The Irish Financial Regulator has launched its new Motor Pack this week, with the aim of helping Irish consumers with all of the financial aspects of buying a new car . As well as helping with decisions regarding car finance, including how to borrow money and take out personal loans, the motor pack also investigates car insurance .

The Motor Pack runs through the different kinds of motor finance on the Irish market, highlighting the differences between car finance and personal loan products. Clearly laying out the data, a survey of Irish motor insurance uses real life examples to show how much could be saved on car insurance.

The Consumer Director, Mary O’Dea, had the following to say: People dedicate a lot of time choosing the car they want, from the colour, model and mileage to optional extras such as sunroofs and stereos. While much time is spent thinking about the car itself, we find that people only think about the financial aspects like finance and insurance packages after the price of the car is agreed. Sometime, people rush these decisions in their haste to drive the car off the forecourt.

Like car finance decisions in the UK, rushing in is never a good idea. O’Dea concluded: When you are looking to buy a new or used car, it is easy to be tempted by finance that is arranged ‘on the spot’ in the dealership. When you buy car finance through a car dealer, make sure you know what sort of agreement it is. If it is a hire purchase agreement, which is often called finance, this is very different to a personal loan. With a hire purchase agreement, you do not own the car until you make the last payment, so it is not yours to sell if you need to. Know exactly what you are signing up to and what your rights are, should something go wrong.