Expert answer

Hi Alex, and very well spotted.

I had a chance to ask someone from AMG powertrain this last week and it's because the '43' engine isn't built at Affalterbach by AMG to its 'one man, one engine' philosophy. It was developed by AMG, but the production numbers are too high for it to be manufactured in that way.

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Hi Joe,

A hugely underrated car, the S80. Big, comfy and mostly very reliable. As ever with something that started out in life as an expensive model, don’t buy anything without a full service history and check carefully for any electrical gremlins. They’re also sensitive to knocked-about suspension, so check the tyres carefully for any uneven wear and tear. Other than that, reliability is pretty decent. The bigger diesel engines can be expensive to run, but if you go for the 1.6 diesel you’ll have a car that’s really frugal and not all that under-powered.

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Hi Stephen,

You should do - Peugeot has a 'scrappage' scheme (actually just a trade-in booster really) in place against its commercial vehicle range,  but you may have to get the Hyundai patched up enough to drive it there. Most schemes have a requirement that the vehicle be taxed and insured when you trade it in. 

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Hi Ruairi,

Nice idea, but it won't work. Do you really think the good folk at Revenue haven't thought of that particular plan before? The official documents state that not only must the car be insured and taxed, you have to have physically been resident overseas too, in "the place where you usually lived, for at least 185 days in the year ending on the date of transfer, because of occupational and personal ties."

There are a bunch of other restrictions on the transfer of address waiver and you can find them here: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/tax-relief-transfer-residence.html

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Hi Tim,

No, not too bad. A three-year old Double-Cab Limited model will cost you about €23-26,000 to buy, which suggests a trade-in value of about €19-20,000. That indicates depreciation of a little more than 50 per cent in the first three years, which is basically what you’d expect from any car.

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Hi Walter,

Well, the 2009-on Avensis is obviously a more modern design and a bit more fuel efficient and better to drive, but the older model is still a solid bet - hugely reliable and very spacious. 

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Hi Brian,

Well, it's all down to the CO₂ emissions because it's that on which the rate of VRT will be applied. You need to do your homework though as cars that can be quite affordable in the UK can be wildly over-priced in the Irish market leading to you paying more VRT than you really should do.

Ideally, you need to be spending above €30k on a car to make it truly worth your while on importing a car, thanks to the exchange rate. The BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class are all well worth looking at, as well as higher-spec versions of the likes of the Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat and Mazda6. 

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Hi Camillus,

Ok, I think you might be about to have a MASSIVE row with Revenue over this one...

Lexus IS diesels of that age are ridiculously cheap in the UK. Your £4,000 isn't even the cheapest I've seen.

Here at home though, they're massively over-priced. I've seen some advertised at north of €16,000 and that's the sort of figure Revenue is  going to value the car at. With 168g/km of CO₂ that means 27 per cent VRT and a bill therefore of around €4,000 to €5,000. Which is just ridiculous for a car that's cost you, in cash, about the same amount. But unless you can show that the car would be worth significantly less in Ireland than other advertised IS 220ds then you're stuck with it I'm afraid.

Expert answer

Hi Mike,

Yes, yes, yes and oh, yes. Basically, it’s almost exactly like an A4 (same engines, same platform, same buttons, switches and touch-screen), but much more roomy (space for three child car seats abreast on the back seat and a massive 600-litre boot) and a lot cheaper to buy. Perhaps a touch noisier than the Audi, and maybe a little less precise to the steering, but you won’t feel short-changed.

Read our Skoda Superb Combi review here

Expert answer

Hi Karen,

We asked Skoda Ireland about this for you and such a kit does indeed exist. It costs €176 plus VAT from your Skoda dealer and all fitted it should be under €300 + VAT. Contact your local Skoda dealer to confirm the availability and pricing. Full list of Skoda dealers here.