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Hi James,

Both are good, although French brands are never the most reliable, but of the two we'd go for the Picasso, simply because it's more stylish and strong second hand demand should keep your residual values shored up.

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Hi Ian,

If nothing else, you need to adhere to manufacturer servicing schedules to ensure you don't invalidate your warranty. If you don't trust your local dealer then contact Opel directly, though these figures should be in your owner manual as well.

Besides all of that, we'd thoroughly recommend servicing modern diesel cars regularly, as the car makers often push the service intervals out to appeal to fleet buyers. Regular oil changes in particular are a very good idea.

Hope that helps

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Hi Stephen,

Would you consider a Skoda Yeti? It's a similar size to the Juke but much more spacious, with a more sophisticated cabin and brilliant rear seats that can tip, fold and be removed altogether if you need extra load space. The boot on the front-drive diesel models should be plenty big enough to take a scooter or wheelchair too, and the DSG automatic gearbox is available. I presume you're already familiar with the work the Irish Wheelchair Association does with modifying cars for hand control, so that should be a simple enough process for you. A cracking car, the Yeti - brilliant to drive and very practical, and with a new model coming later this year, you should be able to argue yourself a decent deal on a new one.

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Hi Martina,

Both cars you've chosen there are pretty much neck and neck in every area, bar one. The Passat is arguably a little more 'premium' in its feel, the Mondeo is better to drive and we'd say a touch better looking (though obviously that's subjective!).

Both are impressively well built and have excellent reliability credentials. The area that separates them is quite simply fuel consumption. The Mondoe's 2.0 TDCi engine will be a bit more usefully grunty than that Passat's 105hp 1.6 TDI unit, but the Volkswagen's engine will prove to be a lot more economical. You should be able to average close to 60mpg in the Passat, which should be around 5-10mpg better than the Mondeo will manage. To illustrate it, we once managed to drive from Galway to Glasgow, back to Galway and up to Dublin on one tank in a Passat 1.6 TDI.

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Hi Tony,

OK, there are a couple of issues here. One is that a trawl of the Internet forums, especially in the UK, seems to indicate that there is a common problem on the N47 2.0-litre diesel engine whereby the timing chain can either fail or jump its sprockets. Either way, you're looking at an engine failure and a need for replacement. Not a trivial matter. 

However, BMW has not issued a recall or any specific advice in this area, which may indicate that there has not been a significant level of these incidents. It's easy to accuse a car company of ignoring a major problem but actually that's rarer than you'd think and it's all to easy to get into a froth of indignation from just reading complaints on the internet.

That being the case, we'd simply advise caution. There are some very good independent BMW specialists out there (such as http://www.bloomfieldgarage.ie/) and it might be worth getting in touch with them for more detailed advice.

Also, insist on full service history with these cars, paying particular attention to oil change intervals.

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Hi Brigid,

That generation of C-Class was, sadly, not the most robust car that Mercedes has ever built, although thankfully it seems to have avoided the disastrous quality problems that afflicted the contemporary E-Class. 

There are a few problems in the engine bay, where dodgy crankshaft sensors can cause the engine to fall into limp-home mode or even shutdown altogether. Models fitted with Merc's Active Body Control sometimes had faulty acceleration sensors too, which set up a vibration that affects the car's high speed stability. 

Noisy power steering could indicate a fluid leak, while some cars actually had the incorrect spec of brake disc fitted. Finally, a lot of C-Classes had faulty remote lock keys, but it's rare for both keys to fail so if the car you're looking at has a spare, you should be OK.

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Hi Dawn,

Yes, getting it checked by Cartell.ie should flag up whether there is anything dodgy in the car's history. Have a look through the service book too and maybe have a ring around the various garages where the car has been looked after.  If the car was regularly serviced and/or they know the owners, that should be a good sign. 

If you're still concerned, get the AA to inspect it for you. They go through second hand cars with a fine tooth comb and will flag up any potential issues.

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Hi Paddy,

Well, with that kind of budget to shop with you're well into the price range for most compact 1.6 diesel hatchbacks, and I'm talking new (or nearly new if you're looking to maximise the bargain). 

So I'd recommend going for one of Volkswagen's new trio of compact cars, the Golf, Octavia or Leon (sadly the Audi A3 is probably out of your price range).  All three are excellent, solidly build and share the same frugal 1.6-litre TDI diesel engine. Of the three, I'd suggest going for the Leon as it gets you the best all round car, but the classiness of the Golf or the practicality of the Octavia are equally strong draws. Can't go wrong with any of them really.

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Hi Denis,

Both are excellent cars, but we'd go for the Octavia. It's more spacious by far and surely that's the whole point of having an estate. Cracking car.

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Hi Niall,

Sort of. They're pretty reliable and rugged but they're also dull and no fun to drive. Fine if all you want is something to abuse and dispose but for interest, look elsewhere.