The price of these new cars on finance just might surprise you

If you’re just starting out behind the wheel, then is can be very tempting to look at one online for what could be your very first car, amongst a wide selection of the many second hand cars for sale right now on the open market. Starting off at the lower end as your first set of wheels. However, as your lessons would have been conducted in something up to date, why not stick with what you’re used to and get a new car?

Even if you can’t afford to buy one outright, there are plenty of competitive finance deals out there. Put down a few thousand pounds as a deposit and you could be driving a new car for as little as two or three hundred pounds a month.

In fact more than 90% of new cars are leased or bought using some sort of finance deal such as a PCP. If you’re unsure when it comes to these finance terms you’re not alone, according to research only 56% of people truly understand what a PCP deal is.

Put simply, a lease is like a long term rental in that you never own the car and give It back to the finance company at the end of your term. A PCP is different in that you can purchase the car at the end of the term by paying a final balloon payment, hand it back to the manufacturer and walk away, or roll everything over into a new PCP deal.

Here, we’ll look at the three best manufacturers for finance, thanks to a combination of keen interest rates, generous deposit contributions or no-deposit deals and added bonuses like free servicing. With each manufacturer offering a wide range of cars, there should be something to suit your every need.

RENAULT

Three of the most tempting, easy to understand finance offers that represent real value and guarantee people will be visiting showrooms (both physical and virtual) involve zero deposits, 0% APR and deposit contributions. Renault impresses more than any other manufacturer because it’s able to offer all three at the same time.

That’s right, you can saunter into a Renault dealership with no deposit to offer them, get some money off of a model of your choice in the form of a deposit contribution and pay no interest over the duration of the PCP. It’s even offering 0% APR, no deposit and even two years of free servicing on one of its latest models, the Arkana coupe SUV.

It’s worth remembering you’ll still have lower monthly repayments if you’re able to put down some money, but at least Renault gives you the choice. If only all manufacturers were as flexible with their finance deals.

MAZDA

Mazda hasn’t always offered the best finance packages with its cars, but it’s made a real effort of late to become highly recommendable. The big news is that every one of the Japanese brand’s cars is available with 0% APR finance. From the dinky 2 to the electric MX-30 and family-friendly CX-5, they all have a deal on them.

If that wasn’t enough to tempt you, the cars come with usefully large deposit contributions. That makes the overall deposit much more palatable than those seen with some 0% APR deals.

SEAT

As with Mazda and Renault, SEAT is another manufacturer using 0% APR deals to give people what they want and boost sales. Almost every new SEAT is available to finance without interest. That includes small cars like the Ibiza, family-sized haulers like the Leon Estate and bigger SUVs such as the Tarraco.

With some hefty deposit contributions and servicing packages thrown into the mix, it’s easy to see why the Spanish brand are so easy to recommend.