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Hi Darren,

Unless the damage is very slight and not at all jagged, then yes, it probably will fail. An extract from the NCT manual as a reason for failure: "Secondary structural components missing, insecure, rustedor damaged to such an extent as to leave sharp edges."

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Hi Dermot,

It's impossible for us to know where the oil leak is coming from, I'm afraid, and that will massively affect the cost of the repair. It could just be from the cover, or a camshaft oil seal, both relatively small jobs, or from a damaged head gasket, which is considerably more work.

If the leak is substantial, you really should bring the car to a good mechanic for an estimate and to help you pinpoint the source.

Best of luck

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Hi Roland,

It’s a simple choice — the Porsche. Not that we don’t love the E46 M3 and its snarling straight-six soundtrack, but the problem will be finding a good one. With prices dropping, a lot have fallen into disreputable hands, and for a car that needs careful and constant maintenance, that’s bad news.

Not that there are no bad Porsches out there, but the 996 is almost (almost) an investment. Prices are starting to nudge upward, so search for the best possible one you can find, don’t buy without a really solid Porsche service history (or one from a reputable independent specialist) and be prepared to spend a reasonable amount keeping it maintained. Do that, and it might just increase in value over the next few years.

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Hi Mark,

We asked Toyota Ireland about this and the explanation appears to be that the leather seats are not set up to be ordered from the factory, though they can be purchased as an aftersales accessory. 

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Hi Ray,

To be honest, it sounds to me as if you should just stick with it. I appreciate that it’s not much fun spending €1,200 a year on motor tax, and that the service interval is a bit short, but if you’re only doing short mileages with the occasional long trip, then you’re just going to be throwing money at trading up to a car you don’t really need.

DPF issues are never far away from a diesel car if you’re only doing low mileage, but the biggest issue is going to be the cost of change. A budget of €200 a month isn’t going to get you very much, to be honest, so I would just do the work your Volvo needs and stick with it.

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Hi Hugh,

It’s only a rough guess, as ever with VRT, but it should be in the region of €3,300.

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Hi Catherine,

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Hi Stephen,

The TMC Costin was, kind of, Ireland’s Caterham. Built by the Thompson Motor Company, (hence TMC) in Wexford (established by brothers Sean and Anthony) it was a small, light, two-seat sports car very much in the mould of the Lotus, later Caterham, 7.

The body was designed for TMC by legendary aerodynamicist Frank Costin (hence the name) and it was usually powered by a 1.6 Ford Crossflow engine (or a Cosworth BDA if you were feeling brave). Celebrity owners included none other than Stephen Roche of Tour De France  (and Calvita cheese!) fame (you're not related, are you?). Around 40 cars were built before the firm went bust in 1987 (although there had been claims of as many as 100 built) and the rights to the chassis design were later sold off to Don Panoz, who later developed the basic chassis into the Panoz roadster.

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Hi Sharon,

If it’s safety and reliability you’re looking for, choose from either the Yaris or the Fabia. They’re the safest bets in the car market in general, and certainly the strongest cars of the ones you’ve suggested. The Yaris, with its insurance-friendly 1.0-litre engine, is probably the best overall. Here are our reviews of each:

Skoda Fabia review

Toyota Yaris review

Hyundai i20 review

Suzuki Swift review

Opel Corsa review

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Hi Karen,