Expert answer

Hi Martin,

There's little else worse than getting unexpectedly bad car repair news, and we all know how it feels. Now, as you point out, you have, essentially, two options here. One is to trade in the car without the work done and get something new. Now, that's a very tempting option and one that would at least put you back under a warranty and give you reasonably predictable monthly repayments etc, all of which is good news.

The thing is though that your Mondeo is only six years old and to my mind there should be an awful lot more left in it. I would be tempted, especially as you've also just upgraded your wife's car, to take the €3k on the chin and keep yours going for a while yet. You're at a point in its life where the value isn't going to sink all that much more anyway, so keeping it an extra year or 18 months isn't going to have an enormous impact - with the age and mileage already on it, it's going to be at the lower end of the value scale anyway.

One thing worth considering: rust doesn't happen overnight. If, as you say, this car has always been serviced to schedule with the same dealer, ask them why the problem wasn't flagged up sooner. You may be able to use that as a bit of a stick to beat the price down a touch.

Let us know how you get on

Expert answer

Hi Philip,

It varies from station to station and supplier to supplier, but the standard for all Irish fuel is E5, which allows for (but doesn't specify) a five per cent mix of bio-derived ethanol in petrol. Ask at your local station to be certain though.

Expert answer

Hi Denis,

Prices for 2012 Corollas seem to run from around €13k up to as much as €16k so I'd say a €14,500 ballpark would be about right, although obviously you're going to get offered less than that as a trade-in.

Expert answer

Hi Jon,

I'm afraid this sort of thing is nigh on impossible to diagnose from afar as there are so many factors at work. Here are a few things to look at, but really, you need a mechanic to take a look:

- Hook it up to a diagnostic machine and get any error codes - that could save time

- Perhaps the glo plugs aren't working - they'd be needed in this cold weather (if it's diesel)

- Maybe the fuel tank pump isn't working. Turn the ignition on and you should hear a buzz from under the rear seats

- Is there sufficient fuel in the tank?

Best of luck with it - let us know how you get on

Expert answer

Hi Ruairi,

I hate to say it, but selling it as it is might not garner you very much. The second hand market is about reliability, reliability, reliability so any car that's already got a troubled history is going to be hard to shift. 

You might actually make more money breaking the car for parts, given the high cost of new parts to BMWs. 

As for the Hyundai, it's a fine car but you might find it a bit impractical after the BMW. Would you consider a nicely-specified Golf instead?

Expert answer

Hi Kevin,

Not a lot is the unfortunate answer I'm afraid... A Hyundai Coupé of that age retails for between €2,500 and €3,500, and you can generally knock €1,000 to €1,500 off to find the trade-in value. On top of which, Dacia dealers are already operating on super-slim margins so as to keep the price of the cars down, so there's even less wiggle room for a decent trade-in than there might be with other dealers. Sorry about that...

Expert answer

Hi Gavin,

I'd have to say nope. It's not very big inside and it has needlessly heavy steering that makes manoeuvring in town a chore. 

Do you really need an SUV? Why not consider a nice estate? BMW's own 3 Series Touring is a belter. Or, for your budget, you could probably stretch to an Audi A6 Avant. Track down one with quattro four-wheel drive and leave all the front-drive SUVs standing when it snows. 

Or, if you're determined on the SUV front, consider one of the following: Honda CR-V, Volvo XC60, Hyundai Santa Fe or Mazda CX-5.

What do you think?

Expert answer

Hi Ken,

It's difficult to know from afar, but there are several things that will affect this - assuming you're seeing a reduction in your car's economy:

1 - Tyre pressures need to be within specification

2 - Wheel alignment must be correct

3 - Perhaps the air filter and/or fuel filter is dirty and needs replacement

4 - Are you carrying extra weight in the boot?

5 - Is the rear window demister on permanently? 

Go through all of those things, starting with those that cost nothing to check and you should find savings. If not, then get the engine are car serviced and that might help. Perhaps a brake is binding.

Let us know how you get on

Expert answer

Hi Francis,

We've been in touch with Hyundai Ireland about this and it was suggested that the best place to go to find an appropriate roof rack is Thule (www.thule.com). Hyundai itself doesn't have any roof rack kits for the Montana currently in stock.

Hope that helps a little.

Expert answer

Hi Joe,

I presume you're asking this from a classic car point of view? The bad news is that pretty much all petrol sold in Ireland conforms to E5, or in other words has been blended with a five per cent mix of bio-source ethanol - alcohol derived from plants. The good news is that there's no evidence that running an older engine on E5 has any unpleasant effects. If the car has already been updated to accept unleaded petrol then you should be fine. The only issues arise when the car is left standing for a long time with the fuel sitting in the tank. Then the ethanol and petrol can separate, which can cause corrosion in the tank and/or fuel lines.