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Hi John,

Yup, you'll have to pay the VAT I'm afraid. The rule says that if a car is less than six months old or has less than 6,000km on the clock, it's liable for Irish VAT upon entry into the state. You'll be charged it along with your Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) at the time of inspection.

Read our guide to importing a car from the UK here

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Hi Mike,

I must admit that sounds very very expensive. You should ask them to itemise the price for you, as the parts themselves really shouldn't be that costly. It would be interesting to know how many hours labour and the hourly rate they charge. You should also shop around before telling them go ahead. Ring a few other garages to get a price for it.

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Hi Loz,

Nope, very unreliable (especially the complex roof mechanism) and not much fun to drive. Avoid.

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Hi Chris,

We put that question to Peugeot Ireland and the answer is simply no. It is not economically viable to make that change as the cost of the new parts and the work involved would be huge.

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Hi Jonathan,

The Peugeot Expert 1.6 HDi diesel engine produces 90hp at 4,000rpm and 180Nm of torque at 1,500rpm.

It's also available with a 128hp 2.0-litre HDi option.

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Hi Martin,

There are a few, actually. Volvo sells the V60 D5 Twin Engine here in Ireland, which is a plug-in diesel-electric hybrid, while Citroen sells the DS 5 Airdream Hybrid4 200. Peugeot used to sell the 3008 HYbrid4 too, but it doesn't appear to be on the price list now, while Mercedes-Benz has had diesel-electric hybrid tech for a few years.

In fairness, we don't expect them to get any more plentiful or popular. Hybrid technology is expensive to produce and diesel technology is more expensive than petrol, so putting two expensive sets of components together inevitably means a high purchase price, even if the emissions are low and the VRT is kept in check.

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Hi Frank,

A little bit, yes. It depends on where you're driving it. If you're mostly in and around town, then actually it's fine. It's on motorways and main roads that it starts to struggle for power a little.

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Hi Padraig,

I'm afraid that's not an easy one to answer from afar. It could be a problem with the stereo unit or its connections, including the aerial's, it could be the speaker system too or of course it could be the radio signal in your area.

Best bet is to bring the car to a good local mechanic or auto electrician.

Hope you get to the bottom of it

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Hi Maureen,

I think you might need to bring it in to your local dealer to have it looked at. When was the car last serviced?

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Hi John,

You need to be very careful buying a car without an NCT. For all its flaw the test does go some way to ensure that cars on the road are at least basically roadworthy and a car without an NCT can be hiding all sorts of problems. 

You also need an NCT to be able to tax (and in most cases insure) your car so you need to get it booked in as soon as possible. If you're buying it from a dealer or garage, they really should have the car NCT'd before selling it. If you bought it privately then the previous owner has missed at least one NCT test and either needs to produce an Off The Road certificate or you're into a legally murky area.

Anyway, the short answer for you is to get the car tested and sorted ASAP.