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Hi Stu,

Not necessarily. Mileage is, to be honest, more or less irrelevant. It's all down to the condition of the car and its history. If it comes with a full service book, showing every stamp and receipt, and it's clearly been looked after and cared for then it should be fine. 

Just check to make sure that all the electrics are OK and that the cabin doesn't show obvious signs of abuse. Might be worth getting someone to look at the engine too - that 1.6 diesel has a fragile water pump and is prone to 'sludging up' with deposits of old oil. Worth getting it flushed and have the oil changed.

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Hi Moza,

You won't necessarily get more trouble from an 05 than an 07 - it's all down to the condition and history of the individual car. 

You're right to say that there are no major problems with the C4 - it's actually pretty well made - but check it for any electrical gremlins. The 1.6 diesel is shared with the Ford Focus (and several other cars) so any problems are basically identical - water pump and oil 'sludge' are the common issues. I'd say the Focus has a slight edge in terms of reliability and quality but it's a close run thing. 

If you want a 'better make' and reliability is your primary concern then you need to be buying either Japanese or Korean. Corolla, Civic, Almera etc.

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Hi Eamon,

Not bad, and there are lots and lots to choose from so be very, very fussy and don't lay down any cash on something that's not absolutely immaculate. Also worth noting that the 1.4 is pretty under powered so you're going to suffer in fuel consumption terms. And, indeed, overtaking terms.

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Hi John,

You need to be very careful buying a car without an NCT. For all its flaw the test does go some way to ensure that cars on the road are at least basically roadworthy and a car without an NCT can be hiding all sorts of problems. 

You also need an NCT to be able to tax (and in most cases insure) your car so you need to get it booked in as soon as possible. If you're buying it from a dealer or garage, they really should have the car NCT'd before selling it. If you bought it privately then the previous owner has missed at least one NCT test and either needs to produce an Off The Road certificate or you're into a legally murky area.

Anyway, the short answer for you is to get the car tested and sorted ASAP.

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Hi Rakesh,

That kind of budget should get you into a Mazda3 1.6 D circa 2005, 2006. Buying from a dealer potentially gives you more peace of mind but if you do your homework and get a history check then buying private can be fine too.

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Hi Anya,

There's a lot of variety depending on the engine in your car and the quality you're willing to pay for. Here are all the options for the 1.6 110 HDi diesel C4 Grand Picasso front brake pads on MicksGarage.com - you can choose a different model or rear brakes within the search options easily enough there.

For reference, the front brake pads for that car seem to vary in price from about €16 to about €53.

If you'd like a price from Citroen then best bet is to ring your local dealer (search for them here) with your registration number as they'll need that to make sure they select the correct parts and price.

Best of luck

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Hi Cónal,

Ok, it depends what you need. Do you need to use all seven seats regularly? Get the Verso, as it has at least decent space in the third row. If you just need a couple of vey occasional flip-up seats for short journeys then the Qashqai is nicer to look at and better to drive.

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Hi Steve,

Tread carefully. If it's the second-generation Freelander (the one that's only just been replaced by the new Discovery Sport) then you need to keep a careful eye on the engine, the gearbox and anything electrical for any potential trouble. It's not a terrible car from a reliability point of view, but they do suffer their little niggles. If it's the older model, the one originally launched way back in 1998, then to be honest we'd just avoid it - they were never built properly.

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Hi Frances,

In most cases yes, it's true. Maybe find a good, cheap local mechanic who can bodge something together to keep it running long enough to get it there?

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Hi F D,

The Audi Q2 won't actually be called the Q2, it'll be called the Q1. Why? Because Fiat owns the rights to the Q2 badge and won't let Audi play with its ball. So the Q1 will sit beneath the existing Q3, and will be based on the same MQB chassis system that currently underpins almost everything Volkswagen, from Golf to A3 to Passat to Superb. The next Q3 will get a little bigger too, to make some space for the Q1. Expect the Q1 to skew a little more towards an estate, crossover-y body style, leaving the Q3 to be taller and blockier and more SUV-ish.

We have no official word on engines yet but as it's MQB-based expect 1.4 turbo petrol and 1.6- and 2.0-litre TDI diesel, with an SQ1 sports variant using either a tweaked diesel or 230hp petrol turbo. It'll go on sale in 2016 and we'd expect to see a full production model at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.