How to avoid the pre-registration pitfalls The message is: there are bargains to be had. Just don't be suckered into an illusory one. The first thing dealers do to cars they take in part exchange is to give them a good clean inside and out. This instantly adds value to the car, so get yours valeted (or even better, do it yourself). Selling your car also gives you the opportunity to put right any damage or missing trim. Companies that specialise in "Smart" (Small and Medium Area Repair Techniques) repairs can work wonders, usually out of the back of a van in the road or on your drive. And it's well worth trying the local scrapyard or online specialists for pieces of trim and badges that have gone missing over time. It might sound like a lot of effort but dealers will need to do this before they sell the car and they'll price it down accordingly. Specialists can also repair interior damage, such as holes in the dash caused by mobile device holders. You'll be surprised what they can do. I once had a car's interior treated with ozone to remove the smell from a food fiasco. It was a last resort but it was cheap, it worked and meant that I no longer had to drive with the windows open all the time, and I didn't have to take a financial hit just to get someone to take the car off my hands. Don't bother steam-cleaning the engine; it's a waste of money. However, do make sure all the reservoirs under the bonnet are at the right level. Last but most definitely not least, get all the relevant paperwork together. One service plan provider claims a car with a full dealer service history can be worth up to 20 per cent more than one without. It looks like the new Skoda Rapid could be just the right car for cost-conscious drivers. With prices starting under £13,000, the Rapid sits between the Fabia and Octavia. There's an argument that its back-to-basics character, like that of the Dacia Duster, will appeal to drivers who are becoming increasingly fed up with over-complicated cars. "Cars are loaded with gadgetry and features in what has become a kind of specification arms race," said CAP's Jeff Knight. In many cases, people simply don't need everything available to them in the modern vehicle. He believes the Rapid, although not the most dynamic car ever built, will exploit a growing appetite for basic, well engineered, value-for-money motors.