Thoughts on diesel Ford Focus?
Hi,
I was considering buying a 151 Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 TDCi with 15,000 miles on the clock. Its sale price is €12,450. What do you think of the price? Is the engine reliable?
Many thanks
Nathan Murphy (Delgany Co Wicklow)Oct 2019 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hi Nathan,
Generally the Ford 1.6-litre diesel (also used by Mazda, Peugeot, Citroen, Volvo and MINI down the years) is a rugged and reliable unit, but there are a few things to bear in mind. First off, this is an engine that needs a regular diet of high-grade synthetic engine oil, otherwise a nasty sludge can build up in various parts of the engine, choking performance. Make sure you check the service history to ensure that a good quality oil has always been used. The stop-start system can occasionally cause starter motor issues, especially if the car has mostly been driven in town. If it has been mostly driven in town, or has very low mileage, be wary of potential issues with the diesel particulate filter, too.
Why does motor tax vary so much on a car?
Why would two exact same make, model and engined cars be different tax rates? Both 2010 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, 1.6 diesel HDi?
Brian Ambrose (Castlemahon)Oct 2019 Filed under: taxation
Expert answer
Hi Brian,
Different versions of the same car can have different equipment levels, which can affect the weight of the vehicle and therefore its emissions. Equally, different model years can have different engine specifications (even if the basic bones of the engine are the same), which can affect the CO2 rating. Or, of course, one could have a manual gearbox and one an automatic, which can have a major effect on the CO2 levels.
Most economical 1.4-litre cars?
What is the most economical 1.4 petrol or diesel car in Ireland, max 2015?
Ed Burke (Cork)Expert answer
Hi Ed,
That is an answer that will vary massively depending on which model of car you’re talking about. There are some Hyundai i30s and Kia Ceeds from around that era that came with a 1.4 diesel engine that would be hugely economical. You might be able to track down some Peugeot or Citroen models (a 2008 would be a good choice) with a 1.4 HDi diesel engine that’s good on juice, too. There’s also the Toyota Corolla or Auris D-4D, or if you don’t fancy diesel, the same cars with the 1.33-litre VVTi petrol engine, which was not too thirsty.
What's up with my Citroen's start-stop?
My Citroen C4 doesn’t start-stop when sitting still at the lights. The dash lamp goes green on the dash, but that’s it; what can I do?
Cathy Fay (Monaghan )Jul 2019 Filed under: fault
Expert answer
Hi Cathy,
Many cars develop similar problems, usually because of battery condition or load. Our feature on the subject, Why won't my car's stop-start system work? may help you further.
Dacia Duster, Suzuki Vitara or Citroen C3?
I currently have a 162 D Dacia Duster that I want to trade up. Problem is, I don't know what to go for. I was looking at the Suzuki Vitara and also the upgraded Duster and the Citroen C3 crossover, but I don't have a lot of financial power to play around with except the car I have as a bargaining tool. Any suggestions?
Christine Lynch (Dublin)Jan 2019 Filed under: choosing new car
Expert answer
Hi Christine,
Well, the new Duster is a pretty good piece of kit and, if you like your current car, then it could be the best bet all round. A Dacia dealer is likely to give you a better trade-in for your current car than would a rival brand, which will help with the finances. The updated Vitara is a very decent car, but it’s noticeably more expensive than the Duster, and that goes ditto for the C3 Aircross.
Can I get a refund on my NCT?
Hi!
My car has one year on its NCT, but is not damaged and will be scrapped. Can I transfer the NCT or get money back? It's a 2003 Citroen Xsara 1.4.
Thanks a lot in a advance!
Regards, Sasa
Sasa Kadragic (Clonsilla)Jan 2019 Filed under: NCT
Expert answer
Hi Sasa,
I'm afraid it is not possible to transfer your NCT to another car and there is no mechanism for obtaining a refund when a car with an NCT it taken off the road.
How much to tax a Citroen van privately?
How much would it cost to tax my 2012 1.6 Citroen Berlingo van privately?
John Butler (Kilkenny)Dec 2018 Filed under: taxation
Expert answer
Hi John,
It’s a bizarre situation, but when you tax a commercial vehicle as a private car, you revert to the old, pre-2008 by-engine-capacity taxation system. No-one can give us a good reason as to why this is, but it’s the system that’s in place. It’ll cost you €514 a year to tax a 1.6-litre engine.
Need to change units in my Citroen C3.
How do I change from miles to km on my 2009 Citroen C3 Picasso?
Patricia Burton-legge (Llanybydder)Aug 2018 Filed under: mileage
Expert answer
Hi Patricia,
If you access the menu for the central digital display (you should be able to get to this by using the button on the end of the windscreen wiper stalk), there should be an option to Change Units, which should allow you to switch between miles and kilometres. If you get stuck, have a look at the owner's handbook. That’s always a help.
What to do with my converted UK campervan?
Hello,
I have a 2005 Citroen Relay 2.2-litre van I converted to a campervan in the UK. I am looking into registering it here, as I have moved back permanently. I went through the UK DVLA and converted it officially, but they did not change the vehicle category. It is N1. I checked this with them when I got the log book back and they said it remains as is, a commerical vehicle.
Here I understand I need to go through the whole palaver again and get an engineer to sign off the conversion, so it is MI, passenger vehicle. If I am looking at this thing correctly, I would be paying €900+ tax? Onto insurance, any idea what I would be paying on this size vehicle? I have two years' no claims driving it in the UK. Do they accept UK no claims here? It's hard to find the information online as you need to enter your reg and as it doesn't have an Irish reg yet, I have met some dead ends. The van is not worth much and it looks like it will cost me a whole lot more to run it here than in the UK. I am trying to get an idea before I start spending money, if it's a good idea to keep it, leave it on the drive or see if I can take it back or sell it to a UK driver. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
E O'Mahony O'Mahony (Cork City)Jul 2018 Filed under: commercial vehicle
Expert answer
Hi there,
Why do Irish car buyers not get discounts?
Hi,
I wonder if you could explain something I don't really understand about the Irish car buying market, even though I have a big interest in cars and the industry. Why is it that Irish car buyers hardly ever seem to get the sort of discounts that buyers in Britain do? I'm not just referring to the fact that overall new and used prices are cheaper there.
I wanted to buy a new or nearly new Peugeot 508 here recently and thought I would get a reasonable discount, which I pushed for, as that model does not sell as well as many of it's rivals and I thought the Peugeot dealer would be delighted to sell a saloon seeing as the market for them is declining so much and so many people now want SUVs instead. Alas, I could not get any sort of decent discount for a new or nearly new 508. It is well known that in Britain the buyer often gets a sizeable discount for car types or models that lag behind many rivals in sales, or for certain brands such as Vauxhall/Opel and Citroen. From what I observe and hear, you don't get decent discounts either for certain makes and models here in Ireland.
Higher VRT and other taxes here, don't explain these differences alone. I thought with Brexit and the vast increase in used and nearly new imports that Irish dealers would be more price competitive, but I'm surprised also that the prices of good fresh second hand cars here haven't come down more in this backdrop. For some good reasons, I'd prefer to buy here than from abroad, but it just seems that Irish car buyers can't catch the breaks that UK buyers get at all! Do you agree with me or can you kindly explain these differences in both markets?
Thanks, JC
JC Holohan (Waterford)Jun 2018 Filed under: used car values
Expert answer
Hi JC,
The big issue, really, is the size of the market. In the UK, vast dealer groups, with multiple outlets, are the norm and, obviously, these groups can be more cost-efficient and can potentially offer bigger discounts. Although there are dealer groups in Ireland, the norm is still very much the individual family-run business. That’s equally true on the import side of things — although there are now importers here that are tied directly to the car maker itself, many are still private, individual, locally-owned companies and those struggle to match the sort of discounting that is more common in the UK market. Plus, the fact that we buy in and around 100,000 to 130,000 cars a year here means that there’s less volume to spread discounts across. The UK market shifts two million cars a year — a considerable difference. VRT and VAT costs also play into it, as the wholesale price is often kept artificially lower to try and keep the added tax price down as much as possible.