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Hi Shane,

There isn't really such a thing at the moment. We have looked for you and there isn't a breakdown as yet. We will work on it though. 

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Hi Ciaran,

There were a lot of used Audi A4s brought into Ireland over the last few years, mainly by personal import. I remember seeing a statistic at the time stating that there were more used Audis being imported into Ireland than there were new Audis being sold. The quality of these imported cars varied quite a lot. Two members of my own family bought cars from the years that you mention and while they have been fine, when something does go wrong (through wear and tear) the costs of parts can be pricey. 

The car you have shown us is petrol powered, which might make it tricky to sell on again, especially since you will probably reach 100,000 miles reasonably soon in it. It has had three owners too in quite a short space of time, so I would want a full history check done on the car and I'd want to know if there have been any problems. 

I think if everything checks out on that car then you could be on to a winner, although I would probably be inclined to look at a diesel with slightly higher miles because resale value might be better. 

Hope that's of help

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Hi Nessa,

There are a number of companies that do GPS tracking in Ireland, so I guess that would be similar to the ones you are talking about. 

Here is an example of a company that does the service here in Ireland. 

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Hi Shane,

Well it depends on how much you want to spend really. There is going to be a lot more value in your Corolla than in the 2005 Citroen Berlingo so you wouldn't have to spend much money to get into a Zafira.

There really aren't a lot of 2009 Opel Zafiras around. In fact we found just four on sale in the classifieds. The cheapest of these was just under €17,000 for a petrol version. Since your Corolla would be worth more than this you would want change back from the dealer, which is something that can be hard to achieve.

A much better buy would be something like this diesel Ford S-Max. This car is bigger and better than the Opel Zafira, is closer in price to your Corolla and is a brilliant family car.

Your Citroen Berlingo might fetch between €3,000 - €5,000 depending on mileage and condition and if it is reliable I would keep it until it stops.

I hope this helps!

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Hi Ronan,

I reckon a Volkswagen Golf Van would do a brilliant job for you. You told us by e-mail that you have another €2,000 to spend on top of the value of your Toyota Avensis so I reckon this one could be a good option. 

The Ford Focus van is good too, but I don't imagine you want to be a two Focus family! If I was having a car-van I'd have a Golf. 

Hope that helps

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Hi Jerome,

Each car is allocated its own number individually as they are applied for. In some cases they could end up being in sequence if you applied for registrations for several cars at once (if you have sold a fleet deal etc) but they would still all be processed individually.

You can apply for individual numbers and pay a fee for a personalised number.

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Hi Jonathan,

You should be able to stay with your Mondeo in the UK, from 2005-2006 with a diesel for around that budget. Obviously there is much greater choice in the UK and lots might be high mileage but don't necessarily let that put you off because some of these might be cars that lived on motorways and as such won't have lived very hard lives.

We found a 2006 Mondeo Estate with 112,000 miles in the classifieds for £3,000 and it was a private sale and that could do a very nice job for you.

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Hi there,

We only drove one Audi A6 with a manual gearbox on the launch event and I didn't particularly notice that the pedals were offset. However, the cars that we drove were left-hand drive, so it could be that the car's pedals are offset when in right-hand drive. I can't say that it was anything that ever bothered me in the A4 or A5 before. 

Click here to read our First Drive of the 2011 Audi A6.

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Hi John,

The auctions have got a lot better than they used to and they are much more popular than ever because essentially it cuts out the middle man. Some auctions such as Merlin now offer a warranty with the auction car so that does take the total risk out of buying. Generally if a car is in an auction there is a reason - it is either a car that someone is trying to get rid of in a hurry; it could be a bit of a heap; or more recently you could find that it is a car that has been repossessed by the banks. These later ones can and often are perfect. By all means give the auction a go, but firstly as an observer. It is easy to get carried away by the auction experience as it can be quite a thrill. 

In general, I would say that if you are buying a slightly larger car for a small budget then make it Japanese. It might not be sexy but something like a Toyota Avensis or Corolla will provide you with the most trouble free motoring for your budget. 

Something like this could do a good job - it's a Corolla 1.6 petrol. It isn't exciting, but neither are large repair bills. Here is the newer shape Avensis with higher mileage but this could be a decent buy. 

I wouldn't really stray much further than these if you want a decent solid car. 

I hope this helps. 

Expert answer

Hi John,

This one took a little bit of research, but according to Peugeot, it was the first to market a car with a diesel particulate filter in Ireland with the 607 saloon. Then in 2002 Peugeot introduced the DPF on its 307 2.0-litre HDi model. They came into general use around 2005 onwards. Ford told us that its cars came with DPFs from then on. 

I am not sure of your budget, but perhaps a Ford Focus C-Max diesel would make sense? This car would be a top choice for you. 

Ford Focus C-Max

I hope this helps, but come back to us for more information if needed