Brits pay up to 73% more for a car

BRITISH motorists are still paying massively over the odds for best-selling cars, a European Union report has warned. It quotes the astonishing example of a Citroen C3, which is 73% dearer here than in Malta.

It also warns that the Ford Focus, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo 147, Fiat Punto and the British-built Rover 75 all cost more in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.

The car rip-off is just the latest example of British consumers having to pay more than the rest of the union. Thomson holidays, Disneyworld and Eurostar have all been accused of the same double standard in the past few weeks.

The latest report from the EU Commission says there has been a general closing of car prices across Europe but some models still stand out. The answer is to shop around and be prepared to travel, says the Commission.

The C3 is by far the biggest price difference, at £7,934 in Britain and £4,572 in Malta, the cheapest EU market for that model. An Alfa Romeo 147 costs 34.7% more in the UK than in Denmark, while the Rover 75, produced in Britain, costs 33% more here than in Greece. A Sunderland-built Nissan Primera costs £12,597 in Britain compared to £9,503 in Denmark - a difference of £3,095 or 32%.

But we are no longer a car maker's Treasure Island - Germany is now the dearest national market for most cars. A Vauxhall Astra costs almost 50% more in Germany, where it is made, than in Denmark, offering the German buyer pre-tax savings of about £2,600 if he goes to a Danish dealer.

For some cars - the Audi A4, A8, and TT models, BMW's mini and X5 and 735i models, Mercedes E220 and Volvo S40 and S60 - the UK's pre-tax prices are the lowest of the 25 EU countries.

Rules obliging manufacturers and distributors to open their dealership networks to more competition are having an effect. Car makers have argued that the figures are skewed because of big differences in tax rates in different EU member countries.

For cars, unlike most other goods, consumers pay the tax in the country into which they import the car rather than the country where they buy it.