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Hi Tony,

How come the Prius wasn't used for a couple of years? That's the first question you'll be asked. If it's in good condition and still works fine, and you can show a current NCT, then there's no particular reason that a dealer wouldn't take it as a trade in, but you'll need to be honest and open about the history of the car. 

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Hi Rue,

No problem, have a look here: http://www.carzone.ie/search/result/cars/make/nissan/model/qashqai/transmission/automatic

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Hi Fergal,

Well, it depends on which model you're looking at. In general buying an automatic these days doesn't have the fuel consumption (and CO₂) penalties of old, although it's fair to say that not all automatics are equal. They can be very expensive up front though (BMW asks €2,500 for an auto) and, depending on the car, you won't always make that back at resale time. Certainly on a Ford you might struggle with automatic resale, but a BMW or Audi should do better as people expect the auto in those. 

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Hi Tom,

Assuming you mean the D5 diesel with the automatic transmission, then €1,200. 

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Hi Fidelis,

Well, it depends on the year, but assuming you mean a 2014 model, you’ll pay around €5,300 in VRT.

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Hi Liz,

It will depend on your insurance company, but the sad fact is that insurers in Ireland are still wrong-headedly welded to the idea that a bigger engine automatically makes you a higher insurance risk. 

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Hi Donal,

The best compromise of value and oomph is probably to be found somewhere in the Volkswagen Group. I'd say if you want to mix a decent 2.0 diesel engine with low emissions and an auto box try out a SEAT Leon FR, preferably in very handsome ST estate form. It makes 150hp, but has Band A4 emissions. 

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Hi Donal,

Sadly you’re right – as with so many things in Ireland, transparency in the car leasing market is rather lacking and it’s not at all easy to either get comparisons or to make sure that those are direct and fair comparisons.

There are a couple of sites such as www.autoleasing.ie which do offer some comparison ability, but they don’t cover all brands so it may not be the answer you’re looking for. My best suggestion for the moment is to sit down and have a good chat with whoever looks after your company’s leasing and see what they can do to help. They’ll be much more plugged into the market and may be better able to assist.

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Hi Eoin,

There are a number of UK-based insurers who offer one-day car insurance, usually up to a maximum of 28 days, so a quick run through Google should see you sorted. If you’re concerned about not knowing which company is which, the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) offers a short-term policy, and that should be very trustworthy. Just make sure that you check and ensure that the coverage will extend to Ireland for the time you need to get a local policy sorted out.

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Hi Mairead,

It depends which model you mean. An automatic 2.0-litre VVT-i petrol RAV4 from 2008 has CO₂ emissions of 212g/km, so will cost €1,200 a year. The manual version has CO₂ emissions of 202g/km so costs the same. It gets a bit better with the diesels. The 180hp 2.2 diesel has emissions of 185g/km so costs €750 a year while the 150hp version has emissions of 173g/km so costs the same €750.