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Hi Nat,

Puntos are actually surprisingly reliable cars - not the shonky Italian jobs of legend. Once all the electrics are in good nick, I'd say you're safe enough and if the work that's agreed to be done is done, then all should be fine. It does sound a little bit pricey though for an almost ten-year-old Punto. I'd try and get another few hundred off.

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Hi John,

Well, as a general rule of thumb Volvo does build its cars pretty tough and, in fact, is proud to say that, while the motor industry in general builds cars for an expected service life of around ten years, Volvo builds its cars for 15 or so...

That said it depends entirely on the individual car. Has it been well cared for? Does it have a service history, preferably full? Is it nice and shiny and clean? Does it run with perfect smoothness and no vibrations, knocks or clonks? Then it probably has lots of life yet. 

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Hi Des,

It depends entirely on your priorities. If you favour style and badge appeal, go for the Golf. There are few better cars. If you're a practical type, get the Octavia as it has significantly more rear seat and boot space than the Golf and is more or less identical to drive. 

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Hi Michelle,

We like the S-Max a lot and arguably, eight years after it was first introduced and with its replacement due any time now, it's still the best large MPV around. 

There are no major reliability issues to worry about, it seems, but the build quality does seem to be a bit variable. Some cars are solid as rocks, others have lots of small niggles. The most common complaints are with electrical problems (wiper motors especially seem to have a habit of packing up) and the steering system, which can develop mysterious clonks. 

The best thing to do is find which garage looked after the car previously and ask how many times outside of scheduled servicing it's been in. Lots of times probably equals a troubled car, not too many probably equals something solid.

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Hi Shane,

Go for the Verso. It's a lovely car anyway, really practical and well built, and your regular motorway hops will keep the DPF clear. The Prius+ is one of the most frustrating cars I've ever driven - tight on space in the third row and horrendously thirsty when you take it out of town. Motorway journeys in it are hell...

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Hi Ann,

It's not always possible to know exactly based on what you've just told me, I'm afraid, so you should check with Revenue. The value of the car it works with is not what you paid for it, but what it determines to be the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) - and it will take into account optional extras fitted to the vehicle.

Nonetheless, assuming that the OMSP is £8,500, that equates to about €12,000 at today's exchange rates (13 March, 2015). A CO₂ figure of 154g/km puts it in Band C, which is 20 per cent VRT, or €2,400.

Further reading:

Our guide to importing cars from the UK

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Hi Conor,

Hmmm. Tough one. I'd always be tempted by the younger car, and if it's the 1.6-litre diesel Passat then there's a good chance you'll never have to refill the tank - I once did Galway-Dublin-Glasgow-Dublin-Galway-Dublin on a single tank of juice in one.

That said, the Audi would be hugely tempting and while there's really no fundamental difference between the too (you are paying extra for the badge and not much else really) there's no denying the extra feel good factor of the A6.

All things being equal then, and assuming both cars come with and equally full service history, I'd be minded to treat yourself and go for the Audi. 

Further reading:

First Irish drive of the new Volkswagen Passat

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Hi John,

Yeah, that's not bad actually. The 206 has long been popular as a starter car or for those looking for something small and cheap to run. Just have a good check that anything electrical is working properly and make sure that the cabin is all holding together - its fragile in there. Also make sure that the central locking and heating systems are working properly. 

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Hi Mary,

Hmmm. Tough choice. Please note that the following is based purely on personal taste and other opinions are available. They're wrong, but they're available...

1. Honda CR-V: Not the glamorous choice but it's massively spacious, comfy, well made and frugal. Might be worth waiting for the new 150hp 1.6 diesel which arrives later this year - alongside a facelift.

2. Audi Q5: Super-slick, nice to drive and has a cracking 2.0 TDI diesel engine. 

3. Mitsubishi Outlander: Referring specifically to the PHEV plugin hybrid, it's the most cost-effective and practical way of going (partially) electric and it's hugely clever. 

4. Hyundai Santa Fe: Stylish, spacious and affordable plus it has a five-year warranty. Hard to beat, really. 

5. BMW X3: It's a sight better looking than the original X3 but it's still quite stiff-riding and it's not as nice to drive as the Q5.

6. Subaru Forester: Not pretty and it has a terrible cabin (all cheap plastics and ancient-looking displays) but it's probably the most ruggedly reliable car here and has genuine off-road ability. 

Further reading:

Road test of the Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC

First Irish drive of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Road test of the Hyundai Santa Fe

Road test of the Subaru Forester

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Hi Fergal,

Ford did have a patent on this technology, or more accurately, on a particular application of it and of course the brand name, Quickclear. The Ford patent dates from as far back as 1977, but it expired in 2011, as far as we can ascertain. Mind you, element heated windscreens are nothing new. The practice started in aviation in the 1950s and in the 60s Bentley even offered one as an option on Continental models - its heating elements were pure gold of course, the best conductor of heat.

 Nowadays, a number of car makers do in fact offer heated windscreens as an option. Companies formerly owned by Ford, such as Jaguar and Land Rover, are top of the list because they gained a licence to use Ford's own tech, but other car makers also have their own systems - Volkswagen offers it on a number of different models for instance.