Expert answer

Hi Erwan,

The 207 had recalls in 2007 for engine power loss, a loose seatbelt fixing and short-circuiting electrics. 

Watch for failed wipers and faulty fuse boxes while both clutch and gearbox can be fragile, especially with lots of urban driving. As always make sure the cambelt is replaced on schedule.

Hope that helps

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Hi Philip,

The thing with Italian cars is that they're like the apocryphal little sister. When they're good, they're very, very good. When they're bad, they're 'orrible.

The Multipla is actually one of the more robust Fiats, and speaking from personal experience the 1.9 JTDM diesel engine seems to take all manner of abuse and high mileage in its stride.

The best bet seems to be to avoid the 1.6 petrol model, and check to see if a diesel is down on power or displaying obvious flat-spots in the power delivery. If so, it could be an exhaust gas recirculation valve, or a more serious crankshaft wear issue. 

Other than that, check and make sure that everything electronic is working right. Fiat has come a long way on reliability since the bad old days but irritating electrical gremlins remain the brand's Achilles heel.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi John,

With that kind of mileage, I think you should go for the petrol Avensis. Yes, it’ll be a little higher in tax costs, but you’ll get it for less than the diesel, and have lower maintenance costs. 

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Hi Martin,

You're in an enviable position and, before going into more detail, we'd be very happy with any of those cars as an ownership proposition.

Personally, I'd be sorely tempted by the Evoque. There are plenty of colour and wheel options to change its appearance to your liking, it's much more of an occasion inside and it drives like a hot hatch (the chassis is very much road-biased, though it does well enough off-road when needed). Admittedly, certain versions of the BMW and Audi may be more economical, but I'd look at it very closely.

When the current BMW X3 came out it really took a leap forward from its predecessor in terms of comfort, quality and refinement, but between that and the Audi Q5 I may too be swayed by the fact that the Audi has had a more recent update. I also prefer how the Q5 looks. There's very little between them depending on which engines you're looking at.

The best advice is to go test drive each car for as long as possible, paying close attention to the specifications of the test cars.

In terms of automatic gearboxes, unless you're looking at a petrol Q5 (which I doubt!) or the high-performance SQ5 TDI model (fantastic) then the only option is the dual-clutch S-Tronic unit. This helps with efficiency and allows the driver more control when he wants it, but is not as smooth as a traditional torque converter gearbox, as fitted to the Evoque and BMW. They're both smooth systems, but the eight-speed item in the BMW is the most impressive, managing to minimise fuel consumption increases.

Hopefully that's of help, but come back to us if you need more

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Hi Frank,

The new-shape BMW 5 Series is a fabulous car, especially if it has the right equipment, such as a leather interior, etc. The 520d is nothing short of fantastic when new, though we've heard reports that this 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine can have expensive problems as it gets older - especially if oil maintenance is not adhered to strictly. If the one you're looking at has a detailed service history then there's less worry.

However, if you do very small mileage we'd question why you're going for a diesel car at all. The fuel economy might be tempting, but you should look around and see what petrol models you can get for your money too, as modern petrol engines are improving in terms of fuel economy and emissions - and they're generally cheaper to buy and maintain. They're also quieter and far better suited to low mileage use.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi Erwin,

Ignition coil packs and excessive oil consumption on higher-mileage cars seem to be the only major faults, but then again basic Polos were so stingily equipped that there's nothing much to go wrong. Watch for engine wear though - it's an underpowered car and you need to rev the nuts off it to get any decent performance, with consequent wear and tear issues. 

Keep it in town, at low speeds, where it was designed to work, and it should be cheap to run, with very cheap insurance too.

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Hi Rachel,

There only seems to be one specific problem with the Note and that's with the air conditioning system, which can spring a leak and drop water into the foot well. Unnoticed and left alone that can lead to mould forming in the car and a distinctly smelly cabin.

Other than that, the Note is built in the same Sunderland factory (in the UK) that makes the Qashqai and Juke - and used to make the Micra - so quality is of a very high level.

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Hi Ger,

We always did have a big soft spot for Saabs in general, but the sad fact is that the last-gen 9-3 was neither a great car in and of itself, nor especially reliable. The 1.8t petrol engine was, at least, a little better than the diesel options in terms of reliability, but it’s probably going to be troublesome. Definitely don’t buy one that doesn’t have a full service history, and don’t pay too much for it either. I reckon €4,000 would be top value.

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Hi Patrick,

It should be fine, as it was the four-cylinder diesel that was troublesome on the E60 5 Series, and the straight-six engines are pretty solid. Just make sure that it has a full and complete service history and, if there are any gaps in the maintenance, walk away.

Expert answer

Hi Keith,

No, it's not a waste of time at all. It's almost always better value to keep and fix an existing car rather than pay the cost-of-change to upgrade to something newer. That said, if you're convinced you need a better solution, then you won't do better than to go for one of the many car-vans on offer now. The Renault Kangoo and Citroen Berlingo are the best known versions, but there are also similar models available from Fiat, Volkswagen and Peugeot.  My personal pick would be the Fiat Doblo, fitted with the 1.6- or 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engines. You'll find the cabin surprisingly comfy, it's quite pleasant to drive, very economical and good on tax and massively spacious in the back. There's even a seven-seat version available if you want to be really popular at the school gate.