Determined hagglers helped secure good deals on new car prices last month, it was disclosed today.

The average list price of new cars fell only 0.6% over the year in 2003, but keen haggling led to buyers getting discounts of an average 15%, or £2,211, off list prices, a price index from Alliance & Leicester and What Car? magazine showed.

"The prices that new-car buyers are paying for their vehicles continued to drop last month - but only marginally," said Alliance & Leicester motor finance head Andy Bayes.

"Determined buyers still managed to force down prices and hagglers out there looking for a bargain can still get a great deal, especially since dealers are predicted to enjoy record sales in 2003."

Best bargains last month were 'superminis', which dipped 2% in price, while small cars (down 1.3%), and luxury cars (down 1.2%) were also good value. But city cars and family cars both rose 1.2% in price.

On average, one-year-old cars were 4.2% lower in price this November than in November last year, while three-year-old vehicles were 2.1% lower.