Mark Standish, Carlyle Finance CEO, said it was important to note Uswitch.com had a commercial interest in encouraging consumers to shop around.

He also said many dealers were able to compete with the Best Buy rates quoted by Uswitch.

“In our experience many dealers can match or better this and as Uswitch admits Best Buy unsecured personal loan rates are only available to people with a good credit history.” He argued that having money ready before viewing cars through a personal loan did not guarantee the buying power is strengthened and criticised Uswitch.com's depreciation warnings, pointing out that cars depreciated regardless of how they are paid for by customers. “It would be too easy for dealer personnel to read the headline and conclude they simply cannot compete with web-based offers and aggregator organisations. The key to success is to ensure that everyone who discusses finance is well trained, that rates are competitive and that consumers are given all the facts to make a reasoned decision. “When promoted in this way, dealer finance is very compelling, not only because it provides a competitive offer, but because it provides a level of consumer protection that a personal loan cannot match,” he said.