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Hi Philip and thanks for this,

You make some good points here, but the main one I'd like to focus on is the uncertainty. It is, without a doubt, reducing car sales right now, as people don't know what to do, and all we can do is present the facts. They are this:

1 - There are many motorists in Ireland for which there is no economic alternative to a diesel car. Those that travel long distances day in, day out, could not use an electric car. Plug-in hybrids would be useless to them as well as they only return good economy when regularly charged up. The latest non plug-in hybrids are more economical than ever on a long run, but still not as cheap to fuel as a good diesel. And let's not forget, the majority of drivers are buying used, so there's very little choice in the used market for anything other than conventional diesel or petrol.

2 - For another large number of Irish motorists, petrol power would be perfectly fine. We've been saying for years that too many people have diesel cars because that became the default after 2008. Regardless of air quality and health issues, diesels come with higher maintenance costs, especially if they aren't used at higher speeds regularly.

3 - It seems to have been lost in the conversation that the diesel bans being discussed are not for all diesels, but for older diesels that emit much higher levels of NOx and other pollutants. 

4 - The Irish government needs to hurry up and let the country/industry know what it plans to do, for this uncertainty is killing the market full-stop, not just diesel power.

With all the above in mind, we will continue to help buyers choose a car based on their individual circumstances and for many that will still mean a diesel. For now.

I welcome thoughts and comments on this below. Would be great to get some feedback on what people think and whether they are holding off buying a car because of the uncertainty.

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Hi William,

Not quite. Actually VRT is calculated on the OMSP, or Open Market Selling Price, which is that which the Revenue Commissioners calculate the car would be worth if it were an original Irish registered model. So, yes, age and mileage do come into it, but it’s not quite as simple as that.

As for the UK residency thing, again it’s not quite that simple — yes, you can avoid VRT if you bring a car into the country that you can show has been taxed and insured for at least six months, by you, at an address in the UK, BUT you will be asked to provide proof that you’re moving from the UK to Ireland, and proof that you were living and working in the UK for at least 185 days prior to the transfer of residence. 

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Hi Josephine,

I assume you mean either the Jeep Renegade or brand new Compass model. Neither come with seven seats, I'm afraid. In fact, Jeep doesn't have any seven-seat vehicle on sale in Ireland right now.

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Hi Hugh,

We checked with Skoda Ireland and this version of the Karoq will be available to order from this August. It won't yet release pricing as the official CO₂ figure is not yet known.

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Hi Tom,

It is going to be very, very hard to estimate an OMSP for the car, certainly a fair one. The problem is that the Niro Plugin Hybrid has only just been launched in Ireland, so there’s not much in the way of data for second hand prices. Obviously, it’s going to be worth more than an equivalent non-plugin Niro of the same age, but I would think that a rough second hand value would be in the €30,000-ish range, which would give it a VRT cost of around €4,000 or so.

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Hi Anne Marie,

Stop-start systems on cars will stop working for a variety of reasons, some of them outside your control, but if you think your SEAT still has a problem after looking through this list of possibilities, best bet is to get the car along to your nearest SEAT dealer to check it out:

- Ambient temperature too cold
- Ambient temperature too hot (unlikely in Ireland!)
- Battery in poor condition
- Driver's seat belt usually must be on
- Driver's door and bonnet usually must be closed
- Engine temperature is too low
- Climate control settings may force the engine to stay on

Hope that's of some help. This question by an Audi owner has proven very popular and is mostly applicable to your car too.

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Hi Simon,

You’ll need to check the fine print, but in most cases the warranty will be a pan-European one, so it should be honoured in any of that brand’s official dealerships here in Ireland. The only exceptions are where a manufacturer might have a different warranty in the UK compared to Ireland (such as Toyota) or where, in some cases, one or more years of the warranty are covered and backed by the local dealer group, rather than the manufacturer.

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Hi Eamonn,

Later this year. The European version of the updated Mazda6 will be shown this week at the Geneva Motor Show, and it should be on sale here this summer. 

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Hi Sean,

I agree to a certain extent with this, but not completely. Rear-wheel-drive cars with their engines up front (as with your Mercedes) really struggle with traction in icy conditions, but front-wheel-drive cars are no better when it comes to braking and turning in the same conditions so if such a law was to be brought it, it really should apply to all cars, as winter tyres provide much more grip whether you're accelerating, braking or turning.

However, despite the crazy week we've had here in Ireland with snow and ice, long term weather stats clearly show that we don't get enough cold weather in most parts of Ireland (i.e. the temperature below seven degrees C) to warrant forcing everyone to change to winter tyres. Above seven degrees C, winter tyres are not as good as all-weather/summer tyres and they wear much quicker.

The Irish motorist already feels hard done by in terms of taxation and running costs so I don't think any government would bring this in here, but to be honest, I don't think they should, either. It really should be up to the individual. And that's coming from someone that has expereinced how brilliant winter tyres can be. Other opinions area available...

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Hi Linda,

To be honest, we’re not really the experts when it comes to vehicle access in this respect, but we do know the right people to talk to — Motability Ireland, who can be contacted at www.motabilityireland.com