Expert answer

Hi Bryan,

Go for the petrol 1.2 TSI. If most of your mileage is short hops then, even with a regular motorway run, you're not going to get the benefit from diesel. And a 1.2, driven with reasonable care, should get close to 50mpg on the motorway anyway. Plus, you'll save a good chunk of money at purchase time, which will easily outweigh any potential diesel fuel savings. 

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Hi Stan,

That's quite specific and we don't offer a car finding service I'm afraid, but we'd highly recommend spending some time refining searches on Carzone.ie.

Best of luck

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Hi Denis,

Best to stick with a Toyota Verso (neé Corolla Verso) or a Volkswagen Touran so - both have space for seven, and big boots if you leave the rear seats folded down. Both should be endlessly reliable too. Honda's FR-V also worth a look if six seats (in two rows of three) would work for you.

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Hi Shane,

We enlisted the expert assistance of Conlan Crotty Murray & Co (Leopardstown, Dublin 18, 01 295 9090, www.conlancrottymurray.com) to answer this one for you. Here's the response:

"Generally speaking, leasing companies will only lease new cars.  On the basis that the individual decides to lease a new car then the rental payments under the lease agreement should be treated as an expense in the accounts of the self-employed individual.  As the lease period is usually three or four years this provides for a significantly accelerated write-off of cost for tax purposes as compared with the purchase of an owned vehicle where the tax write-off under the capital allowance regime is spread over eight years.  However, at the end of the lease period if the vehicle is traded in against a new vehicle the trade in allowance on the first leased car may trigger a claw-back of lease charges previously deducted for tax purposes. 

To the extent that the individual uses the car for private use in addition to business use then an appropriate restriction on the tax deductibility of the leasing charges should be applied. E.g. if the car is used 40 per cent for private use, then 40 per cent of the lease payments should be disallowed as an expense in computing income for tax purposes.  The benefit-in-kind provisions referred to by the reader do not apply to self-employed individuals.  The benefit-in-kind rules would apply to the extent that a leased car is provided by an employer to an employee in computing the employee's payroll tax liability.  There is no private use restriction on the tax deductibility of leasing expenses for a car where the car is supplied to an employee and that employee uses the car for private purposes.

Some of the annual lease rental expense may be clawed back in the computation of income for tax purposes if the car has a retail value at inception of the lease of more than €24,000 and the CO₂ emissions from the car do not exceed 155g/km.  If the car has CO₂ emissions of more than 155g/km, but not exceeding 190g/km, the value of the expense deduction for income tax purposes is restricted by reference to a reduced capital limit of €12,000.  Where the CO₂ emissions on a car exceed 190g/km, no deduction for leasing costs is permitted in calculating the individual's income tax liability for the year.

Therefore, for new leased cars costing no more than €24,000 with CO₂ emissions not exceeding 155g/km the lease payments may be written-off against income tax over the course of the lease period.  

We recommend that professional advice be sought before entering into any lease arrangement."

I hope that clears it all up for you Shane.

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Hi John,

There certainly are and I reckon a good trawl of Gumtree or Daft should turn up what you need.

Expert answer

Hi Sinead,

Needing to fit three car seats but not wanting an MPV is a difficult juggling act. Normally I'd recommend something like a Ford S-Max, which ticks all your boxes and, while its an MPV right enough, it's an uncommonly sleek and good looking one. 

A good non-MPV option is the Opel Insignia Sports Tourer estate. Sleek and lovely to drive, it comes with the required three Isofix mounts and a big boot too for all the kiddy clutter. Easily as classy inside as your old Audi too.

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Hi Hugh,

OK, first off - well done. You obviously have sensitive driving senses. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed. Secondly, BMW's steering has gotten noticeably heavier over the years - basically as a way of adding more "sporty feeling" (inverted commas author's own) to the car as less and less real road feel is transmitted. So it's partially built in to the design of the car.

As for changing the tyres. It might help - changing the tyre, especially if you change the brand of the tyre, can have an effect on steering effort and it's possible that a switch to low rolling resistance tyres may lighten the steering a bit. But it won't make an enormous difference, and I'd seriously advise you not to change from runflats to conventional tyres - the car was designed around runflats and you could be setting yourself up for an evening on a wet hard shoulder, with no spare wheel, if you swap out the runflats.

Expert answer

Hi Enda,

I'd tread carefully here. If you don't like the semi-auto box on the Citroen then just let it go - it's not going to get any better and it'll bug you for the rest of your time with the car. 

As for the Renault, I'm just not confident predicting reliability. Generally, Renaults are now a lot better built than they used to be, but long-term they can still be a bit shaky. Also, the reason it's a high-spec 2010 model for such a small price is because Renaults depreciate faster than snow in summer. 

So, I think you might need to shop around a bit and buy something on the basis of reliability and condition rather than year. Have a look at the likes of a Ford S-Max, Toyota Verso, Volkswagen Touran or, if six seats rather than seven will do the trick, a Honda FR-V. You might need to go back to a 2008 or 2009 model to get one within budget, but buy with a full service history and keep the maintenance up and any of those should give you long and hopefully reliable service.

Last, but not least, Shane, our Editor, is in the same position as you right now and he has homed in on the Mazda5, which has an exceptional reliability record.

Expert answer

Hi Philip,

I'd say about €5,500.

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Hi Mike,

Short answer? No. Most of the main dealers will have their cars advertised on Carzone.ie and beepbeep.ie so those are the main two to keep an eye on. Other than that, it's down to good old fashioned keeping your eyes out for what you want.