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Hi Martin,

A really impressive car, although it is looking a touch expensive compared to the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe or Ford Kuga now. It's good to drive, with surprisingly sharp steering and lots of space in the back, plus the promise of rugged Toyota reliability. The Hybrid version is perhaps not as satisfying as the diesel (and is even more expensive again), but is perhaps worth considering if you live and do most of your driving in town. Rivals worth considering are the aforementioned Ford and Hyundai, and also Honda, both HR-V and CR-V, and the Mazda CX-5.

I've added links to our reviews of all these cars above so hopefully that's of help.

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Hi John,

Sorry, but you'll have to change the plates - if you're bringing a car into the UK you only have to inform HMRC of the car's arrival within 14 days and then begin the re-registering process. The maximum time you could use the car on Irish plates for would be six months. The good news is that the process is relatively painless - you will have to get an MOT test done as the NCT won't be recognised, but other than that it's just some forms to fill out. If it's an older car you won't be liable for any VAT or duty so it'll only cost a little. You can find more details here - https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/overview

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Hi William,

Clearly your car is still under warranty so if you think the vibration is "severe" then you should get it back to the dealer for a look. They'll soon sort it out if it is indeed a problem such as a fauly engine mounting.

We've not had any other queries of the same nature on the Qashqai and we've always found the 1.5 dCi engine relatively smooth.

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Hi Declan,

That's an impossible question for us to answer I'm afraid - it's all down to the leasing company and what it says. You might have more luck with the likes of Volkswage, SEAT or Renault as they use their own in house banks who are more likely to say yes than a high-street financial institution, but if you've got bad credit then that's something you're going to have to work on. 

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Hi Billy,

The Fiesta EcoBoost is a really sweet little car, lots of fun to drive, roomy and very frugal. It's a little difficult to know how reliable it will ultimately be in the long-term as the engine itself is a relatively new design and hasn't been around long enough for us to be able to tell exactly how robust it is. That said, Ford's quality record has been good of late, so I'd say it's a reasonably safe bet.

As for which model, it just depends on what your priorities are. A Titanium will have more standard equipment, but it may well be that there's a lot of extras that you simply won't need nor use, so you're probably better off going for the better value of the Zetec.

Other cars that are worth considering would be a Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Skoda Fabia. Hope that helps.

Relevant reviews:

Ford Fiesta review

Toyota Yaris review

Mazda2 review

Skoda Fabia review

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Hi Thomas,

Well, for a start, you're not going to be able to insure any of the three as classics, as none has passed the 30-year mark yet. If your intention is to use them for 'classic-style' driving (only bringing them out for events or days out etc.) then you might be able to get a limited mileage policy that will reduce your costs a bit.

The next problem is that Irish insurers are conducting something of a war against cars of that sort of age – they reckon that older cars are at higher risk of claims so the premiums are being loaded out of all proportion. Most of the major insurers will do a multi-car policy, but with their ages I think you might struggle to find an affordable quote.

As for value, if they're all in exceptional condition then I'd say the Mercedes and BMW could be worth as much as €5-7,000 each (they really would have to be exceptional though) and the Peugeot van probably about €3,000 (again – if in exceptional condition).

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Hi Kamal,

Right, first off, have you exhausted all options when it comes to getting the mechanic or garage in question to deal with the issue? Have you complained, in copied writing, to them? Have they replied?

If they've tried to fob you off, then you need to remind them that all work carried out is covered by the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980, which states that all work carried out must be of merchantable quality – in other words, that the work should have fixed whatever problem you had, and if not then a refund or another repair should have been offered.

If all that's been done and you've still got nowhere, then you have two options. If the mechanic in question is registered with the Society of the Irish Motor Indsutry (SIMI) then you can complain to that body. Its contact details and complaints procedure are here: http://www.simi.ie/Consumer+Information/Consumer+Services/Contact+Complaints+Service.html

If the mechanic is not SIMI-registered, or if you get no satisfaction from that process, then you're best off going to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, who can be contacted here: http://www.consumerhelp.ie/

Best of luck - and let us know how you get on

Expert answer

Hi Maike,

The process of importing a car into the UK is a lot easier and cheaper than it is in Ireland. If the car is quite old you probably won't have to pay any import fees on it in fact, you'll just have to get it MOT'ed and pay a small fee for the new registration.

But, buying the car in Ireland will represent much worse value than buying in the UK. Not only will you find fewer cars to choose from (the Freelander was always a much bigger seller in the UK than in Ireland),  but the Irish cars will probably be more expensive. I think you would be better off transferring your money to Sterling (using a low-cost service such as Transferwise) and shopping in the UK.

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Hi William,

Unfortunately not - all cars registered before Jan 1st 2008 are on the old engine capacity system so with a 3.5-litre engine you'll have to pay €1,808 a year in motor tax. 

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Hi Patrick,

There’s no such thing as a total exemption from motor tax, but when a car is 30 years old or older, it becomes eligible for (the slightly erroneously named) Vintage Tax, which is a flat rate of €56 a year.