Expert answer

Hi Frank,

You are likely to get up to €6,000 for your Grand Punto as a trade-in. Having spoken to you via e-mail we know that you have a budget of around €8,000 - €10,000 on top of this.

A car like the Mazda3 saloon with an automatic transmission would make a great choice, as it would be more than suitable for the small mileage your wife does and even though it is a petrol engine it won't cost a lot to run. Here is an example that should be well within budget.

If you wanted something that is a little bigger and more comfortable, then you could have a 2008 Volkswagen Passat automatic within budget. Here is a 2008 one on sale in Naas.

Another good choice would be a Honda Civic saloon automatic, which would be ultra reliable. This model would be well suited to your wife's needs.

I know that you didn't mention an SUV, but if your wife suffers from mobility problems, it can be a lot easier to get in and out of a higher vehicle and this Suzuki Vitara could be great, as it comes with an automatic transmission and has plenty of space for the grandkids too.

Out of all these, my hunch is that the Mazda3 would make the best buy for your needs. I hope this helps. Feel free to come back to us if we haven't quite hit the mark!

Expert answer

Hello Dan, here is one just like yours with similar mileage and it is retailing at €31,000, so you might offered a little less than this as a trade-in, perhaps around €29,000. This is our best guess. 

Expert answer

Hi Michael,

We found an identical car to yours with the same mileage for sale for €8,950. You probably won't get offered that much as a trade in, but you could have an overall budget of about €17,000.

In terms of the Mazda6, that is a really good car and there weren't too many of the diesel models sold initially. The petrol models sold in higher numbers initially because they were cheaper than the diesel ones at the time.

You would pay about €16,950 for a 1.8-litre petrol model like the one we found here at a SIMI dealer.

Here is another excellent one in Cork, for €16,900.

Diesel models cost quite a bit more, with a 2008 model at a SIMI dealer costing closer to €20,000.

For the mileage you do, you could get away with a petrol model without totally breaking the bank and you certainly won't save in fuel costs by spending the extra on the diesel model. Granted, road tax will be higher on the petrol.

You could probably get into a 2008 Passat BlueMotion with your budget and that too would be a good car. Yes, I've heard of some occasional issues with the latest Passat, such as a problem with the power steering and with the electric parking brake, but they have been pretty well dealt with by Volkswagen.

Expert answer

Hi Daniel,

We can't give you an accurate price on what your car would be because really you should look at the cost to change, but you could probably expect to get about €12,000-€13,000 as a trade-in against a new or used new model of the Passat.

Make sure you shop around.

Expert answer

Hi Anthony,

Well we can't quite say exactly what you are likely to get offered for your Corolla, but let's presume that it is likely to be about €2,500 - €3,000 when traded in against something new. With a budget of €25,000 on top of this then there is a lot of choice available to you. You could have a wide variety of new cars and an even greater choice of used models.

In answer to your first question, with you doing 18,000 miles per year, you could do with a diesel engine to keep your fuel bills down.

Your choices in terms of a new car are massive, including a brand new Toyota Avensis, which would probably add up to the best deal in terms of your trade-in. The new Avensis is remarkably comfortable and for a car that you are likely to spend so long in, this would make a nice place to sit. The diesel engine in the Avensis is very good, and it will be cheap to run and Toyota residuals are superb.

A sum of €26,735 will get you the 125hp Avensis Strata saloon. Another great choice for comfort and residual value would be the Volkswagen Passat. You could have the 1.6 TDI Comfortline BlueMotion for €27,375 and that has the feel of an executive car and would be great for the high mileage you do.

Almost impossible to ignore is the Skoda Superb. It really is great. You could have a 2.0-litre 170hp Comfort model for €27,805. Granted you might not need all that rear space, but there are few more comfortable cars on the road.

A car we have just spent a few days in is the updated Mazda6. The new model has a much better diesel engine than before, and there are some changes to the spec of the car. This offers a good blend between comfort and sportiness. It is a good-looking car too and comes as a hatchback.

A car I really like is the Subaru Legacy diesel. This is one of the most underrated cars around and it is lovely to drive. A 2009 model would cost you about €23,000 so it would be under your budget by quite a degree:

http://tiny.cc/43787

However, the car I'd think about with your budget is the VW Passat CC, the more coupé-like version of the Passat. There is a stunning 2.0-litre TDI model on sale in Dublin for €29,950 and it is absolutely stunning:

http://tiny.cc/4j2hf

Expert answer

Volkswagen aren't saying much at the moment, but you can take it as a given that the new model will feature the 1.4-litre TSi and I reckon (and this just a guess) that it will be the same one that is in the Passat at the moment. This is a reasonably new engine and I think it will be carried over to the replacement. The 122hp unit replaced the 1.6-litre petrol and for the first while I would see this engine being carried over.

As you can see from what they have done in the Polo, with the 105hp unit available, there is increasing popularlity and relevance for these smaller turbocharged engines and they definitely have a future. They offer a great way of keeping emissions down but at the same time returning pretty potent performance.

Everyone is being conditioned to buy diesel cars at the moment, but this new raft of small petrol turbocharged engines will offer a great alternative.

Expert answer

Hi Ollie,

Cars like your Golf are retailing for around €8,000, so you might get close to this as a trade in against another car. Presuming that it might be a little less, say €7,000, we could say that you have a €13,000 budget overall. I will come back to you shortly once I have done some more research for you. 

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Hi Stephen,

I presume this relates to the question that you asked on Sunday about Passat petrol vs. diesel figures. Yes, the 1.6-litre FSI Passat from memory does feel a little on the slow side because it is quite lacking in torque. Here are the figures once more, versus the 1.9-litre TDI from the same year:

In 2007, the 1.6-litre Passat had 115hp and 155Nm of torque. Top speed was 199km/h, with 0-100km/h in 11 seconds and fuel consumption was 7.6l/100km (or 37mpg).

The 1.9 TDI had 105hp and 250Nm of torque. Top speed was slower at 188km/h and 0-100km/h took 11.7 seconds, but fuel economy was much better at 5.6 l/100km (50mpg).

The extra torque in the diesel Passat will probably make it a nicer car to drive. 

If you do need more power, the 2007 Passat is also available with a 2.0-litre TDI engine with 140- and 170hp options and there are several on sale at the moment, if budget allows.

Expert answer

Hi Stephen

In 2007, the 1.6-litre Passat had 115hp and 155Nm of torque. Top speed was 199km/h, with 0-100km/h in 11 seconds and fuel consumption was 7.6l/100km (or 37mpg).

The 1.9 TDI had 105hp and 250Nm of torque. Top speed was slower at 188km/h and 0-100km/h took 11.7 seconds, but fuel economy was much better at 5.6 l/100km (50mpg).

So, the petrol was a fraction faster, but the diesel offers much better fuel economy. Hope this answers your question.

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!