Many motorists, especially private motorists, very rarely get the chance to own a brand new car. The vast majority of new car sales go to fleet and company car business but with the new registration plates out in September there will certainly be lots of private motorists planning to purchase a brand new car.

Deciding on exactly what to purchase is something that takes a great deal of thought and doing some background homework will not go amiss. Consider what exactly is the main requirement of the new car. In this era of green technology, there is great emphasis on vehicles that have low emissions and give greater mpg performance than cars just 10 years ago.

Think then, is one of the main priorities for your new car that it is environmentally friendly? Low emissions are definitely environmentally friendly but often mean a drop in performance in a motor. The difference fuel cost wise, on a new green vehicle that achieves a saving of 10mpg on 12,000 miles a year works out around £500, or £10 a week. This is quite a considerable saving and for many will justify losing a bit of “oomph” in performance. But there are other factors to consider.

Depreciation on a new car is a matter of great concern to new vehicle buyers. Although at the very top end of the market new cars will hold their prices very well because of the rarity and luxury, further down the scale there can be a big difference in car values a couple of years old.

Buying a Ford model, which is a very popular thing to do, will never get you noticed on the road, it also means depreciation values are quite high, simply because there are so many on the market. Although not the worst by any means you should be prepared to accept the loss in value. Buying a cheaper car from Asia will probably mean depreciation is higher and conversely buying a car with German engineering will mean considerably less depreciation. There are of course differences in the price one pays at the outset.

Other factors come in to play as well. The look of the car is paramount to many people, the safety features must be taken into consideration also. Always check which insurance group the car is in, this can make a massive difference in your motor insurance quote.