The Insider Guide to Easy Car Buying, by Tony Willard

Please trust me - I'm a car salesman

Once upon a time, Britain was known as "Treasure Island" in the international car trade because of its relatively high prices for new, and thus used, cars. That is no longer true. All those "grey" and personal imports have combined with gross overcapacity and the web to push car retailers into a much more competitive environment.

Once upon a time, Britain was known as "Treasure Island" in the international car trade because of its relatively high prices for new, and thus used, cars. That is no longer true. All those "grey" and personal imports have combined with gross overcapacity and the web to push car retailers into a much more competitive environment.

That said, some car sales- people will always try and take "punters" for a ride and this book helps to defend you against some of their more unethical tactics.

As Mr Willard says, the best salesmen (for the vast majority are male) will be amateur but expert psychologists who know how to soften up customers.

The best defence is to remember that that seemingly unbeatable deal can usually be bettered by someone somewhere, if you have the time and patience to find it.

Always compare prices for a specific "benchmark" vehicle - a very specific model and a specific colour - that is being sold by more than one outlet; traditional franchised dealer, car supermarket, web site or personal importer, say. In the age of the internet, you can easily find this information and turn it to your advantage.

For the truly adventurous buyer there are always the auctions, with their own risks and disadvantages, well set out in the text.

And if you really are in any doubt as to whether Perodua is a more or less desirable badge than, say, Porsche, then Car magazine's pithy two-liners on every car sold in the UK will put you right. Happy hunting.