstream electric cars. While other carmakers are playing catchup in launching new EVs, the Leaf is well into its second generation, with an all-new model due in the next year. That familiarity has also tempered demand, making the Leaf an absolute stand-out nearly-new car deal.
- Nissan Leaf 110kW N-Connecta 39kWh 5dr Auto
- Price: £16,956 or £278.23 per month over 48 months
- OTR Price: £30,495
- Saving: £13,539
- Mileage: 10
- See this deal
SEAT Arona
The SEAT Arona may be a familiar sight on UK roads, having been around since 2017. However, those buyers know a good thing when they drive it. The Arona is one of the best small family SUVs in its class, and has been kept current with engine and tech updates, all of which feature on this Arona FR Sport.
- SEAT Arona 1.0 TSI 115 FR Sport 5dr DSG
- Price: £20,000
- OTR Price: £28,125
- Saving: £8,125
- Mileage: 299
- See this deal
Skoda Karoq
The Skoda Karoq is well worth a look if you need a car that can cope with all that family life can throw at it. Well equipped, spacious and comfortable to drive, the Karoq is one of the best small SUVs on the market. It should be cheap to run too, thanks to the smooth 1.0 petrol engine, and the useful discount offered here, too.
- Skoda Karoq 1.0 TSI 116 SE Drive 5dr
- Price: £25,604 or £368.61 per month over 48 months
- OTR Price: £29,575
- Saving: £3,971
- Mileage: 10
- See this deal
Ford Puma
The Ford Puma is one of the UK's best-selling cars, and it's not hard to see why. Sharp to drive yet cheap to run, seriously practical for a relatively small car, and very well equipped, the Puma is a great choice of transport for any small family, especially with a decent discount thrown in, too.
- Ford Puma 1.0 EcoBoost Hybrid mHEV 155 ST-Line 5dr
- Price: £22,999 or £353.22 per month over 48 months
- OTR Price: £29,250
- Saving: £6,251
- Mileage: 10
- See this deal
Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf is now more technologically advanced than ever before, particularly if you opt for the fuel-saving eTSI hybrid version we've picked here. What's more, this Golf is in near-top of the range R-Line spec, including kit like sports seats, a reversing camera and ambient lighting. A solid discount is offered, too.
- Volkswagen Golf 1.5 eTSI 150 R-Line 5dr DSG
- Price: £26,790
- OTR Price: £31,875
- Saving: £5,085
- Mileage: 29
- See this deal
Audi Q3
The Audi Q3 is perhaps best thought of as an Audi Q5 that's been shrunk in the wash. That's thanks to the fact that it has a seriously high quality interior, comes packed with tech like Audi's Virtual Cockpit digital dials, and comes with the option of a full hybrid, which is the case for the car we've spotted.
- Audi Q3 S line 45 TFSI e 5dr
- Price: £28,291
- OTR Price: £44,550
- Saving: £16,259
- Mileage: 55
- See this deal
Hyundai Ioniq 6
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is the swoopier, more conventional sister car to the blocky Ioniq 5. Both are built on Hyundai's bespoke electric vehicle platform, and the Ioniq 6 ends up with the better range thanks to its slippery design. Extremely well equipped and decent to drive, the Ioniq 6 is also quite the nearly new car bargain.
- Hyundai Ioniq 6 168kW Premium 77kWh 4dr Auto
- Price: £34,950 or £497.83 per month over 49 months
- OTR Price: £47,040
- Saving: £12,090
- Mileage: 38
- See this deal
What are nearly new cars?
Nearly new cars differ from brand new models because they have already been registered by a dealer with the DVLA and have a registration number. A brand new car only gets registered once it's been purchased. What's more, a car that's already been registered by a dealer can't be described as new.
Dealers often register new cars and sell them as nearly new in order to boost sales figures at the end of a month or quarter. This will help them to meet their sales targets set by the manufacturer, which earns the dealer a bonus. Nearly new cars are also described as ex-demo or pre-registered.
The good news is that these cars often represent great value, as they are often heavily discounted to shift them from forecourts. The dealer will likely register very popular models it knows will sell quickly, too.
What is classed as a nearly new car?
There isn't a specific definition of what constitutes a nearly new car, but we categorise them as having fewer than 1000 miles on the clock, and being less than a year old. However, nearly new cars are referred to by a number of different names.
They can be called ex-demonstrator cars, which means the car has been used by the dealer to give potential buyers test drives. This can mean the car has been fitted with a new or particularly significant special feature that can be shown to people deciding on how to spec their new car, like a top-spec infotainment system, which you benefit from as the buyer of the ex-demo car.
Nearly new cars can also be called pre-registered cars. This name tends to be applied to popular models that a dealer knows they will be able to sell quickly that have been registered towards the end of a month or quarter in order to meet sales targets.
Do nearly new cars come with a warranty?
Nearly new cars are still covered by the initial manufacturer warranty, so even if you're looking at a two-year-old Kia, for instance, you'll have as much as five years of cover remaining. Essentially, you're getting nearly all of the benefits of buying a brand-new car, without losing an awful lot and saving huge amounts of money in the process.
However, the clock starts ticking on a warranty as soon as the car is first registered, so bear that in mind if you're buying a low mileage car that happens to be a couple of years old. It’s also worth remembering that some warranty and breakdown packages only apply to the first keeper, so check with the dealer that these benefits will be transferred to you.
Is a nearly new car the same as a pre-registered car?
Nearly new cars differ slightly from pre-registered models, in that 'nearly new' tends to be a term used for all cars that have been registered and are likely to have up to 1000 miles on the clock.
Pre-registered cars are a form of nearly new car that have been assigned a registration number but have almost the same amount of miles on the clock as a brand new car. Both options can mean you can save thousands of pounds - and benefit from a range of flexible finance options. You'll probably still get most of that new car smell, too.
How much can I save on a nearly new car?
The answer to this is hard to put a figure on, as it depends on the type of car you're looking for. As a rule, luxury cars and electric cars tend to lose a lot more value when they're registered, so discounts can be bigger.
If you're looking to save the most, we'd recommend looking for nearly new cars in March or September when the number plate changes. This is when dealers want to shift the greatest number of cars to earn their sales bonuses, so pre-registering cars is common to boost those figures.
Nearly new bargains can also be found when a particular model is about to be replaced by a new version. Dealers don’t want old generation versions hanging around and taking up space they need for the all-new car, so they’ll be keen to strike a deal on any nearly new cars. If you’re happy with the outgoing model rather than the very latest model, it’s an opportunity to haggle for a very good deal.
One other place to find nearly new cars are some of the larger car supermarkets. If a dealer has ended up with a large number of nearly new cars it needs to sell in a hurry, they sometimes pass them on to car supermarkets to save themselves the hassle.