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Hi Simon,

These cars are all verrrrrry thin on the ground. Mercedes-Benz Ireland doesn't officially designate its '45 AMG' sales as separate models so was unable to give us a figure, but Audi provided us with S3 and S4 numbers. In 2013, three S3s and four S4s were sold, while thus far in 2014, five S3s and one S1 have been sold. Across town at BMW, approximately half a dozen M235i Coupés have been sold this year.

Hope that helps.

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Hi Brian,

There are some dealers that claim to be specialists in convertibles, such as Alan Dorgan Motors, but to be honest it can be a hugely complex job and may well be something that’s best left to a fully accredited main dealer.

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Hi Martin,

I'm afraid not. Land Rover Ireland won't disclose the figures as yet...

Here's the full story otherwise in case you missed it.

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Hi Bart,

We asked Volvo Ireland about this for you. Here was the response:

"The flexi fuel engines generally have shorter service intervals (10,000km or one year) and the system will say book for the next service if the mileage or engine hours or time have been reached. Even if the customer has not reached 10,000km, which seems to be the case, he might have reached the engine hours or time requirement for a service. I would advise bringing it into the dealership to get it serviced and make sure the correct oil and filters are used."

Hope that helps explain the situation.

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Hi Nick,

It just depends on who's done the reconditioning. See if you can find out because that really is the critical question. Once you've found out, a quick email to the nice people at BMW Driver Ireland should help you find out whether the reconditioning was done by someone who knows what they're doing: www.bmw-driver.net

Once you've established that, there are two crucial follow up questions. One, what was done in the reconditioning? Was it a sump-to-head overhaul, with every worn part replaced by new? Or was it merely a go-over that just replaced or repaired a few specific parts. Which leads us to the second question: why was the engine reconditioned? It's only seven years old, after all. If it was because of excessive wear or abuse, then you need to check the rest of the car for the same.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi Fergal,

The Mustang has already started rolling off the production line in right-hand drive, but is not due to arrive in Ireland until late summer 2015. Apparently one Irish buyer has already ordered one.

We're (finally!) driving the new Mondeo early next month and we understand that the first examples will arrive in Ireland this November. That probably means in dealers nationwide for December, in time for the new '151' plate in January.

Hope that helps

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Hi Claire,

The revised Polo is now in Ireland, so we assume you mean that one. The 1.2-litre TSI petrol model is in Band A3, costing €190 to tax. That's the case whether it's manual or DSG automatic and for both three- and five-door body styles.

The only 1.4-litre Polo on the Volkswagen Ireland price list is the TDI diesel. It's available in 75- and 90hp guises, in both three- and five-door bodies and with a DSG automatic for the higher power unit. It doesn't matter which of all those you buy, they're all in Band A2, costing just €180 per year to tax.

Hope that helps, but please do check out our first drive of the revised Polo here as well.

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Hi Dave,

Oil is the key here. Honda's first-ever diesel engine, the 2.2 i-CDTI unit fitted to the Accord, has always been a cracker - smooth, silent and powerful, but it needs a regular dose of high-grade oil and the problem here is that there's no warning light on the dashboard to tell you that the oil level is dropping. There is a conventional oil pressure light, but if that starts flashing it may already be too late. So, check that the engine is running smoothly and not spewing out clouds of dirty smoke and then check the oil level to make sure it's not down at the bottom of the dipstick. Then get used to checking it yourself, regularly.

Hondas of course have a tremendous reputation for reliability and being beautifully built and the Accord is no exception. There is one minor wrinkle though and it involves the engine's dual-mass flywheel. We've heard plenty of horror stories about the flywheel giving trouble. Excess noise, a slipping clutch or even the car popping out of gear can all be signs that the flywheel is giving gyp. Now, we have heard from various sources that this is an issue for the Accord and the 2.2 diesel engine, but in fairness, when we raised it with Honda Ireland, they told us that it has seen no pattern of issues, and its warranty claims don't show up any persistent problems.

Probably still worth taking your time to check though.

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Hi Ian,

As discussed with you offline, we talked to Peugeot Ireland about this, and the contact there spoke with the dealer in question. The dealer response was:

• The customer booked a two-year service, which would include an air conditioning inspection
• There was no defect detected with the air con (thus no warranty coverage needed)
• The technician used his air con machine to check that there was no leak present in the system - there wasn't
• There was a gas top-up needed, which the customer was charged for

 Peugeot then commented: "We would like to offer the following explanation to the customer - even if an air con system isn't used, if a customer uses the front window demister they do inadvertently use the air con system, which over time would use up gas. I hope this helps. Should the customer wish to have contact with our Customer Services department, I can arrange a call to them."

Hopefully that's helped you understand the situation to your satisfaction, but you know where we are if you need us again.

Expert answer

Hi Sean,

We asked Audi Ireland about this for you and though your registration or chassis number would be needed to give an accurate quotation, here's a ballpark figure:

"If the vehicle is greater than three years old and a 2.0 or smaller engine the fixed price for a clutch replacement is €949. This does not include the flywheel as in many cases it is not required."

Come back to us with your details if you'd like a more accurate figure