Expert answer

Hi Eoin,

I'm glad you like the site. Firstly, let me congratulate you on choosing a nice car. I had a Golf Edition R recently and it was a really lovely car. The spec is really good on that car and you seem to have chosen a nice few options on the car. 

There are a couple of things that you mention there and it is tricky to answer them. Volkswagen are unlikely to announce anything from their dealer conference until after their dealer conference. I'm not sure where you get your intelligence but we can certainly investigate. In terms of your deal, the usual advice applies - you need to focus on the cost to change and not how much your own car is worth, which you appear to be doing and given that you aren't changing your car until January it can be difficult for the car dealers to price your trade-in. My advice to you would be to put down your deposit, arrange your deal and make sure that your terms are agreed. If there is any change which would favour you then you can renegotiate, but at least if it turns out to be as you suspect, then at least you will have secured the best possible rate. 

The other bit of advice I would give, is if your trade-in came from say, a Peugeot dealer, then go back to the Peugeot dealer and offer him the deal. Most dealers can buy in the car you want and they might offer you a better deal on your trade-in. That would be worth a try. 

I hope this helps. Feel free to come back to us if you need more help, we are always here!!

Expert answer

Hi Teresa,

As with any car exchange - you need to look at the cost to change, not the value of your trade in. At the moment there are lots of Ford Fiesta and Focus models on the used market so the values of them aren't great. The dealers are also pricing your cars as to what they will be worth in February 2012 when the cars arrive. 

You said you are going to shop around and that is exactly what you should do. We could tell you that your cars are worth more, but unless a dealer is offering you this then it is not much use. 

You need to shop around!

Expert answer

Hi Sean,

Out of the three cars here, by far the best value under scrappage is the Hyundai i30. You could have a petrol model for as little as €13,995. The diesel is €15,495, which is quite a bit more. If your annual mileage is small then you should perhaps save some money and buy the petrol model. I know everyone buys diesel cars these days but the petrol alternative will only cost you €52 more than the diesel each year to tax and if your mileage is low then you wouldn't see much of a saving on fuel in the diesel car anyway.

The Peugeot 308 is comfortable and good on fuel.

If you are planning on changing the new car quite soon, then the Focus will be worth the most money as a trade-in, but I think the Hyundai would be the best buy in this case for you.

I hope this helps.

Expert answer

Hi Ally,

That really isn't an easy choice, but what we would say from the start is that you have chosen well. These are three fantastic cars and to be honest, any of them will tick the most basic of boxes for you in that they will be reliable, will be comfortable and look good and offer decent value for money. Mazda offer by far the best value when it comes to the scrappage scheme, so if you are watching your budget then this might be the way to go. You can check out the full details of the Mazda3 scrappage offers here. But the most you will pay is €19,495 for a fully specced Mazda3 under scrappage and that is superb value. 

Mazda3

Ford Focus (left) & Volkswagen Golf (right)

The two cars you see above are the new Ford Focus (left) and the Volkswagen Golf (right) and choosing between these two would be a bit like asking a parent to choose one of their kids. They both have their individual traits and as such it is hard to pick between them. The new Focus is very good, but I have the hatchback this week and had the saloon last week and actually preferred the saloon. The hatchback has poor visibility out the rear and you do have to pay a lot to get some of the fancy extras that are advertised. Having said that, you will get things like alloy wheels and air conditioning in the models you have chosen. The Golf is superb. We are running a long-term Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion and the fuel economy is great. I prefer the seating position in the Golf. I find that I can get more comfortable in the Golf and the fuel economy is outstanding. It isn't as exciting as the Ford inside, but you know that it will hold its value really well.

Really Ally, all of these cars will suit your needs perfectly. If I was tight on bugdet I would probably buy the Mazda3. If you are very concerned about residual value you have to buy the Golf, while the Focus is the newest car and probably feels the most upmarket.

My favourite of these would be the Golf, but whichever one you pick you will have done well. Again I would say that you need to move pretty fast, because if you want a specific new car it can take a few weeks and there aren't many weeks left in the scrappage scheme.

Expert answer

Hi Denis,

Yes it most certainly is. The i30 is a vastly underrated car and having tested it on a number of occasions we would conclude that it is more than a match to more established rivals such as the Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf. We really like the build quality and the high levels of standard equipment included.

If you'd like to know more, please get back in touch.

Expert answer

Hi Andres,

In terms of the amount of metal that you get for your money then it is really hard to look beyond the Peugeot 5008 because it is a massive car and really nice to put together. It is much bigger than the two other models that you mentioned. However the Grand C-Max is simply the best to drive in its class and if you don't need your MPV to be massive then this could be the way to go. The Verso is good too, but doesn't really have the class of either the Ford or the Peugeot. Twins can take lots of stuff with them I imagine, so you might want the bigger vehicle, but for me right now, I'd pick the C-Max. 

Expert answer

Hi Caroline,

Paddy here. Given your budget, I would say that you need something that is going to be easy to live with, cheap to run and reliable. 

The Suzuki Swift is a really easy car to own. It is reliable, spacious, cheap to run (tax, fuel, insurance) and good value too. This one I have picked out because it has really low miles (10,000km) and is about half way up your budget: Suzuki Swift

Another decent buy would be a Ford Focus 1.4 - which is a really good larger family hatchback with a big boot. This one we found has just 34,000km on the clock, comes from a good dealership and the price is good: Ford Focus

At the upper end of your budget would be a Volkswagen Golf. They are really good investments because they hold their value well. This one again has really low mileage: Volkswagen Golf

I hope some of these are of interest. I think the Swift would be a super choice for you guys though. 

Come back to us if you need more advice though.

Expert answer

Hi Padraig,

As a private sale you should probably ask about €9,000 and be prepared to accept about €8,500 for it and as a trade-in I would expect about €9,000 against another car. As we always say though, the best advice is to look at the cost to change when it comes to a trade-in and don't be too focussed on how much you are being offered for your car. 

I hope this helps!

Expert answer

Hi there Kevin,

I am not sure whether you are choosing a new or used car. There is a brand new Jetta just gone on sale and it is absolutely massive - quite close to the Passat. This would probably be the better of the two at the moment, but then there is a new Focus arriving in April.

The new Focus is really good too and that comes with a 1.6-litre diesel engine, while the Jetta also comes with a 1.6-litre diesel. I haven't driven the new Jetta yet personally here in Ireland, but we have driven it and I have driven the new Focus, which is brilliant. 

Out of the two, if I was doing lots of mileage, then the Jetta would probably be the better of the two, but without totally sitting on the fence the best thing to do is to try them both for yourself.

Let us know how you get on.

Expert answer

Hi Ronan,

I reckon a Volkswagen Golf Van would do a brilliant job for you. You told us by e-mail that you have another €2,000 to spend on top of the value of your Toyota Avensis so I reckon this one could be a good option. 

The Ford Focus van is good too, but I don't imagine you want to be a two Focus family! If I was having a car-van I'd have a Golf. 

Hope that helps