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Hi Jimmy,

It’s an odd one — when you tax a commercial vehicle as a private car, it reverts from the CO₂-based tax system back to the old engine-capacity system, so it will depend on the engine that’s in the van. Just as a guide, 1.6 tax is €514 a year, 2.0-litre is €710 and 2.5-litre tax is €1,080.

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Hi Neil,

We’ve checked with Mitsubishi, and there are some offers available for 191 registrations for the Eclipse Cross. "Our main offer for the Eclipse Cross for '191' is 1.9 per cent APR on HP finance” said a Mitsubishi spokesperson. “The entry level Invite model is available from €27,900 so with this offer the monthly payment is just €352.62 over 49 months, with a deposit or trade-in of €11,160.”

If you want to get a nearly-new 181 version, then there’s no specific time of the year to buy that’s better. Used car demand doesn’t fluctuate as much as new car demand, and while there will (probably) be some extra trade-ins rolling onto forecourts in January, the numbers won’t be big enough to make a huge difference. If you want to drive the best bargain, just make sure you buy in the last week of the month, or better yet, the last week of the last month of a quarter — that’s when dealers and sales staff are trying to hit their targets, so are more likely to strike a deal.

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Hi Rob,

This is Revenue, so you get charged for the full period, not just the lateness. That said, you can claim a rebate of any late VRT fees paid, if you can offer any evidence of reasonable reasons why the VRT was not paid for in time. 

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Hi Philip,

I spoke to someone from Kia about this, as it's news to me, too, but apparently, since last year, all suppliers of new tyres must charge this per-tyre recycling fee. That applies to the car dealers as much as it does the tyre depots. This fee is collected by the dealers, sent to the distributors and then paid to Repak. There's zero profit in it and no choice in the matter.

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Hi Gustavo,

Well, reliability and running costs are not necessarily the same thing. The ultimate in reliability is probably a Toyota Land Cruiser, but that’s hardly cheap to run or to tax… I think there’s a couple of good options here, though. Sticking with Toyota, the Auris is a solid bet, and even more so if you go for the Hybrid model, which will help keep your tax and fuel costs down. Get the Tourer estate model if you need maximum family space.

The Honda Civic is also a very good bet, and the 1.6 iDTEC diesel is probably the best model to go for to keep fuel and tax bills down. Again, if you want maximum space for the kids and their things, track down the (rather handsome) estate version.

Skoda’s Octavia is solidly reliable too (again, the Combi estate is the one to go for) and you can choose from 1.6 TDI diesel, or an excellent 1.2 TSI petrol turbo, both of which are frugal and tax-efficient. Just check its history to see if it’s been used as a taxi — many have been.

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Hi Declan,

With that high mileage, I'd suggest that you're still better off sticking with diesel, as you'll get far better fuel economy and, as you'll be changing your car frequently, the mileage is going to have a bigger effect on resale values that what powers it. That balance might change in a few years time, but today, in 2018, diesel definitely makes most sense for you. The 520d is an excellent car. As is the 530e, I might add, but the diesel still has the edge for long-distance driving, as you need to plug the 530e in regularly to get the best economy from it.

Read our BMW 5 Series reviews here

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Hi Tracy,

I'm afraid without knowing exactly which car you have, this is impossible to diagnose. You should bring the car to a good mechanic or auto-electrician.

There are many reasons for a stop-start system to not always work. Read this question and answer on that subject for instance.

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Hi Dave,

Timing chains are supposed to be maintenance-free items, so there should be nothing to do. Just make sure you change your car's oil regularly.

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Hi Patricia,

If you access the menu for the central digital display (you should be able to get to this by using the button on the end of the windscreen wiper stalk), there should be an option to Change Units, which should allow you to switch between miles and kilometres. If you get stuck, have a look at the owner's handbook. That’s always a help.

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Hi Michael,

Renault currently doesn’t have a scrappage offer available, but other brands — including Hyundai, Skoda, Peugeot, Opel and more — do and,  depending on which vehicle you’re looking at buying, you can get as much as €4,500 off.