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Hi Mary,

It depends on the year. From around €16,000 for a 2009 model up to €50-odd-k for a year-old example.

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Hi Niall,

I wouldn't unless it has an utterly perfect service history and has been cared for with the softest of kid gloves. At that point in its history, Mercedes was going through a massive engineering and reliability hiccup and at that price level you're probably buying something that's not been properly looked after at some point in its life. Avoid.

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Hi Caroline,

It's too early to tell on Jeep residual values - the brand is well known but still trying to re-establish itself properly in Ireland so it's hard to say quite how values will shake out long term. The Cherokee is nice though, if a touch pricey. Lots of space and it feels rugged. 

The CLA Shooting Brake is also nice, and very pretty too, but I think you'd find it a lot less practical than the A4 - space in the back and the boot is really tight.

Relevant reviews:

Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake review

Jeep Cherokee review

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Hi John,

OK, there's good news and bad news here. The good news is that the four marques of which you've spoken have all really lifted their quality and reliability games. Renault especially has come on a long way since the dark, unreliable days of the early 2000s. While electrical gremlins are pretty much guaranteed further down the line, that's something you could equally say of any Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi.

Dacia tend also to make very reliable cars, in no small part because they're so simple and lacking in the sort of high-end electronics that festoon other models. The brand regularly features very high up in the European JD Power customer satisfaction rankings.

Fiat tends to do less well in those rankings, but much of that is down to a dealer network that's still trying to get its head around modern customer service requirements. The fact is that Fiats these days are no more or less well made or reliable than any other brand (mostly - more on that in a tic). Certainly, we know of many Fiat customers who've had trouble-free motoring for many, many years.

Citroen too has really lifted its game and the latest generations, such as the C4 Picasso and C4 Cactus are really well put together. Long term reliability is still an unknown of course for these new models, but in general, longevity seems to be on the up.

However, just as these Franco-Italian brands have improved, so too have the Japanese and Koreans. There is still a distinct gap in overall solidity between the Japanese brands (Honda especially) and everyone else. It's still the case that if you want genuinely trouble-free motoring, the Japanese are still kings, with the Koreans and Skoda hot on their heels.

That said, I reckon if you bought any Fiat, looked after it properly and made sure it was fully serviced to schedule, you wouldn't have any major problems.

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Hi Shayne,

Electrics, electrics, electrics. The W211 was full of electrical and electronic toys and all of them are suspect. Mercedes was going through an especially poor stage in its history at this point and the W211 suffered more than most models. Anything with a wire poking out of the back is a potential worry and the battery can run it self flat if the car is left standing even for just a few days.

The electronic brain that controls the brakes is also deeply troublesome often leaving the car in limp home mode. Check that the automatic gearbox picks up gears smoothly and that there are no flat spots in the engine's power delivery. Paint can often be an issue too - check for damage or flakes coming off.

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Hi Aine,

CLA for my money. The GLA is nice, and obviously a bit more practical, but it doesn't feel special enough to justify the price tag. 

The CLA on the other hand looks terrific and is really sweet to drive. The small diesel engine is fine - not the quickest ever or anything but it'll do and a realistic 65mpg will make up for any straight-line deficiencies.

One thing - make sure you spec the smallest wheels and the tyres with the deepest possible sidewalls. The CLA rides pretty hard and big wheels with low profile tyres make it really uncomfortable.

Further reading:

Review of the Mercedes-Benz CLA (on Irish roads)

Review of the Mercedes-Benz GLA (on Irish roads)

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Hi Mohammad,

I'd say somewhere in the region of €7,500 to €8,500, depending hugely on whether or not it has a full service history.

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Hi Sunil,

I'd say the Audi Q5. The GLK is still left-hand drive only (or did you mean the smaller GLA?) and pretty ugly. While the BMW X3 has evolved into a really nice car, for my money, the latest round of updates to the Q5 have just nudged it in front. Slick to look at, slick to drive and very comfy inside. It's a belter.

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Hi William,

It's very, very tempting to go for the Merc – that badge on the bonnet is a major draw all by itself. Being sensible though, even with the extra cost up front, the Passat may actually offer better value. Given that both cars will be generally pretty reliable, the differences come down to things like running costs (is the Passat the 1.6 TDI? If so it's incredibly economical), equipment levels (the Passat is likely to be better equipped than the Merc, but do a proper comparison yourself between both cars to see) and what the dealer is offering you. Which one, for example, is offering the better warranty? A two-year warranty compared to a one- year one may not sound like much, for instance, but if something big goes wrong in year two it could save you an absolute packet.

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Hi Kevin,

Generally speaking it's the E-Class that followed, the 2002 onwards model, that gave all the trouble, and the generation you're looking at doesn't give quite so much bother. As far as we can gather, the E200 K should be a reasonably rugged engine, but the crucial thing to note is to make sure that it has been serviced on time every time, by someone who knows what they're doing, and that you continue to do so when you own it. If there's no service history, or a patchy one, walk away.

Also watch for rust bubbling up under the front wings and make sure that the front suspension bushes were replaced at 60,000 miles. In that generation of car, I wouldn't necessarily expect the diesel version to be any more or less reliable.