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Hi John,

If you're buying an Irish car then you'll be very limited in terms of choice. The vast majority of 2010 Ford Focus on the roads in Ireland are powered by the 1.6-litre TDCi diesel engine, in either 90- or 110hp states of tune). It's not a bad engine with a great performance-to-economy ratio and low road tax. Be aware though, like many engines of this type, it's only really suited to average annual mileage of 20,000km and above - or the majority of its time on a fast-flowing road/motorway. The reason is that its diesel particulate filter (DPF) can clog up and it can be expensive to remedy. There are other components in the engine itself that also gum up if the car is used predominantly for low-speed driving.

Other engines in the 2010 Focus are the 1.8 TDCi diesel and, for low-mileage drivers, the 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol units. All of these are much rarer. The 1.8 isn't quite as susceptible as the 1.6 diesel to issues, but it's less economical. If you're sure that diesel suits your needs then seek out a 1.6.

Hope that helps

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Hi Padraigh,

I'd say in and around €4,000.

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Hi Jim,

Nope, certainly not any more. The rules say you must book a Vehicle Registration Tax assessment (which is carried out at an NCT centre) within seven days of the car's arrival in Ireland, and the registration process, including the payment of any VRT and VAT owing, and the use of the new Irish number plates, must be completed within 30 days.

 Or, you know, fines, courts, thumb-screws, all that jazz. 

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Hi Kevin,

There are a couple you can try, such as golfmk7.com or forums.vwvortex.com, but you need to be aware that the people on forums are not necessarily experts. Take any advice with some level of caution.

Your better bet is to sit on your dealer's head (metaphorically) to get the problem solved. It's not a case of their word against yours - don't take that kind of crap lying down. The garage's job is to sort your problem and you shouldn't pay a cent to them until the problem is fixed to your satisfaction. Quote the Sale Of Goods And Supply Of Services Act at them. They're the experts, so a shrug and a "we can't replicate the problem" isn't good enough.

If you're still having problems, tell us the name of the garage. Volkswagen Ireland guards its reputation for after-sales service fervently so it'll also be interested to hear about this. 

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Hi Caroline,

The new V60 Cross Country is on sale now from €40,845 (click here to go to Volvo's configurator for that car). We've not driven it as yet, but will be during the summer. For what it's worth, we really like the regular V60. Read our review of that here.

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Hi Seamus,

This is quite a tricky one so we sought the advice of the car data experts at Cartell.ie. Here's what they came up with:

"This is an unusual query and you'll need to get confirmation from Revenue in Ireland and HM Revenue & Customs in the UK. Based on what we think, and we don't see this query a lot, you may be able to buy the vehicle brand new for export, meaning that the VRT isn't paid on it at all - so no need for refund. The vehicle may get a temporary registration so it can be exported. Also the VAT of 23% can be claimed back as it's a new vehicle and you'll have to pay the UK VAT rate when it's registered there. To be honest this is a bit of a minefield and we strongly advise getting all details and clarifications from the Revenue both in Ireland and the UK before proceeding."

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Hi Paul,

We’ve been on to Opel Ireland about this and they suggest that the best thing to do is to visit your local dealer who will be able to troubleshoot the problem for you.

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Hi Paul,

Yes, you're right. It should be like that and there should be no more of this 'ex-works' cod-ology and everything should be given a simple on-the-road price. 

As ever, it's never that simple though. Dealers like to have 'Delivery and Related Charges' because it gives  them some wiggle room to offer discounts and money off. Also, the Competition Authority generally takes a dim view of car makers imposing specific charges on dealers for delivery etc, as it's seen as being anti-competitive.

Good old Ireland, eh?

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Hi Andrew,

Not that we're aware of. It's on the price list and doesn't look like it's going anywhere any time soon. Even if it's not the biggest seller, its low tax point gives a good entry to the range so BMW will be keeping it around for a while anyway.

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Hi Angela,

I'm afraid Hyundai Ireland does not have the Montana listed as available at this present time.