Expert answer

Hi Philip,

You are correct on all of the above. The chances of there being a high enough concentration of hydrogen in the air (when the bonnet is open) to cause an explosion are slim, but it's still good practice to take the potential spark of connecting the negative cable away from the area. 

Incidentally, older batteries and those being charged up are more likely to emit hydrogen, though it's no harm to do the same with the 'donor' car. The key thing here of course is that there's no spark produced when you connect the leads to the first battery. 

Expert answer

Hi Catherine,

As far as I'm aware, they are sprung-loaded, where you push one side of the fuel flap and it springs back out and opens, so maybe there's dirt or something in the mechanism? We can only suggest you try various levels of pressure on the trailing edge of the flap and then release, hoping that it clears. If not, you may have to lever it open, though that could break the mechanism, which would then have to be replaced. If you do go down that route, make sure you protect the main bodywork paint from damage.

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Hi John,

You should have no VRT to pay as you will have owned the vehicles already for for than six months. There will be small re-registration fees, that's all. Have a read of these for more information:

How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Expert answer

Hi Tommy,

I agree completely with you, and I bet there are loads of people that believe that, when the front daytime running lights are on, so are the rears... A few car manufacturers have started making this the case, but it's not the law at this time. 

Expert answer

Hi Aisling,

We can't answer that question definitively as yet, as we don't drive the new Tucson until January (keep an eye on our Hyundai Tucson reviews page for it). 

You can compare the data for the cars yourself on the Hyundai and Toyota websites. There is a wide range of pricing from both brands to cover from about €36,000 to €43,000 so you'll need to delve into the specifications to see if you get more for your money in either of them. They appear well-matched to us, though Hyundai's five-year warranty trumps Toyota's three-year offer. That only matters if you're keeping the car that long of course.

In terms of performance, the Hyundai is a little quicker and should feel it even without extending the engine, as it uses a turbocharged unit, whereas the Toyota's engine has no turbo.

There's very little to separate them in terms of efficiency, though the RAV4 appears to be slightly better on that count, depending on the version.

In contrast, the Hyundai has the more modern cabin and a larger boot. 

In short, there's no clear winner between them. So, we'd recommend you get a test drive in both before you decide, in as close as possible to the final specification you would consider buying.

Please do come back to us and let us know which you decided upon and why, as that will help other readers.

Expert answer

Hi Kevin,

I think that a good thing to do would be to check with your nearest Kia dealer for a final call, but as far as we can see from the current statute book, you only need rear-facing reflectors, not side ones. The law is worded like this:

"S.I. No. 189/1963 - Road Traffic (Lighting of Vehicles) Regulations, 1963. Section 33. (5) Every obligatory rear reflector shall be fitted to the vehicle in a vertical position, facing squarely to the rear so as to be plainly visible from the rear.

Section 33 (6) Every obligatory rear reflector shall be so constructed, fitted and maintained as to be plainly visible at night time in clear weather for a distance of 325 feet when illuminated by the head lamps of a mechanically propelled vehicle directly behind."

That seems to us to say that you don’t need side reflectors, but again — just to be safe — we’d check with a Kia dealer to make certain.

Expert answer

Hi Adaora,

OK, if you bring it in right now, and get it VRT’d before January 1st, then the VRT cost should be in the region of €1,700. After January 1st, that will go up a little as, with CO₂ emissions of 119g/km, and adding the extra calculation that Revenue will now be making to equalise emissions figures taken from the old NEDC test with the new WLTP test (which bring’s the Mazda3’s figures up to 144g/km) then it will be in a 19 per cent VRT  band, rather than a 17 per cent. That would most likely bring the VRT payable (including the NOx levy) to around €1,900, but all of that will of course depend on the individual car, its specification, condition and history.

Read these articles for more information:

How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Expert answer

Hi Jacob,

No, unfortunately it won’t be. The five-year warranty is specific to Toyota UK, and isn’t used in Ireland. Toyota Ireland offers a three-year, 100,000km warranty, so it should be honoured up to that level, but check with your local Toyota dealer to make sure first.

Expert answer

Hi Maurice,

If you can't find the car on Revenue's own website, then you're going to have to work to your own estimate and hope that you're close. You can appeal the value Revenue comes up with at the car's inspection, but you must pay the VRT it deems is applicable first. And bear in mind that the OMSP will go up if the car has lots of extras. Based on what you've said, we'd estimate it to be about €50,000.

As the car is already over six months old and has done more than 6,000km, you won't have any VAT to pay.

I believe the WLTP CO₂ rating for that car should be under 50g/km.

So, going on that €50,000 assumption, if you register it before the end of December, it's in VRT Band A1 at 14 per cent, which is €7,000. A used plug-in hybrid up to two years old gets a €2,250 VRT rebate, so the net VRT cost to you would be in the region of €4,750.

If you wait until 2021, the VRT rebate won't apply, but the VRT rate will come down to seven per cent, which works out as €3,500, which would suggest that, if our assumptions above are correct, you'll save money if you wait. 

Note that I've not included the NOx levy in these calculations, as I can't quickly find what the NOx is for that model. The levy will increase slightly for you if you wait until 2021 registration, but not by a significant amount. You can read more about that in the relevant articles below:

How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Expert answer

Hi Séamus,

A CoC should (emphasis should) be easy to get. You could go back to the person you bought the van from and ask them from which Mercedes UK dealer it was originally purchased. That dealer should still have the original CoC on their files, as they were the original registrar of the vehicle when it arrived in the UK from the factory.

Alternatively, we’ve contacted Mercedes-Benz Irish importer, Motor Distributors Limited, and it says that it can get a duplicate of the CoC from Stuttgart, but that process costs €100 and would take 2-3 weeks.