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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.