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Hi Alan

The scrappage scheme has been good news and as you might have seen today SIMI is calling for an extension of this. Unless this happens, there would be no point in you getting a new car at the end of the year under scrappage because the €1,500 that you would get off this in the case of something like an Insignia would not be as much as you could lose eventually by buying a car later in the year. 

Sure enough, you could buy the Laguna and get €3,000 off. It isn't an awful car, but there really isn't anything remarkable about it and I personally wouldn't spend over €20,000 on one. I actually think the Renault Fluence is a better buy than the Laguna and it costs much less. It is a fine big car and really well equipped. 

However, with your budget we could do a whole lot better. Supposing that you get at least €1,000 for your Corsa, then you still have a generous budget. There is always the temptation to look at the German cars and as long as you realise that these can get pricey to service and run as they get older, they can be a great buy. 

You have a staggering amount of choice. For sheer ease of ownership I have noticed that Lexus IS models are really good value now. You can get a 2008 IS 220d for under €25k and that would be a pretty nice car to own. Here is an example. 

If you were buying new or almost new, this 2010 Subaru Legacy diesel is also within your budget. 

However, you could go a little larger and get yourself a 2007 BMW 520d. This example is from a main dealer and has tiny mileage and would be a really nice car to own. It has done just 20,000km and is an automatic too with a nice spec for just €28,000. I would find it very hard to pass up on this car to be honest. You could opt for one with a manual gearbox and get lower road tax, but to be honest, this is where my money would go.

I hope this helps

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Hi Stephen,

If you have owned a BMW 5 Series before then you might want a change. The 6 Series is a good car, but like anything else in BMW land when it gets a little older repairs can start to become expensive when things go wrong. I personally wouldn't go near one unless it had a full set of BMW service history stamps and unless I could budget another few thousand for things that might go wrong.

This one here is in a main BMW dealer so will have all the right history and paperwork and is pretty nicely equipped too. It is a little over budget, but I would be shocked if they weren't flexible on a 3.0-litre petrol car these days! The mileage on that example is also very low for the year. These cars have great handling and are usually generously equipped too. Remember though that it will cost quite a bit to run, both in terms of road tax and petrol costs.

Now, for alternatives. You did mention Lexus and the GS 450h hybrid is a wicked car. It is very, very fast, superbly equipped and comfortable. It will be ultra reliable too. You could have this one here, a 2007 model, for €25,950 and it would be a superb car to own. It actually does pretty decent fuel economy too. I'd prefer this to the 6 Series myself.

Or, you could enter Porsche ownership and have the brilliant Boxster S like this example in Galway that has the better engine and comes from a good home. Again, ignore the sticker price, as it is a buyers' market right now. I think you should own a silly car once, so unless you have cots and prams to carry about, I'd be tempted by the Boxster. It isn't going to annoy anyone any more than the 6 Series is.

The UK can be a minefield, but we wouldn't ever rule it out and I myself have bought cars there. What I would say is that the more research you do (and use history checks like motorcheck.ie) the easier it is.

As regards buying new, well you are likely to only afford something pretty dull and I think that you would not be too pleased coming out of a 5 Series. You seem to like interesting stuff.

If it was me, out of that lot I'd probably have the Boxster, but if I needed more practicality, the Lexus.

Hope, this helps. Feel free to come back for more odd suggestions.

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Hi Edward,

There is no such thing as a cheap used BMW. I just recently sold a 2002 BMW 318i Touring and I loved it, but the repair bills when things went wrong were high, even from independent garages, so you need to bear this in mind.

Having said that, you could get something that will be similar, like a Lexus IS 200 perhaps, which should be less costly to put right if things go wrong.

Here is one for €3,975 and it is from a main SIMI dealer.

Or how about this? A nice Subaru Legacy for just €2,950? This would be a great car for the money.

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Hi Pat, 

We contacted Lexus on your behalf. They told us that they now have a policy of "not commenting to media on individual customer / prospect related queries" but they did tell us that but they did tell us that "any prospective customer should note that cars sourced abroad, ie not through the Lexus Ireland channel, do not come with roadside assistance for Ireland whereas cars sourced through our channel come with "Lexus Euro Assistance 24", our 3 year Pan-European roadside assistance programme."

I realise that this doesn't really answer your question, but since you are buying from a Toyota dealer and they would be getting the car through Lexus Ireland I imagine that you would get the standard cover.

You may want to contact Lexus Ireland and seek clarification on this. They can be reached on (01) 4567905. 

As for the car itself, the offer on this model is very good and this is a fine car. I would recommend it. 

Expert answer

There has been a lot of debate about the benefits of hybrid cars, but few would disagree that they are a step in the right direction. The principle of the current crop of hybrids, for those that don't know, is that a standard petrol engine is combined with an electric motor, with the result being better fuel consumption and lower emissions. The original Toyota Prius was the first mass-produced hybrid on sale and Toyota has just released the third generation of the model and it promises to be more refined and cleaner than ever.

There are other alternatives such as the Honda Civic Hybrid, which isn't bad either, or the Honda Insight, while at the top end of the scale Lexus does three hybrids, the GS 450h, the LS 600h and the RX 450h. In the case of the Lexus hybrid technology it's as much about giving the cars higher performance as it is increasing efficiency.

A hybrid is cleaner in so far as official emissions figures are very low. The Prius emits less then 90g/km, which will make it the cleanest petrol car on sale in Ireland. In some cases you could get better fuel economy from a diesel engine though.

With a budget of €40,000 you could easily get into the new Prius when it arrives in October, as the car is expected to cost about €28,000 and this will be a very cheap car to run, so it seems the natural choice. Bear in mind that even cleaner technologies will arrive soon, including those in the Opel Ampera and even a new plug-in version of the Prius.