If you have been thinking of buying a new car now may be the time to buy.

Last week the Turkish Prime Minister announced a series of tax cuts to get the Turkish economy going again.

One of these was a cut in the private consumption tax levied on the sales of new cars abbreviated as OTV.

OTV is levied on the basis of the cubic capacity of the cars engine and ranges from 37% for engines under 1600cc to 84% for engines over 2000cc.

This tax is one of the reasons why cars are so expensive in Turkey compared to other European countries.

For a period of three months these rates will be reduced as follows:

In monetary terms the reduction means big discounts and here are a few examples:

5,300 TL discount on a Renualt Megane 1.5Dci, Was 39,300 TL now 34,000 TL

 
A saving of 4,225 TL on a Ford Fiesta Trend 5K 1.4 TDCi down from 31,235 TL  to 27,010 TL

And in the commercial / van type car area:

2,050 TL on a Toyota Hi Lux 2.5 4x4 down from 51,950 TL to 49,900 TL

4,120 TL Fiat Doblo Combi 1.9 Mjet ACTIVE from 27,750 TL to 23,630 TL

The reductions have also spurred car dealers to offer additonal discounts.

Hynudai are offering their base Getz model for 17,691 TL (£7,000), Renault their base Symbol for 19,990 TL (£8,000) and Fiat now offer their base Albea 1.4 for just 16,400 TL (£6,500).

Further discounts could also be available if you are prepared to haggle hard and bite into the dealers margin.

The tax cuts seem to have created a rush of new vehicle sales according to the national press and local press.

One local Fethiye car dealer said they sold 45 cars on the first day of the tax cuts, more than they had sold in the last 3 months.

So if you have the cash now could be the time to pick up a bargain.

But hurry as the offer only lasts for 3 months and ends on 15 June 2009.

And don't forget these discounts will also impact on the second hand price of cars too so that ancient Tofas will not be worth 12,000 TL any more.