They claim that by comparing prices in different regions different dealers offered their mystery salesman widely different price ranges, and have called for more transparency in the national vehicle market.

It is worth remembering that while “special deals” may at first glance seem appealing, they may not be as special as the first look – it is claimed that some manufacturer's are including the latest round of government backed discounts into their already offered discount plans, which means they're selling the car for the same price but making a bit more money on it.

While not technically illegal, if you do find a dealer offering a special offer that doesn't include the special government discount you can claim for that on top of the manufacturer's discount price!

In a buyer's market such as the one we find ourselves in (Almería alone currently has around 7000 unsold vehicles sitting in showrooms) a bit of careful shopping around and bargaining will bring in a nice saving for you.

Plan 2000E

The government has promised buyers of new vehicles (individuals, autonomos and PYMES) a €2,000 grant if you scrap your old vehicle. This grant is comprised of €500 from the government, €500 from the federal region and €1,000 from the manufacturer.

Plan 2000€ is an alternative to the Plan VIVE, which was an earlier scheme (still valid until the end of 2010) which offered cheap loans on new cars up to €20,000 if you scrapped a 15 year old car in part exchange.

Plan 2000E says that if your old vehicle is over 10 years old (or has done a minimum of 250,000Km), or 12 years if you are buying a second hand vehicle, you can have a grant of up to €2,000 off the sale price of the new vehicle if:

In the case of domestic M1 type cars, the new car must cost under €30,000 (IVA included) and fall into one of these categories:

Emits under 120gm/km CO2;

Emits under 149gm/km CO2 and has electronic stability control and presence detectors in the front seats;

Emits under 149gm/km CO2 and has a 3 way catalytic converter (petrol) or EGR gas recirculation (diesel).

In the case of N1 type transport vehicle (light good transport under 3,5 tons), the new vehicle must emit under 160gm/km CO2.

So if you have an old vehicle it may be worth hanging onto it for another year (Plan 2000€ starts 1^st June 2009 and runs for one year OR 200,000 vehicles).

However, it is believed that some concessionaires may not be fully informing users of their rights; instead they are offering “huge discounts” but actually including the €2,000 within those discounts.

Make sure your discount excludes the plan 2000E discount if you are eligible – it means you get an additional €2,000 off as well as the manufactures' discount!

Compare prices

Don't assume that all dealers offer the same price.

A recent study by FACUA showed a price difference of up to 19% between the same model in different showrooms.

Consumer organisations all agree – if you're going to buy a new car, choose your model and specs and then start comparing prices. Even if the first few showrooms give you similar prices, keep calling – you may find a chain that has a glut of that model in stock and are desperate to shift a few models.

Larger chains will often buy several similar models in one bulk purchase from the manufacturer in order to cut down on transport costs and lead times for the consumer. This means that they may well have a unit in a shed somewhere they are desperate to get rid of.

It's also worth asking if the dealer has a similar model to your desired car in stock: sometimes the dealer may have a very similar model that they are willing to offer you at a discount.

Once you have a written offer from a dealer, try revisiting the original showrooms – explain that you've had a much better deal elsewhere, but would rather buy from them because they're closer to your home. While Spanish car dealers won't generally negotiate on price in the English fashion, if they're aware that you have a better deal elsewhere the boss might make an on the spot decision to drop the price.