The glossy magazines have been scrutinised and the trim options drooled over, but before taking the final plunge new car buyers should think hard about where and how they make their purchases.
Buying from a car supermarket in Britain rather than a franchised dealer and choosing a personal loan instead of finance from the vehicle retailer could save thousands of pounds, consumer experts said.
However, while dealers may be more expensive, they offer a fuller service and many buyers will be happy to pay a premium for their one-stop convenience.
"Car supermarkets are a good way of reducing your initial outlay, but there are drawbacks. They don't always have the specification you might want or the same back-up you get from most dealers," said Which? magazine's David Evans.
March is set to be one of the busiest times for car sales as drivers seek the cachet of the latest registration plate.
The supermarkets' primary advantage is their competitive prices and their ability to offer a large range of popular models since they are not tied to any one manufacturer.
Their no-frills policy allows them to undercut most dealers. A Mini One which might typically retail for £9,449 at a supermarket might have a showroom price of £10,995.
But despite the boom in car supermarkets, franchised dealers are still the most popular place to buy a new car as they also offer trade-ins, servicing and repairs.
And whereas the dealer might be flexible on price, it will be hard to knock down a supermarket.
In addition, getting a test drive will require perseverance at a supermarket and the sales person is unlikely to be as informed about a model as a franchised dealer.
Another potential downside is that some of the supermarket cars will have been pre-registered, which could lessen the time left to run on any manufacturers' warranty.
"A salesperson at a franchised showroom will have greater expertise on particular models and there is room to get a discount," said David Motton, What Car? editor.
"If you are a very good negotiator you can get them fairly close, although I doubt you will be able to match them (the supermarkets)," he said, adding that What Car? researchers had got "surprisingly close" to supermarket prices from dealers.
Buyers can also save money by taking out loans from high street lenders instead of finance deals offered by car sellers.
The websites of 10 leading car makers showed typical annual interest rates they offered ranged from 14.5 per cent (from Audi) to 10.2 per cent (from Toyota) with the average at 12.8 per cent.
A lender could offer half those rates. Price comparison sites uSwitch and Moneysupermarket said motorists could save an average £1,377 simply by choosing this option.
"Buying a car is a major purchase and usually only second in expense to buying a house. It is extremely worrying that so many people tend to use finance from a dealer," said Claire Alvery, Personal Loans Manager for Alliance & Leicester.
Which? magazine's Evans said many buyers still opt to go with the car sellers' finance deals because it is easy and often part of a wider deal encompassing later trade-in values.
"Some finance deals offer guaranteed trade-in prices of the new cars in three years time after average mileage," he said, adding that there was a cost to the consumer for that ease.