Expert answer

Hello David, 

In short - no. Anyone importing pays the same rate of VRT. 

Revenue has a full guide explaining VRT here. 

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Hi Richard,

We talked to Brian Coogan, Peugeot Ireland's National Technical Advisor, about this. He told us: "In colder countries they do add kerosene - they sells it at pumps (a five percent mix) during winter months as it has a lower freezing point than diesel. But, we advise that it could cause starting problems. The lubrication is not the same as diesel and therefore the injectors don't get enough lubrication to work efficiently. Even a small amount can cause problems."

I hope this answers your query, but come back to us if you'd like more information.

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Hi Chloe,

The fact that you really seem to like your car would signify that perhaps you should simply change to the 1.7-litre diesel SXi version of your car and save yourself a few quid in the process. You will probably get around €11,000 - €11,500 for your car at current market prices, but that should leave you well placed to replace it with a diesel model without too much trouble.

There weren't too many SXI models in Ireland with diesel engines but there do appear to be a few Vauxhalls imported with this spec that might work for you unless you had any particular objections to driving a Vauxhall over an Opel. 

You could have a diesel version for in and around the same money so perhaps you could even get into a slightly newer model if you were prepared to invest a few more quid, but since money saving seems to be the aim here then maybe just swap into a diesel. 

Aside from that you could perhaps look at getting a Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion, which is incredibly fuel efficient. This would make a great buy for you really and something like this would be very cheap to run. 

I hope this helps,

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Hi Chris and thanks for your enquiry,

We asked Ciaran Lowe, an ex-service manager for Nissan Ireland, to answer this one for us. He said, "In order to avail of the warranty franchised dealers require vehicles to be maintained according to manufacturer standards using genuine parts.

However, by law, if the car has been serviced at the correct intervals outside of the franchise network and there is proof that GENUINE parts were fitted then the warranty should not be affected.

The genuine parts fitted is the key (if parts are not of merchantable quality it's a different story). There should be no problem as you have all the receipts of genuine parts fitted. Some service advisors can make it difficult depending on the approach."

Hope this helps

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Hi Jim,

The combined economy figure for that car is about 50mpg (5.6 litres/100km) and it has CO₂ emissions of 149g/km. I would say that this would be a better buy than a 2005 Passat Estate because there will probably be less wrong with it and it will be easier to put right if it has a few issues. The Passat of that year wasn't VW's finest work, so I'd plump for the Avensis. The usual rules apply in terms of proper history checks.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Ronan,

We asked Ciaran Lowe, a former service manager for Nissan Ireland, to answer this one. He told us. "I can understand your reasoning for removing the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) because of the excessive cost of replacement. However, the DPF on diesel vehicles plays an important roll in reducing vehicle emissions. In fact these filters can reduce diesel soot emissions by up to 80 percent, so by removing the DPF it is interfering with the emissions on your vehicle. By re-mapping the ECU it is only tricking the engine management  system to see emissions within spec regarding the DPF system. However even with the ECM re-mapped the vehicle will still fail any future emissions tests. The fact your light is on indicates the system has identified out of range emissions."

I'm afraid the best solution all-round is to seek a used DPF filter.

We've talked to a few people in the industry and short of messing with the actual lights in the dashboard there is no way around this. We can't recommend this route, but it could be done by any auto electrician.

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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 Paul,

We spoke to Volkswagen Ireland about this and this is what it had to say:

"Direct lenders (banks) and credit unions are supplying money (if at all) at around 9 percent - 10 percent.  Volkswagen are offering 5.9% so significantly under standard rates and hardly a rip-off. SEAT and Skoda for tactical reasons have decided to offer exceptional rates on certain model lines to push sales even harder and you can see that Volkswagen have also done that for Polo.  The rate is a decision by each Brand and used as tactical tool where appropriate."

I hope this helps!

Expert answer

Hi Ciaran,

There were a lot of used Audi A4s brought into Ireland over the last few years, mainly by personal import. I remember seeing a statistic at the time stating that there were more used Audis being imported into Ireland than there were new Audis being sold. The quality of these imported cars varied quite a lot. Two members of my own family bought cars from the years that you mention and while they have been fine, when something does go wrong (through wear and tear) the costs of parts can be pricey. 

The car you have shown us is petrol powered, which might make it tricky to sell on again, especially since you will probably reach 100,000 miles reasonably soon in it. It has had three owners too in quite a short space of time, so I would want a full history check done on the car and I'd want to know if there have been any problems. 

I think if everything checks out on that car then you could be on to a winner, although I would probably be inclined to look at a diesel with slightly higher miles because resale value might be better. 

Hope that's of help

Expert answer

Hi Nessa,

There are a number of companies that do GPS tracking in Ireland, so I guess that would be similar to the ones you are talking about. 

Here is an example of a company that does the service here in Ireland.