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Hi William,

Unfortunately not - all cars registered before Jan 1st 2008 are on the old engine capacity system so with a 3.5-litre engine you'll have to pay €1,808 a year in motor tax. 

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Hi Brendan,

Pretty much the entire industry has long since gone over to bucket-style seats, not least because they offer better back support when cornering, but also locate your body mass more centrally, which allows the driver's airbag to work better. Actually, the C4 Cactus' seats are technically bucket-style, but they're just a bit broader and softer than the norm. I don't think you'll have much luck finding a true non-bucket seat these days, but all I can suggest is to try as many as you can and see if you can find one that's comfortable for you.

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Hi Catherine,

The 2008-onward Ka model, which shared a chassis and engines with the Fiat 500 and is built in Fiat's factory in Poland, should be rust free - the cars are well treated for rust when being built and offered with a lengthy anti-perforation warranty. If you come across a rusty one, chances are it's had accident damage, which has left bare metal exposed.

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Hi Robert,

It's all down to the history, really, which at least is the one thing you can really investigate before buying a car at auction. Look through to see if it has a full service history and if those services were done on time. If there's a good thick sheaf of receipts, stamped service books, previous NCT or DOE results and more with the car, and if it looks clean and straight when you have a poke around underneath, then it should be a good buy.

One word of caution though - while Nissans tend to be rugged and reliable cars, pickups can be hard working and often abused company machines. Again, check the history to see if the previous owner was a private individual or a company.

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Hi Evaldas,

Timing belts are often referred to as tooted belts, it's not a new thing, though I am surprised that it was called that in the service history instead of cambelt or timing belt. For peace of mind, call the garage that made that remark and confirm that they do indeed mean the timing belt. I'd be 99% certain they do.

Warranties don't usually cover serviceable items such as the timing belt.

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Hi Frank,

The triplets of the Peugeot 107, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are pretty good - nippy and reliable. The last generation Suzuki Alto is also a good option. If you need something a bit larger, track down a Toyota Yaris 1.0.

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Hi Patrick,

Well, the Passat is definitely better value - and it's only a little less spacious than the Audi. But you are trying to compare two quite different cars - one a regular family car, one a premium executive model. It depends on what you want more; value for money or something more prestigious and luxurious. Both are excellent cars though - reliable and nice to drive. 

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Hi Briege,

OK, couple of things to deal with here.  No, your repayments won't change as your car ages - the repayments on a PCP deal are fixed from the start and run for the life of package.

Actually, if you get a bank loan, you own the car from day one because you're paying cash (or cheque I guess) up front - you just have to keep paying the bank back the money and, when you come to sell the car, the entire second hand value is yours. 

That's the point of a PCP really - it insulates you from unpredictable depreciation because you know what the value of the car will be at the end of the agreement and the leaving of the bubble payment to the end reduces the cost of the monthly repayments. 

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Hi Oonagh,

Not many; you really need to be looking at MPVs such as the Volkswagen Touran and Toyota Verso, or the Ford S-Max or SEAT Alhmabra if you fancy something bigger. That said, the recently introduced Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are just about wide enough, but it depends on what seats you're using. Also, larger seven-seat 4x4s such as the Volvo XC90 and Land Rover Discovery will take three-abreast, but they're expensive to buy.

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Hi Amrinder,

There was a recall for 2.2-litre Mazda6 diesels to replace a stretching timing chain, so check to see if that work has been carried out and don't buy a car that hasn't had the work done. Any car with a full (and preferably Mazda main dealer) service history should be fine though.

However, the DPF issue is down to your driving - if you're not putting in the miles, the DPF can't get hot enough to clean itself out and that's when you get problems, so don't go for one of these cars (or any diesel, really) if you're only doing low mileage and short hops.