Expert answer

Hi Eamonn,

With today's exchange rate you should land that car in Ireland for about €44,510. VRT is 20% of the open market value, as the emissions put the car in Band C, which equates to about €7,121.

Bear in mind that, if you add options to this car, the value of those will be used to calculate the VRT, so it could be higher depending on the exact specification of your car.

Hope that helps,

Expert answer

Hi Leah,

We're awaiting confirmation from Mercedes-Benz, but we believe that there are few differences between the 2006 and the 2008 Viano tested by the Euro NCAP.

With regards to recalls, it's not unusual for a car to be recalled by any means. What's important is that you check with Mercedes-Benz that the Viano you are interested in has had all relevant recall work carried out already. Here is a list of the recalls for the Viano for your information:

2004:

- Mounting issue for the foot-operated parking brake.

- Engine software problem leading to reduced engine speeds.

2005:

- Brake pedal and master cylinder securing clip.

2006:

- Potential fuel leak.

- Electrical short circuit issue.

- Airbag faults.

2007:

- Fuel leak issues again.

2008:

- More issues with fuel leaks.

- Brake master cylinder replacement.

- Electronics fault.

2009:

- Side airbag issue.

- Parking brake issue.

Please remember that not all Vianos sold in Ireland will be affected by all recalls. Best thing to do is to check the registration of the car you are interested in with Mercedes-Benz.

Let us know if we can be of more help.

Expert answer

Hi Marc,

In general this car sounds like a decent, safe buy, especially as it has the reassurance of a full service history and a new NCT. Mercedes instigated a model update in 2006 so it would be interesting to know if your car is the last of the first generation of the first of the second. The updated cars are better all-round and feature more safety equipment as standard.

The early cars are known to have had a few electrical issues, with recalls in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. None were major problems, but it's worth checking this car's details with Mercedes to find out if it was affected and if the repairs were done.

Other than that, the E-Class is mechanically robust, so just take the time to try every electrical switch and device for yourself.

Hope that helps

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

You're in an enviable position if that's your choice for a new 2011 car! You can't go wrong with either. Before I give my personal preference let's look at the facts:

The new BMW 520d SE will be priced from €41,750. That's for the manual model, which is lovely, but for resale values it makes sense to opt for the automatic, bringing the price up to €43,964.

In comparison, the entry-level diesel E-Class (the E 200 CDI BlueEfficiency) costs from €41,035 - or €43,885 with an automatic gearbox.

However, on paper the BMW beats that car hands down. It has 181hp to the Merc's 136hp (and hence takes only 8.1 seconds to get to 100km/h versus 10.4 for the E 200 CDI) and yet it is much more efficient. In automatic guise it emits 137g/km, which means band B annual road tax. A manual version of the E-Class will do the same, but the automatic transmission moves the car into band C, almost doubling the tax. The BMW's fuel economy is better too.

The more expensive E 220 CDI BlueEfficiency costs €43,425 with a manual or €46,275 with an automatic. It's not much less efficient than the E 200 model, but it's significantly faster. However, the 520d still betters it in both respects.

Having driven both cars my personal preference would be the BMW. The new 5 Series has taken a major step forward in terms of luxury over the old car yet it's still good to drive.

Let us know what you decide by leaving a comment in the box below.

Expert answer

Hi Patricia,

You're right, most seven-seat MPVs have tiny boots when all seven seats are in use. One car that springs to mind straightaway is the Renault Grand Espace. This has a little more luggage space than the regular Espace. We found one on beepbeep.ie for well under your budget: click here to have a look.

You mentioned that you don't like the idea of a minibus style car, but it's worth checking a few out. The Mercedes-Benz Viano can be had for your budget for instance.

Safety and reliability are your priorities. The Espace scored well in the Euro NCAP safety ratings when it was launched and though there were reliability issues early in its life, these seem to have been ironed out by now.

I realise that's a very limited response. It might be worth considering using a roof box. That would widen your choice a little.

Let me know if we can help any further and what you decide upon. You can reply by logging in and putting a comment in the box below.

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

This is quite an eclectic mix of cars. We can't really give you an exact valuation on your Mondeo, but if we guess that it will be worth around €11,000 (you might get more) then you should have a budget of €31,000.

You could get into a brand new Jaguar X-Type for this price without too much difficulty. Bear in mind that this car is no longer made and while there are a few around, residuals won't hold up too well in the future. But you are getting quite a lot of car for your €30,000 with that. 

You could have a 2008 BMW 520d from a BMW dealer for under €30,000, obviously less than that if you decided to go non main dealer. Have a look at this one from a main dealer here.

A 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 220 CDi from a main dealer will cost you about €28,000. Here is an example. This would be more comfort-orientated, but obviously a year older than the BMW.

Finally if you wanted a passenger Touareg (as opposed to the commercial version), you would get a 2007 model, maybe a 2008 with this budget. This would obviously be a very different drive to what you are used to and running costs could be a little higher. Here is a good used example. 

Out of this lot, I would have the BMW, just from a personal point of view. That 5 Series was better than the E-Class of the same age. The X-Type is an old, discontinued car and I wouldn't spend that sort of money on a new one. The Touareg is nice, but it's very different to the others, so you would need to try it.

Hope this helps. 

Expert answer

Hi Liam

A car like yours will retail at a main VW dealer for around €13,500 - €14,000. So, you could probably expect to be offered about €11,000-€12,000 when you trade it in against a Mercedes-Benz, perhaps more if you were trading it in at a VW showroom. Dealerships often have to invest in bodywork and servicing of a trade-in so they don't tend to offer the same as it will retail for and of course they have to try and make some profit too.

Don't get too caught up on how much you are being offered for your car, but rather look at the cost to change. Remember, if you were buying the Mercedes as a straight deal you would probably get a decent discount. This discount may be used against your trade-in to make it seem more appealing.

Pricing a car isn't an exact science, but we would say shop around and don't be afraid to haggle hard!

Expert answer

Well you haven’t said what your budget is but there are plenty of interesting cars that are available under the scrappage scheme.

Alfa Romeo’s Mito is a small premium hatchback, and its clean 1.3-litre diesel engine puts it in Band A; the 1.4-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel models fall into Band B. Prices start at €18,995 before you take away the government discount.

The Audi A3 with the 1.2-litre TFSI petrol, the 1.6-litre diesel and 2.0-litre diesel all qualify for scrappage, as does the Cabriolet version. The A3 3-door starts from €25,195 before scrappage discount, it’s €26,195 as a 5-door Sportback model, and €32,785 for the Cabriolet version before the €1,500 discount.

The A4 with a 2.0-litre diesel engine in either 120bhp, 136bhp and 170bhp all fall under Band B in either saloon or Avant form. Prices start from €34,060 (€32,560 with scrappage) for the diesel saloon and €36,460 (€34,960 with scrappage) for the Avant. The stunning A5, with a 170bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine, falls into Band B. Prices start at €44,265 (€42,765 with scrappage). You can also have the Audi A6 2.0-litre TDi with 136bhp, which is in Band B. This huge car starts from €39,735 (€38,235 with scrappage). The Audi TT diesel is a really superb car to drive. At €44,175 for the Coupé (€42,675 with scrappage), this is a brilliant buy and that fact that it costs €156 per year to tax makes it all the sweeter.

BMW also has a huge number of models that qualify for the scrappage scheme. Its 2.0-litre diesel is used in various power outputs across the 1-Series, 3-Series and 5-Series and these all have emissions of less than 140g/km, even when fitted with an automatic transmission.

The 1-Series is available with clean diesel engines ranging in power from 115bhp to 177bhp. Prices start at €24,900 for the 3-door 116d, €23,400 with the scrappage discount.

The BMW 3-Series starts from €33,310 for the 316d. All its models get €1,500 off from the government through scrappage. Largest of all is the 520d. Although there is a new model coming later in the year, the run-out models of the 520d are expected to sell well, especially with a price tag of €40,220.

Mercedes-Benz has a number of models that qualify under the scrappage scheme. The standout model is the C-Class Blue Efficiency 200 (136bhp), 220 (170bhp) and 250 (240bhp) manual versions, the E-Class 200, 220 and 250 manual version and the E-Class Coupé 220 and 250 models with manual transmission. Prices start at €36,500 (€35,000 with scrappage) for the C200 CDi, €41,200 (€39,700) for the E200 CDi and €47,700 (€46,200) for the E-Class Coupé E250 CDi.

Finally, what about the Volkswagen Scirocco? You can have the 1.4-litre TSi petrol or 2.0-litre TDi Sport model under the scrappage scheme. Prices start at €25,190 for the Scirocco (€23,690 with scrappage),

To answer your question though, which is fastest? We think it is the BMW 123d Coupe. It has emissions of 138g/km yet has a top speed of 238km/h and 0-100km/h time of 6.9 seconds. This is faster than the Audi TT TDi, which has a top speed of 226km/h and 0-100km/h time of 7.5 seconds.

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.

Expert answer

Hi Paul,

That is a very interesting question. You only have to look at the difference in pricing through various different genre of cars to see that we have not had cars as cheap here in Ireland in years and even when you compare them to prices in Europe things are favourable. This is of course little solace to those who find obtaining credit virtually impossible.

Manufacturers are constantly streamlining methods of production and there is much greater co-operation between manufacturers in terms of powertrain sharing and platform sharing, but the simple explanation of the reduction in prices here in Ireland is of course the easing of taxation slightly. New cars, as I am sure you are aware, are now taxed according to their CO₂ emissions and this means that cars that might once have been subjected to 30 percent VRT under the old system are now only subject to 16 percent, because of advances in engine technology. When you look at cars like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series now with emissions of less than 140g/km, as long as the present taxation system is in place, prices will remain quite low. Manufacturers are also likely to keep prices low to their retailers as every incentive needs to remain in place to keep sales moving throughout a sluggish global economy.

In answering your question, I would say that the lowering of prices certainly hasn't finished, especially here in Ireland. This year there has been a lot of discounting from manufacturers such as Renault who is aggressively targeting market share. Even when scrappage ends in December I can't see an end to this straight away, as next year, without the scrappage incentives, manufacturers and retailers will need to come up with a whole new set of incentives to draw nervous buyers back into the showrooms.