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Hi there,

I'm afraid to say it's very, very unlikely to be anything wrong with the NCT's equipment - Renaults of that era were not, ahem, the most robustly built vehicles and suspension issues with them were more or less endemic. 

That said, if you've replaced the shocks already and the problem has reoccurred then there may be another issue. Perhaps the mounting points are at fault and are allowing too much energy up into the shock, causing it to wear prematurely? I think a thorough diagnostic visit to your nearest Renault dealer might be in order.

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Hi Shane,

Go for the Verso. It's a lovely car anyway, really practical and well built, and your regular motorway hops will keep the DPF clear. The Prius+ is one of the most frustrating cars I've ever driven - tight on space in the third row and horrendously thirsty when you take it out of town. Motorway journeys in it are hell...

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Hi Ann,

It's not always possible to know exactly based on what you've just told me, I'm afraid, so you should check with Revenue. The value of the car it works with is not what you paid for it, but what it determines to be the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) - and it will take into account optional extras fitted to the vehicle.

Nonetheless, assuming that the OMSP is £8,500, that equates to about €12,000 at today's exchange rates (13 March, 2015). A CO₂ figure of 154g/km puts it in Band C, which is 20 per cent VRT, or €2,400.

Further reading:

Our guide to importing cars from the UK

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Hi Zara,

You'll have to bring the car to a mechanic I'm afraid. It could be a problem with the sender unit, which is usually mounted in the gearbox, the cable between that and the speedometer or with the receiver on the speedo itself. Impossible to know remotely.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi John,

Yeah, that's not bad actually. The 206 has long been popular as a starter car or for those looking for something small and cheap to run. Just have a good check that anything electrical is working properly and make sure that the cabin is all holding together - its fragile in there. Also make sure that the central locking and heating systems are working properly. 

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Hi Mary,

Hmmm. Tough choice. Please note that the following is based purely on personal taste and other opinions are available. They're wrong, but they're available...

1. Honda CR-V: Not the glamorous choice but it's massively spacious, comfy, well made and frugal. Might be worth waiting for the new 150hp 1.6 diesel which arrives later this year - alongside a facelift.

2. Audi Q5: Super-slick, nice to drive and has a cracking 2.0 TDI diesel engine. 

3. Mitsubishi Outlander: Referring specifically to the PHEV plugin hybrid, it's the most cost-effective and practical way of going (partially) electric and it's hugely clever. 

4. Hyundai Santa Fe: Stylish, spacious and affordable plus it has a five-year warranty. Hard to beat, really. 

5. BMW X3: It's a sight better looking than the original X3 but it's still quite stiff-riding and it's not as nice to drive as the Q5.

6. Subaru Forester: Not pretty and it has a terrible cabin (all cheap plastics and ancient-looking displays) but it's probably the most ruggedly reliable car here and has genuine off-road ability. 

Further reading:

Road test of the Honda CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC

First Irish drive of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Road test of the Hyundai Santa Fe

Road test of the Subaru Forester

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Hi Fergal,

Ford did have a patent on this technology, or more accurately, on a particular application of it and of course the brand name, Quickclear. The Ford patent dates from as far back as 1977, but it expired in 2011, as far as we can ascertain. Mind you, element heated windscreens are nothing new. The practice started in aviation in the 1950s and in the 60s Bentley even offered one as an option on Continental models - its heating elements were pure gold of course, the best conductor of heat.

 Nowadays, a number of car makers do in fact offer heated windscreens as an option. Companies formerly owned by Ford, such as Jaguar and Land Rover, are top of the list because they gained a licence to use Ford's own tech, but other car makers also have their own systems - Volkswagen offers it on a number of different models for instance.

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Hi Evan,

We haven't heard of any major issues but with a 12-year old car you can never be too careful. What does break on Fiestas of this age, petrol or diesel, is the water pump so listen for creaks and groans from the engine at tickover and make sure the engine doesn't overheat at idle with the car's heating turned off.

Check for damp carpets (the cause is usually leaky pollen filters) and make sure the steering is light, accurate and direct - slack or poor response is the sign of a rack on the way out.

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Hi F D,

There are some small differences. The three-door A3 sits on 2,601mm wheelbase, while the A3 Sportback (the five-door hatch) has a 2,636mm wheelbase so there's a bit more room in the back. The A3 Saloon has a wheelbase that's fractionally longer again, at 2,637mm, but that's a negligible difference, so really, it has the same rear seat space as the Sportback. There's a significant difference in boot space though. Both hatchback versions come with a 380-litre boot, or a 340-litre one if you opt for quattro four-wheel drive (the rear diff has to go somewhere, after all). The saloon has a much bigger boot though, at 425 litres for the front-drive version or 390 litres for the quattro version.

Read our Irish road test of the Audi A3 Saloon here

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Hi John,

You can't claim it back. The Revenue rules are that if a vehicle is less than six months old or has less than 6,000km on the clock, you must pay the VAT on importing it here, regardless of whether or not the VAT has been paid in the UK. The only way you could claim the VAT back from the UK HMRC would be to be VAT-registered in the UK.