Expert answer

Hi John,

I'm afraid this is not something unique to the Kia Rio. Loads of new cars now come with this sealant kit instead of a spare wheel. Many motoring journalists in Ireland (ourselves included) are actively against this, but as car makers hope to reduce weight and cost this is the way it's going. It also frees up boot space - not that that matters to the hapless motorist stranded in the middle of nowhere with a hole in their tyre...

Final note - it's often not up to the Irish distributor to make the decision to offer a car with a spare wheel, but it's worth checking with a dealer before you put down a deposit if it's an option - and negotiate not to pay for it.

Expert answer

Hi Hagen,

There's a lot of choice on the market for that price. Here's a few cars we'd consider good buys for the purpose you've described:

Citroen C3, Fiat Panda, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Honda Jazz, Mazda3, Nissan Almera, Nissan Micra, Opel Astra, Opel Corsa, Peugeot 207, SEAT Ibiza, SEAT Cordoba, SEAT Leon, Skoda Fabia, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Polo.

I appreciate that's a long list, but we've left out plenty too! If you'd like more in depth help with choosing from the above come back to us.

Expert answer

Hi Teresa,

We spoke to Volkswagen and I'm afraid there's no permanent way to switch this off that it recommends. You'll just have to do it manually each time you start up if it bothers you.

From our perspective, this feature is becoming more and more common and we think it's a great idea. If all cars on the road used it think how much fuel could be saved in town. Likewise - and in contrast to what you've said - noise pollution would be reduced overall thanks to the lack of engine idling noise at traffic lights.

Don't worry about the starting motor wearing out either, as most cars with stop-start have heavier duty starters, along with systems to monitor their condition and prevent it being over used.

Expert answer

Hi Steven,

In my opinion this is NOT a good buy for the price and not suitable for your needs. The car looks in acceptable condition, but it already has quite high mileage, and you plan on adding over 45,000 kilometres a year to it. There are a lot of cars around for the same €4,500 with much lower mileage.

Come back to us if you'd like help finding something more suitable.

Expert answer

Hi Neil,

We're surprised we don't get this one more often to be honest! The simple solution would of course be to go for a car with three rows of seats - or something wide like the Fiat Multipla. I realise that might not suit though. It appears from our research that somebody has sensed a gap in the market and created a solution in the guise of www.multimac.co.uk.

Essentially the system is bolted to you existing car (with your rear seats still in place) and thanks to the narrower child seats can fit up to four children across the rear bench. The system is not cheap, coming in at over €2,000 by the time you add the required accessories, but it is likely to be cheaper than buying a new car.

We hope this helps.

Expert answer

Hi Justin,

It's not surprising to hear that the car won't go off-road - few do!

In terms of safety, the 2005 Volvo trumps the Discovery with a better Euro NCAP crash test rating.

The Volvo has a marginally better reliability record too, though most Discovery problems (affecting electrics and software) seem to apply to individual cars. Saying that it's worth ensuring its air suspension is in perfect working order. On the XC90 the injectors can play up, and they're expensive to repair, so get suspicious if the car doesn't start quickly.

Evidence points to the Volvo having the lower running costs too, with slightly better fuel economy and of course lower annual road tax due to the smaller engine. Maintenance will be costly enough in both cases, as could be insurance.

In cold hard facts it looks like the Volvo wins this battle Justin, but we'd not be put off the Discovery so easily - it's a great all-rounder as well.

Let us know how you get on.

Expert answer

Hi Sean,

With those options in front of us and no clue to each car's mileage and condition then we'd say there's a strong case for the Mazda6. It's significantly more spacious than all the other cars you listed for a start. That 2.0-litre diesel engine has plenty of grunt and is relatively economical, while the Mazda6 has a great reputation for reliability.

Hope that's of help

Expert answer

Hi Justin,

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that the lower mileage car you can find, the better. All three models mentioned are suitable for the job, though there's a reason so many taxis are the Toyota Avensis. It's the one we'd veer towards. The BMW would be a nicer car than either the Passat or the Toyota, but once you start racking up high mileage its maintenance could get expensive.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Piotr,

On the mechanical front the Volvo XC90 has been subject to a number of manufacturer recalls over the course of its life. Depending on what year car you are looking at some of these will not apply but it is worth questioning the dealer about the most recent recalls to ensure that all work has been done.

To deal with the specific car you are looking at, we would suggest have it checked by a competent mechanic before purchasing. If you do not have a friendly mechanic to hand Cartell.ie offers a 'Four star check', which in addition to the detailed history report also includes a full check by an automotive engineer. At €295 it offers great peace of mind, especially when dealing with a high-end car like the Volvo XC90.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Patrick,

We put this question to the official vehicle records experts, Cartell.ie. Jeff Ahern, Cartell's Director, responded in detail:

"Until the arrival of Cartell.ie in 2006 and subsequent car history checking companies in 2007/8, it was extremely difficult to get the history of a vehicle both in Ireland and the UK. Moreover, the fact that a car was imported was hidden from the Irish consumer. Now that is not the case. It is easy to trace the history of a vehicle within Ireland and the UK. That said, a study was carried out into the number of UK vehicles hitting Irish roads that were written off and clocked. The figures were quite startling in that up to 1 in 10 vehicles imported from the UK were written off and 11% had a mileage discrepancy. This affected a large number of people who had bought these vehicles before the advent of car history checking and therefore a stigma still persists with UK vehicles." 

"Furthermore the above issue was compounded by the data on the Vehicle Registration Certificate (VRC) in that it only shows the number of Irish owners and not any additional owners from the UK, which allowed some dealers to manipulate or gloss over the additional history."

"However, vehicles are now being advertised for at least the same price as their Irish counterparts. The UK car will often have a higher specification. But let's not forget that most Irish people know that whoever brought a car in from the UK should have paid less for it anyway and therefore they are inclined to want a similar discount when you are selling it on. And as a car ages, the extras become more of a selling tool than an earner as the depreciation had reduced their value." 

"So in summary, a UK car can have a higher specification and should be worth more than a similar Irish model of same year and mileage, but in practice - and due to the above - it will be worth the same or less. Don't forget too that a person could easily check an Irish car with a full service history by contacting the dealer who could be in their local area rather than having to ring the UK, which isn't an issue nowadays with the internet, but perception and ease are everything. "

Hope that all helps