Caravan Insurance

New research suggests that Brits are wasting close to half a billion pounds every year, just by failing to shop around and find the best deal for the car they want.

The study comes from used car dealer Network Q, who found that over half of UK adults (54 per cent) know someone who's made a bad choice with their used car and suffered financially as a result.

And with price comparison tools easily available - to compare car price and car insurance online - there is less and less excuse than ever for letting a car dealer get the best of you.

Mike Brown, marketing and operations director at Network Q, said of the figures: "Far too much money is still being thrown away in Britain every year on bad purchases - particularly used cars.

"For an industry well documented for its pitfalls and unscrupulous salespeople, the British are still prepared to risk bad purchases and waste money by trying to take short cuts on expensive items," he added.

Of those who replied to the survey, 28 per cent had done a car deal they regretted later, with local independent companies being involved with the most (45 per cent) unhappy customers.

Huge savings can be made by comparing vehicle prices and car insurance online, as well as with almost any sort of product, which seems essential when 89 per cent of us admit we've made a major purchase where we didn't get the best deal.