A car is especially exciting when new. There's something about the smell and feel of a new car that's particularly pleasurable. Car marketers' play on these sensual feelings, to shift focus from the price, yet a few simple steps can easily cut new car costs.

Even before deciding on the car, if you're borrowing, do a budget to see what payments are affordable, so you can truly choose what you want. Then choose your vehicle at the right price level, using magazines and websites and do a proper test drive, ideally a full day. There's more than one type of 'new', and while it's commonly understood, it's not usually acted upon, that a car's value can dramatically decrease as soon as it leaves the showroom

Online isn't necessarily a place to buy, but is a must-step to benchmark the lowest possible price; most quote on the road prices, but it's worth checking. Use screenscrapers who effectively super-shop-around for you. Enter the car's details and they zip this information to manufacturer, dealer, importer and broker sites, literally 'scraping' the data off the screens, then listing the cheapest first.

Car prices and accessories aren't fixed; so when you walk in to that showroom you're entering a haggler's world. You're armed with the web's top prices, so try to make dealerships compete and if they won't, consider web-buying.

Haggling rules aren't hard and fast, but here are some basics.

Trade-ins aren't Money saving. Trading in your current car may save hassle, but it's likely you'll get better value selling separate.

Timing is important. The month's end is prime time as dealers have targets to meet (the March, June, September, December quarter end even better). Counter-seasonal buying is good too, convertibles can be cheaper in December than June, and while it's less important these days, avoid the registration change period.

Walk away the first day. Take time to consider, good sales people can have a, sticky 'I want' mentality. And if you get 'car-lust' take a sensible friend to keep you calm.

Check the warranty. This is the manufacturer's promise to pay for repairs; the standard in the UK is three years, except Hyundai which is five. It's conditional on having a service at designated times. Try to get dealers to include their extended warranties after the manufacturer's ends; they're not as good but worth having.

Don't talk finances till you've fixed the price. Letting the dealer think they may be able to sell you their profitable financing, may make them sweeten the deal.