Expert answer

Hi Siobhan

Really it boils down to price. The chances are you will have to pay around €10,000 for a low mileage petrol model and perhaps €1,000 more for the diesel. Since your mileage is low  you won't save a lot more immediately, but perhaps in 2-3 years time when you trade in again you might be in better luck with a diesel car. To be honest, I would say buy whichever one has the lowest mileage from a main dealer, regardless of which fuel it uses. 

Expert answer

Hello David, 

In short - no. Anyone importing pays the same rate of VRT. 

Revenue has a full guide explaining VRT here. 

Expert answer

Hi Linda,

I can totally understand your concerns. Anyway, to start, here are all the EuroNCAP reports on the cars you were looking at so you can have a good look at them.

Ford S Max / VW Touran / Citroen C4 Picasso 

The placement of ISOFIX seats often dictates where child seats should go and in a lot of MPVs there is still only two and these are usually in the outer two seats of the second row. We answered a question on this recently. 

This article by JD Power and Associates is good. As regards the rear row, the information is a little unclear on whether there is a greater danger to be in the rear seats in a rear impact, but it is something that we will investigate further. The strength of the modern MPV at the rear is pretty impressive though and as long as the child is front facing they are well protected. 

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Hello Niall,

Service intervals are fixed at 10,000 miles or 12 months. On top of this, the air conditioning needs recharging each year, fresh brake fluid is required every two years and coolant should be renewed every three years. Replace the cambelt every four years or 80,000 miles on diesels.

Hope that helps.

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Hi Richard,

We talked to Brian Coogan, Peugeot Ireland's National Technical Advisor, about this. He told us: "In colder countries they do add kerosene - they sells it at pumps (a five percent mix) during winter months as it has a lower freezing point than diesel. But, we advise that it could cause starting problems. The lubrication is not the same as diesel and therefore the injectors don't get enough lubrication to work efficiently. Even a small amount can cause problems."

I hope this answers your query, but come back to us if you'd like more information.

Expert answer

Hi Brian,

The previous generation Renault Laguna had an awful reliabilty record, but this has certainly changed with the latest model. It actually ranked first in its class in the German JD Power reliability survey. 

There was a recall over a defective seatbelt, but this isn't mechanical and by and large the latest model has been pretty solid. 

That is about all the evidence we have so far on the car and up until now anyway the 2007 Laguna has been fine. 

I hope this helps! 

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Hi Pat,

For a start, looking at the prices of 1998 Avensis models, you would most likely be better off going with the scrappage scheme. You can get €3,360 off the price of a new Corolla, which is much more than you could hope to get for either selling your 1998 Avensis privately or trading it in against an older second-hand model. The cheapest new Corolla you can get is from €17,775 with scrappage.

If you decided on a 2007 or 2008 model then you might get €2,000 for your 1998 Avensis. The 2008 Corolla diesel would cost you €14,750 and a 2007 model would cost you €11,995 or perhaps €9,995 with your Avensis. Obviously these are our estimates on values. 

The choice depends on your budget, but if you want to keep your overall costs down then I think the 2008 model would probably be your best bet because you would avail of the new tax system and you could perhaps sell a 2008 model on again easier. If you have access to the money though, you might just want a brand new car! 

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Hi Emma,

I know this might seem like an obvious answer, but I would have thought that a main VW dealer would be your best bet. There are a number of 2005/2006 models on sale at the moment with varying prices, although obviously it doesn't need to be a main Volkswagen dealer as most outlets should be happy to take your Golf as a trade-in. 

Here is a Touareg 3.0-litre TDI with a V6 engine with 60,000 miles on the clock listed at €17,900. Depending on the condition of your GTI you might get offered between €4,000 - €5,000 for the car so you would need a balance of around €13,000 - €14,000 by our best guess. Bear in mind that the road tax on the Touareg would be over €1,300 per year. 

I hope this helps! 

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Hi Donal,

I'm afraid we've not even seen how the new Honda Civic will look, never mind how it drives. Personally, I'd prefer the current Civic to the Astra so you'd hope that the next one will be even better.

I guess the decision is more about your timing at this stage, as we don't know enough about the next Civic.

Sorry not to be of more assistance!

Expert answer

Hi Chloe,

The fact that you really seem to like your car would signify that perhaps you should simply change to the 1.7-litre diesel SXi version of your car and save yourself a few quid in the process. You will probably get around €11,000 - €11,500 for your car at current market prices, but that should leave you well placed to replace it with a diesel model without too much trouble.

There weren't too many SXI models in Ireland with diesel engines but there do appear to be a few Vauxhalls imported with this spec that might work for you unless you had any particular objections to driving a Vauxhall over an Opel. 

You could have a diesel version for in and around the same money so perhaps you could even get into a slightly newer model if you were prepared to invest a few more quid, but since money saving seems to be the aim here then maybe just swap into a diesel. 

Aside from that you could perhaps look at getting a Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion, which is incredibly fuel efficient. This would make a great buy for you really and something like this would be very cheap to run. 

I hope this helps,