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Hi Barry,

Tough choice - both really good but quite different cars. The CC is arguably more stylish and slightly the sharper to drive, the S60 has that wonderfully reassuring Volvo safety and a really gorgeous cabin. Personally, I'd say the Volvo just shades it but it's a close run thing and you won't go far wrong with either.

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Hi Maike,

The process of importing a car into the UK is a lot easier and cheaper than it is in Ireland. If the car is quite old you probably won't have to pay any import fees on it in fact, you'll just have to get it MOT'ed and pay a small fee for the new registration.

But, buying the car in Ireland will represent much worse value than buying in the UK. Not only will you find fewer cars to choose from (the Freelander was always a much bigger seller in the UK than in Ireland),  but the Irish cars will probably be more expensive. I think you would be better off transferring your money to Sterling (using a low-cost service such as Transferwise) and shopping in the UK.

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Hi Pat,

This is a question we get asked so often and there's no easy answer. Well, actually there is, but it's an answer that many people don't like - an MPV such as the Volkswagen Touran, Toyota Verso, Citroen C4 Picasso or similar.

There are very, very few (if any) conventional hatchbacks or saloons that will these days take three child car seats across the back. There are some conversion kits available that will allow as many as four child seats to be fitted to a 'normal' saloon, but these tend to be designed around the big rear-facing infant seats and won't take your own seats.

The best I can suggest, if you don't fancy an MPV, is to test drive the biggest, widest saloons you can find and make sure you bring the kids with you to actually try the seating properly so that you know for definite before you buy.

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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.