An expensive car on the driveway adds thousands to a property's price

More than one in 10 people would hire a luxury car to park on their driveway when putting their property on the market

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The smell of freshly baked bread and a nice neat front garden? According to a study by Avis, these pale beside the effect of a premium car in your driveway on selling your home.

Its survey showed that more than a third of the 2,000 people questioned believe that a posh car parked on the driveway would add an average of £4,300 to the asking price (or up to £6,100 in Wolverhampton) and indeed help sell it too.

More than a third said that a snazzy car would give them the impression that it was a desirable area to live in while 17 per cent admitted it would make the home seem more attractive.

Indeed, around 12 per cent say they have considered hiring or borrowing a luxury car to park outside their home when putting it on the market - half that figure have already done so to impress prospective buyers. In the 18-24 age group, this rises to 18 per cent.

According to the Avis study, people in Swansea are the most likely to hire a car to add value to their homes followed by those in Leeds and then London.

Nearly half would use a Mercedes this way to add value, while just over a quarter would use an Audi and a further one in four would plump for a BMW. Convertibles are the most popular vehicle type, followed by saloons, then 4x4s.

"The driveway is one of the first things a potential buyer sees when viewing a property, so dressing it with a head-turning car naturally helps set the right first impression," said Miles Shipside, Housing Analyst at Rightmove. "In fact, previous Rightmove research shows four out of 10 people make a decision that it’s the house for them before they go beyond the hall, so those early first impressions are very important to turn possible buyers into probable ones."