As Britain’s appetite for driving the newest and flashiest cars shows no signs of abating, the Bank of England has issued apocalyptic warnings about the state of the motor finance industry.

Banks are “failing to learn the lessons of the past”, said governor Mark Carney last month as he commented on the banks’ easy lending of consumer credit. But how much attention should you be paying to the doom and gloom?

According to the experts there are still many reasons to consider a car finance deal as you can end up paying less in the long term.

Guy Anker, a consumer expert at moneysavingexpert.com, the finance website, said: “For people who can afford to buy a car they can be a good way of spreading the payments.

The issues come when car salespeople are really, really pushing vehicles on people who possibly shouldn’t be buying a car because they can’t afford it. Using the example of a brand new Mercedes E-Class saloon with an on-the-road value of £35,205 we look at the options.