Consumers are missing out on huge savings on new and used UK cars after receiving false information from dealers, according to a recent survey of UK dealerships.

The mystery shop telephone survey was carried out by jamjar cars in an attempt to discover whether customers receive a true picture of the options available to them when shopping around for a new car.

The survey, which covered 100 car dealerships from 10 of the UK's leading car manufacturers quizzed sales teams on their knowledge of direct retailers and their products, prices and services.

It was found that 57% of sales executives gave false information about direct retailers, potentially stopping consumers from making savings of up to £1,300 on each car surveyed.

One in five sales executives advised customers that if they bought a car from an internet-based retailer such as jamjar cars, they would experience serious difficulties having their car serviced, despite the fact that 100% of service advisors at the same dealerships agreed to service the cars when questioned.

In some cases, dealers inaccurately claimed that a car bought from a direct retailer could not be serviced anywhere in the UK, supported by further assertions that the cars in question would not be to UK-specification (19%).

Half the dealers told customers that all direct retailers supply imports, while other popular myths were that online retailers provide inadequate warranties, that customers cannot part exchange and that there is no support or 'back-up service' available after the sale of the vehicle is confirmed.

In some cases, sales executives even made claims that internet dealers replace manufacturer parts by older parts before sale or that cars from retailers like jamjar cars are ex-Army vehicles imported from Germany!

Jim Hartley operations manager for jamjar cars says: "We often hear from customers who have visited their local dealers and been given dubious 'advice' about direct retailers like jamjar cars. In those cases, we are able to set the record straight, but for a lot of consumers in the market who won't traditionally think of using the internet to buy a car, they will visit their local dealer, listen to the horror stories and end up paying a lot more for a vehicle in exchange for what they think is 'peace of mind'.

"The result is that many consumers are stopped from making an informed choice and miss out on large savings and the best deals available to them. Our advice would be, if in doubt, go back to the direct retailer and ask them the question directly - you may be able to save yourselves a lot of money by doing so."