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Hi Martin,

Go for the Octavia or Avensis according to taste - both have superior reliability (crucial when you're buying an older car) and the Avensis will, just slightly, have the edge in that respect.

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Hi Jevgenij,

Not to buy. If you can stretch your funds, you'd be much better off going for the second generation TT, which is far better to drive. The original was fast and gorgeous but cramped inside and not actually very good to drive.

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Hi Samantha,

All I can suggest is that you have a ring around any Audi dealers with premises near you and ask if they will buy the car outright. Dealers generally don't like buying cars from punters as a straight deal, so you may struggle. It should be worth around €40,000 in normal circumstances but you will probably be offered a lot less than that because of the unusualness of the deal. 

It may be possible to do a cash-and-swap deal - whereby you get an older car from a dealer and they pay you the difference for your car, but again this is an unusual deal and you may not find anyone willing to do it.

A better idea is probably to sell the car yourself through a classifieds site such as Carzone.ie.

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Hi Angela,

I think a PCP plan would be entirely wrong for you, because they really only work if you're intending to come back in three years' time to trade in again. I'm guessing you don't want to do that.

Your Audi is worth about €2,000 so put that together with your €3,000 and we're looking at a budget of around €5,000. That's great because that will get you into a 2007 Honda Jazz - one of the best small cars around. It's spacious, comfortable, frugal and above all reliable. You simply can't go wrong with one.

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Hi Gokul,

It's not massively cheap, maybe a couple of grand below the average asking price, but with just 10,000km on it, it does look a touch suspicious. Independent dealers can be, shall we say, very variable in their quality of sales and service, but maybe ask around and see if others in the area have had any experience. 

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Hi Paul,

Yes, and no. And a bit yes. It still depends on your lifestyle and driving habits. Lots of short journeys, mostly around town? Don't mind taking the time to plan long journeys carefully and be prepared to take breaks for charge ups?

Things are getting dramatically better though. Nissan has just updated the Leaf with a new 30kwh battery (read our review of it here) that extends its range to around 250km, which is a lot more useful, and if you're suitably loaded a Tesla Model S can go for 500km between charges.

If you're not quite ready to take the full electric car plunge, how about a plugin hybrid? Short hops under electric power with a petrol engine for longer journeys. Try the Volkswagen Golf GTE, Audi A3 e-tron, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV or a Volvo XC90 T8.

However, if you're looking for a second hand car, your options with electric power are severely limited, as sales have been slow so far.

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Hi Darren,

There aren't any major reported issues, but check to make sure that all the electrics are working properly and don't buy without a full service history.

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Hi Martin,

Well, it's a little hard to tell without actually seeing your car and seeing the car you're buying. But, with values for 2011 Audi A4s hovering around the €20k mark (or a little less as a trade in) and assuming that the one you're buying is listed at about €40-45,000, then I'd say it sounds like a reasonable deal.

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Hi Tom,

Somewhere in the region of €5,500 I'd say.

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Hi Neil,

Well, your Audi is with circa €7,000 as a trade in, while a 2010 Accord should run you about €12-14k. So you'll have to finance about €6-7,000 to make up the gap, depending on the dealer and the history and condition of your car.