What luxury car suits a short driver?
Hi,
I am 163 centimetres tall (5 foot 3 inches). I am realy confused about my dream cars and I want to know if they suit me or not. One of these cars is the BMW 750iL. The second one is the Range Rover Sport Supercharged.
What do you think?
Tariq Konounah (Khartoum)Jul 2011 Filed under: choosing new car
Expert answer
Hi Tariq,
Given that these cars would both have electric seats with a full range of motion, your height will not be an issue. Perhaps the Range Rover would provide better visibility.
Either way, your height shouldn't be any sort of factor in what car you choose as most are designed for a wide range of driver sizes.
Toyota Yaris or Kia Picanto?
I would like to buy a small car. I am looking at the Toyota Yaris or Kia Picanto. Can you tell me what you think about these two cars?
Jomy Jose (Kilkenny)Jul 2011 Filed under: choosing new car
Expert answer
Hi there
These are two quite different cars in so far as the Toyota is a larger model than the Picanto, although there is a new version of the Kia coming in August and it is bigger.
Perhaps you would like to read our reviews of both the Yaris and Picanto and if you have any more specific questions then you can ask them.
What we would say is that if you are going to buy new then the Kia Picanto will be quite a bit less expensive than the Toyota Yaris.
Will a 1.6 Skoda suit our family of five?
We are a family of five - Mom, Dad, three boys - and we are looking for an affordable car since I (mom) got into an accident and the other car is beyond repair. We are looking at a used Skoda 1.6-litre petrol. Are these good cars?
Celeste Barratt (Trinidad)Jun 2011 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Yes, these are excellent cars so I would say that you should have little in the way of trouble with them really. Obviously a diesel version might suit better, but if you are getting the petrol model at the right price and your mileage is low then this could be a decent purchase.
What estate car should I pick?
i have a choice bewteen an Opel Insignia Estate, BMW 320d Estate, a Skoda Superb Estate or a Volkswagen Passat Estate. All of these are diesel. What would you think is the best car?
Thanks for your help.
Larry Murphy (Navan)Jun 2011 Filed under: choosing new car
Expert answer
Hi Larry,
That is quite a nice choice of cars to have. They are quite varied. A lot depends on what your needs are though and whether or not you are spending your own money. The biggest car and the best value by a mile is the Skoda Superb Estate. It is simply enormous. A driver's car, and one with the most prestige, would be the BMW 320d Estate, but given that there is a new model on the way, it might not be the best investment to spend the considerable amount of money that it would cost.
The Insignia is good looking and has a great chassis, so it would make a lovely car, but you need the 160hp diesel engine. The Passat is a nice car too. If you asked me to pick one of these, I'd probably have the Skoda Superb. It is simply brilliant.
Some handbrake queries
Hi
I would like to know if the footbrake on Mercedes with manual gearbox is hard to manage also how reliable is the electric handbrake on BMW. Thanks.
Jim Murry (Dublin)Jun 2011 Filed under: miscellaneous
Expert answer
Hi Jim,
Personally I have never really been a major fan of the footbrake on the Mercedes-Benz cars, but I wouldn't say that they are hard to manage. They just take a little while to get used to. It certainly wouldn't be a reason not to buy one
The electronic handbrake on the BMW has been very reliable so far, but they again it hasn't really been around long enough for any major problems to surface just yet.
I need another estate car
Great site. I have one myself so know the amount of work it takes to keep it running so well done.
I have a 2001 Audi A6 and want to replace it with an estate as I have a dog. I have about €20k to spend and am not worried about getting a car that is a few years old, as I do not do much mileage.
Thanks
Mark S (Dublin)Jun 2011 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hi Mark,
It is hard not to look past a BMW 520d Touring. There are a few nice ones around that fit your budget and to be honest this is where I would be looking. You might need one from a dealer if you intend to trade in. They are super cars and cheap to run too.
However, an outside choice as an estate is the Volvo V70. I personally love them as they are timeless and great for the dogs too. I have been drooling looking at this one in Cork all week and I reckon it would be a super buy - look at how low the mileage is!
Failing that, and if you aren't too worried about it being petrol, then a Subaru Outback is a marvellous car; this one has low mileage and is within your budget.
You might notice I didn't mention any Audis there. I figure you want a change, otherwise you wouldn't be asking us!
Best of luck with the change and make sure to tell us what you bought. You will find us on Twitter @completecar.
Can I trade-in two cars for scrappage?
Can I trade in two cars for one on the Government Scrappage Scheme? One of the cars, a 2000 Fiat Punto is eligable for scrappage; the other, a 2007 Nissan Note, is not. Do you think any garage would give government scrappage on the Punto and trade-in on the Note in return for one new car?
Mary Brown (Dublin)Jun 2011 Filed under: scrappage
Expert answer
Hi Mary,
The short answer is that yes it shoud be possible. The scrappage allowance of course would only be allowed on one car and you really do need to move fast to get this sorted because time is against you. Then you could use the Note as part exchange against the same car. You just need to speak to your dealer but they should be able to do this for you.
I hope this helps!
I need a stylish, practical car for low mileage use.
Hi, I am looking for a reasonably stylish and fun-to-drive car that is practical enough to carry a couple of sets of golf clubs. I only drive about 3,000 miles a year as I live in city centre and walk most places. I therefore was thinking a petrol model would be a wiser choice than diesel.
I am less worried about upfront cost and more about cost of ownership such as depreciation, servicing, maintenance etc. I don't mind spending more for quality, but value and reliability are important. I am therefore thinking a couple years old maximum.
Cars I have considered are a 2008/9 Mazda6 Sport five-door with the 1.8-litre petrol engine (tough to find) and a 2009 Audi A5 with the 2.0 TFSI engine. This probably shows that I have a pretty broad range of things I would consider and I would be open to something completely different. What are your thoughts?
Apologies as I know its a fairly broad question but I figure you guys need a challenge every now and again.
Thanks for the great site, there really is no equal in Ireland.
Derek Popkes (Dublin)Jun 2011 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hi Derek,
Glad you like the site. Let's hope we can live up to your expectations! We got a little bit of extra information from you and you told us that you are trading in a 2000 Mazda 323 five-door and that your budget is around €30,000-€32,000, which is plenty to work with.
Given your criteria, and the fact that you mention the Audi A5, then I've had a look at some of those. You mention petrol models and with your low mileage then you could quite easily run a petrol car, but given the fact that you are concerned about residuals then the diesels in the A5 would make a better choice. There is a lovely 2.7-litre TDI A5 in the classifieds and this is under €30,000. It would be a smashing buy and the fact that it has quite high mileage doesn't really mattter in your case. The 2.7 TDI version would hold its value better than a 2.0T petrol.
At the other end of things you mention the Mazda6 - an odd contrast to the Audi but still a nice car nonetheless. You are unlikely to find a petrol-powered Mazda6 because Mazda really hasn't sold any in the last few years in Ireland. Plus, it wouldn't be a good use of money because it would be hard to sell on again a few years down the line. The diesel version is so much better anyway these days and you could have a demo 2011 model for well under €30,000. It is a nice car, but to be honest we can find you something a little more interesting.
How about a Jaguar XF 2.7 D Luxury? What a super car, for €33,000. This is a marvellous example and fully loaded with kit. Another outside bet would be a 2008 Lexus GS 450h. We found a low mileage one that would be great around town and it is super fast.
After all that, this is the car I think would suit you best. It is petrol, a 320i, but it is a hard-top convertible and it looks awesome. I don't know if you are a BMW fan but this could be a brilliant buy for you.
Come back to us if we've not hit the nail on the head.
Can you explain what 'VAT' qualifying means on importing a car from the UK?
I am considering buying a car in the UK. Can you clarify what 'VAT qualifying' means? Does this mean that I can get the UK VAT back but I have to pay Irish VAT and VRT? I realise VAT is payable on cars less than six months old.
William Neale (Dublin)Jun 2011 Filed under: importing
Expert answer
Hi William,
Assuming we're talking about new cars or those that are less than six months old (and have less than 6,000km on the clock):
VAT qualifying cars are those that the UK vendor may sell on without charging for VAT to the following:
- a customer in a country outside the EU
- someone who isn't registered for VAT who will take a new car to another EU country
- a VAT-registered business in the EU
In your case, yes, you'd still have to pay Irish VAT and VRT.
Some light official reading for you around this subject that may explain more:
HM Revenue & Customs: Sending your motor vehicle to another EU country from the UK
HM Revenue & Customs: Motor dealers and VAT: selling new or used vehicles and extras
Hope that answers your question
Should I bargain harder on a Skoda Octavia?
Hi guys - I'm thinking of putting in an offer on a 2010 Skoda Octavia Elegance (1.6 TDI), which has been imported from the North. The dealer will allow me about €2k (although in reality I suspect a lot less) on my own 02 Octavia.
Should I seek some reduction in the quoted price on the basis that a) the car has a speedometer in mph and it would cost me to change this and b) it's currently in use by one of the sales people with all the evidence of normal family use over several months and c) it's beyond it's due service. I don't know how much below the initial asking price I should start my offer. Thanks.
Elaine Edwards (Navan)Jun 2011 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hi Elaine,
Well first things first, the speedometer issue really isn't their problem - there are lot of imports coming in and not all have their speedos changed. Is this garage a Skoda dealer or an independent? If it is a Skoda main dealer then perhaps I would ask them to change it over as part of the deal.
Secondly, sales staff always use the cars on the forecourt. This has been going on for decades. In larger dealerships the staff will usually have their own company cars so this won't happen. I would be a little concerned that the service intervals haven't been adhered to and under no circumstance should you purchase the car until they service it for you.
The advice we would always give is that if you already have some niggling doubts, which you appear to have, then don't buy this car. In terms of the value of your car, take if that if you are getting €2,000 then you are really getting about €1,200, as, if you were a cash buyer (with no trade-in) then you would be expecting to get up to €1,000 off the price of the car anyway.
Come back to us if you need anything else.