Virtual Car Broker

Working out whether a diesel- or a petrol-powered car will be cheaper to run over three years is a complicated business.

To ensure you're making the most cost-effective decision you have to consider the higher purchase cost as well as resale values, fuel bills, servicing and insurance bills.

Let the facts do the talking
To help make the job a little easier, we've developed a tool to do the sums for you.

Fill in the boxes and the calculator will tell you the most cost-effective option based on your individual circumstances.





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Car Broker Motoring News Congestion, charging, fuel

Save cash by purchasing your new car now, and beat the 'showroom' tax that's coming next month.

From April 1, the new tax could add an extra £515 to your road tax bill. So, if you act quickly and buy a new car from stock you could get your vehicle before the 'showroom' tax is launched.

What is the so-called 'showroom' tax?
The new tax is a one-off first-year payment on top of the usual vehicle excise duty rate. The payment is based on your new car's CO2 emission and will add between £70 and £515 to your first road tax bill.

The table below shows how the additional charges will be charged.

Who will pay it?
The new tax will be payable on all cars registered from April 1.




Budget date announced
Gordon Brown has confirmed that the budget – in which future increases in VED and fuel tax could well be announced – will be on March 24.

Budget live on whatcar.com
We will be covering the budget live on whatcar.com, so remember to log on and give us your views as the news comes through.

Political commentators predict that the general election will be held on May 6. You can read about the transport manifestos of the four parties, and comment on them, by clicking here.

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Car Broker Motoring News Buying and Owning

Audi's R8 Spyder will come with a world first for mobile phone users – Bluetooth microphones incorporated into the car's seatbelts.

The driver's and passenger's belt have three microphones, each smaller and flatter than shirt buttons, so that they don't interfere with the seatbelt mechanism.

Quality signal whatever the user's height
Audi says that when the seatbelt is worn one microphone is always located in the vicinity of the person's mouth, regardless of their height, so it gives the best possible speech reproduction even with the roof down.

Software analyses the quality of the signals from the mikes and forwards the best signal to the hands-free unit.

A fourth microphone, mounted on the windscreen frame, is used to make calls when the car is parked and the seatbelt is not on.

We've driven the R8 Spyder and our first impressions of the technology are good. What Car? road test editor Peter Tullin said: 'It's a very neat trick and it seems to work very well.'

Audi says there are no plans as yet for the technology to filter down into Audi's other drop tops, the Audi A5 Cabriolet, the Audi A3 Cabriolet and the Audi TT Roadster.

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Car Broker Motoring News Buying and Owning

Motor industry calls on the Chancellor to boost manufacturer - and consumer - confidence in his 2010 Budget.

Car Broker Motoring News benefit-in-kind, budget, vehicle duty

Roadworks to be carried out with more consideration and respect for the travelling public.

Car Broker Motoring News potholes, road repairs, roadworks, utility companies