"Our research suggests that most buyers simply accept the first offer of finance they get, which means they could be wasting as much as £1,000 by not looking for the best finance deal," says Lloyd East, general manager of the AA's Personal Finance division.

The AA quotes research carried out for its 2003 car buyer survey indicating that “51% of car buyers go to their bank or building society and 27% will accept a finance deal from the car retailer."

East adds, "Last year, car retailers provided £6.9bn 3 for new car finance. But this is where some of the highest interest rates are charged, " and says that one of the best places to shop around for car finance is the internet, yet last year only an estimated 13% of loan applications were made in this way (FLA data).

The AA's claimed savings of £1,000 on finance deals compare its current 6.3% typical APR, held since this month's base rate increase to 4%, with “some of the most expensive on-line and telephone rates.”