Expert answer

Hi Jaunkeypersad,

The Kia Rio is available in 1.0 LX or 1.0 EX. Both are petrol and manual and they cost €11,865 and €12,810 respectively. WIth 99g/km emissions they're in Band A, which now costs €160 per annum. Kia quotes 4.2 litres/100km on the combined cycle, which equates to 67.3mpg.

For the same money you could pick up a low-mileage 2010 Toyota Yaris 1.0 or even the 1.33-litre version. There are more grades to look through to see what you're getting for your money, but in terms of economy and emissions, both of those engines sit in Band A as well. The Yaris isn't as economical as the Picanto though, with the 1.0-litre returning 55.4mpg (5.1 litres/100km) and the 1.33 quoted as about 54.3mpg - or 5.2 litres/100km.

The added benefit of buying the Kia new is of course gaining the full seven-year warranty.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Magdalena,

As always it depends on mileage and condition. A tatty high mileage example will be worth less than €1,000, but a good one could attract just over €2,000.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Bokane,

It depends on the version, as there were 8-valve and 16-valve versions of the 1.6-litre petrol engine. Official combined consumption is 7.5 - 8.0 litres/100km (about 36 to 38mpg).

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

Hi Antoinette,

First of all it's always worth remembering to focus on the 'cost to change' rather than the trade-in value alone. Your current car is unlikley to be worth quite €1,000 to a dealer so bear that in mind. If that gives you €5,000 in total to spend then you could potentially afford a 2005 Toyota Avensis. However, that price will get you a high mileage example so it may be worth going for a 2003/2004 example in good condition with low mileage.

I reckon you're better off with a petrol version if you're looking at an Avensis of that age. It was before the changeover to emissions-based taxation in July 2008, so the 1.6-litre petrol model was very popular - and is therefore in plentiful supply on the used market. Tax is cheaper too than the diesel of the same age due to it being calculated on engine size.

Along with that, 11,000 miles per year is not quite high enough to justify the potential extra cost of a diesel car in my opinion.

Hope that helps

Expert answer

Hi Niall,

You're in an unfortunate position and there are thousands more like you. It may be better if you tried to sell the car privately, though its value may be much lower than you had hoped.

Sorry we can't be the bearers of good news on this one.

Expert answer

Hi Lisa,

You've not told us the model year of your A4, but given that mileage we'd guess it's a 2004 version. If so then it's likely to be worth less than €10,000, despite the condition.

Obviously all trade-ins are only worth what the dealer thinks they're worth, so take this as a guideline only.

Please do let us know how you get on with it

Expert answer

Hi Donal,

The specification will help, but when you are trading it dealers tend not to pay too much attention to extras on the car, but in this case the climate control and double sunroof are a decent selling point. If you were to trade it in against a new car I would expect you to be offered around €9,000 for it and you could ask perhaps €10,500 if you were to advertise it privately, obviously to take less. 

Expert answer

Hi Gavin,

49mpg would be pretty ambitious and far fetched in a 316i. The official figure was 38mpg for the 316i and to get that you would be doing well. About 34-35mpg would be about right. A diesel will do better mileage, but if you want a 3 Series you will pay more for it and probably not make up the difference. The only thing I would say is that the 316i is not very fast and this can become bothersome on high mileage My advice? Consider a BMW 1 Series with a decent diesel engine instead.

Expert answer

Hi Dee,

We have seen a lot written abotu problems with the diesel Mazda6 and some of it founded and some of it is plain fiction. What we would say is that like most modern diesel cars, when the mileage is high the cost of changing something called the Diesel Particulate Filter can be quite high and this is what is being reported quite a lot about the Mazda6. We get asked a lot about going back to petrol cars. We love petrol cars here and the simple fact is that if your mileage is pretty low it won't cost you all that much more to run it and there are massive savings to be made. These days, don't expect it to be worth much in a few years though, because most people are turning their back on larger petrol cars for good. But if you intended to get proper use out of it then it could be a super buy. 

Expert answer

Hi John,

You should ask for €26,000 and be prepared to drop down to about €24,500.

I hope this helps.