Expert answer

Hi Alanna,

Anything pre-2008 with a petrol engine is pretty hard to shift on these days, sadly, so I'd reckon you're looking at a value of possibly as little as €5,500 for the Mazda3 at the moment. To get the best from it, I'd suggest staying within the Mazda family (a Mazda dealer will usually give you a better trade-in on a Mazda than will another dealer) and trade up to a Mazda6 Estate. Loads of space, brilliant to drive, reliable and, with the 2.2-litre 129hp diesel, very economical too. SUV? Do you live up a mountain or at the far end of a rutted dirt road? No? Then you don't need one - stick to the family car market and the Mazda6 size class (which also includes cars like the Toyota Avensis, Ford Mondeo, Volkswagen Passat and Opel Insignia) is  where you'll get the best bang for your buck.

Let us know how you get on

Expert answer

Hi Vincent,

Not that tough, these days actually. Would you consider an Opel Mokka? Not the greatest car ever made or anything but it has a higher seating position, which may help and, better still, its front seats are approved of by the Aktion Gesunder Rucken, which is the German Bad Back Association. If you don’t fancy the Mokka, I too am a bad back sufferer and I always found that the seats in the Citroen C3 Picasso were always very comfy. Worth a try at any rate.

Here are the reviews:

Opel Mokka X review

Citroen C3 Picasso review

Expert answer

Hi Bill,

Is that the 1.8-litre engine? If so, then it had an official fuel economy figure of 32mpg. I say ‘had’ because that’s a 16-year-old car and a huge amount is going to depend on how well it’s been looked after. Generally speaking, I’d say that you should expect around 25mpg from it around town, and maybe 35mpg on a longer run.

Expert answer

Hi Eddie,

Our latest review of an Opel Insignia is here. As you can see, we awarded it 3.5 stars out of five. It's not a bad car in the least, but if buying new there are loads of talented alternatives at the same price (and a facelifted Insignia arrives in 2014).

Do a search above for 'Insignia' and you'll see we've helped many buyers choose between it and other vehicles, but if you're trying to make that decision please do come back for more assistance.

Expert answer

Hi Noreen,

We spoke to Opel Ireland and this is the official line: "Overall sales of the Mokka have exceeded our expectations in terms of supply during the launch period. We expect the supply of Mokka to return to normal by the last quarter of this year."

I've passed the contact details on to you.

Expert answer

Hi John,

I'd go for the 1.3. True, it's not as grunty as the 1.7, but the 1.7 is a truly ancient engine, able to trace its roots all the way back to the early nineties when Isuzu first designed it and no-one in General Motors knew what the heck this de-hee-zel stuff was and they sure weren't going to put it in a car. The 1.3 by contrast was co-developed with Fiat in the early 2000s so is a much fresher, more high-tech design and it's a better engine all-round.

Both are a touch noisy compared with the best latest-gen diesels, but again the 1.7 is far worse in this regard and also has an annoying tendency to stall when pulling out of junctions. So go for the 1.3. A cracking little engine.

Hope that helps

Expert answer

Hi Peter,

OK, there was no 1.3 diesel Hyundai i30, it was always a 1.6 diesel although there were lower and higher power versions. We found a couple of classified ads purporting to be 1.3 diesel i30s, but they must be typos. The Astra is definitely available with a 1.3 CDTi diesel though (a unit co-developed with Fiat a number of years ago) and while it's a fine engine and the Astra is a fine car, it's the Hyundai we'd go for - it's economical, cheap to tax and endlessly reliable. It's also far better to drive than you might expect (it even drew admiring comparisons to the class handling champ, the Ford Focus, at its time of launch) and is spacious and comfy to boot.

That said, if you're thinking of the Hyundai, you have to also consider the Kia cee'd. Launched in 2006, it's mechanically identical to the Hyundai, arguably a little sharper to drive and, depending on the mileage, a 2008 model should still have two years of Kia's seven-year warranty to run.

To be fair, you won't go wrong with either.

Expert answer

Hi Richard,

By and large, yes, the Insignia's a reliable old thing, but there are a couple of checks to make. Ensure that the engine is pulling strongly in all the low gears, as the turbo can give trouble, especially with the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve. If it's a specced up model with heated seats, check that the one on the driver's side works as they can be fragile. The lesser-used passenger one doesn't seem to give much trouble.

The 'Service Car Now' light seems to be a recurring problem and can come on a bit randomly - usually because the dealer forgets to reset the oil monitor at the last service. The boot seals, especially on the hatchback, can be iffy and allow water in especially when opening the boot when there's standing water on the car. It's a design flaw. There was also a recall to sort out an alarm system issue causing it to go off randomly (often at 2 in the morning...) so make sure that's been done.

Expert answer

Hi Peter,

It certainly sounds like the alternator is not doing its job. Could you have disturbed the wiring from it when you fitted the fanbelt? Easiest way to check is to check the voltage across the battery terminals with a multi-meter while the engine is running. It should be well over 12V if it is charging.

Please be careful doing this though and only if you're confident working under the bonnet. If you're not, best leave a qualified mechanic or auto electrician have a look.

Let us know how you get on.

Expert answer

Hi James,

Actually, you mentioned the Ford C-Max there and, while we criticised it when new for not being exciting enough, it's a pretty canny secondhand buy, with good build quality and excellent economy as long as you go for the 1.6 TDCi diesel.

If it's a full-size seven-seater you want then your €8k budget will easily get you into a SEAT Alhambra seven-seater. It's the old shape model, so you won't get fold-flat rear seats, but the 1.9-litre TDI diesel engine is both frugal and largely unburstable.

Finally there's the good old Opel Zafira. Ever popular, it's not the most refined or sophisticated but the 1.9 CDTi diesel engine is frugal and the interior is hugely flexible and adaptable.

Let us know how you get on