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Hi Lorraine,

They're OK from the point of view of reliability (although the 1.5 diesel can suffer from blown turbos and you need to keep an eye on the electrical systems), but if they're the same price then go for the Laguna - it's a much more sophisticated and better-driving car than the Fluence. 

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Hi David,

The Renault Laguna Coupe was indeed a very small-selling car in Ireland. Being launched into the teeth of a recession didn’t help, and nor did being a big, expensive French car to be honest. We can only find four on sale in Ireland at the moment, and none of those are the Monaco GP Edition. I think a trip to the UK might be your best bet…

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Hi Tom,

There's no doubt that the 1.6-litre petrol engine would fit in the Laguna's engine bay, but it could be a world of pain getting everything to work, from the fuel system to the electronics and sensors. We wouldn't recommend such a project.

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Hi John,

Your best option is probably to break it for parts. As a complete car it would probably only be worth around €750 even if the engine hadn't blown. With no engine its effectively worthless so your best bet is a car breaker who'll buy it for spares.

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Hi John,

Yeah, €12k sounds about right for a 12-reg Insignia diesel, as long as it has a full service history and is in good nick. I'd be looking to knock a good bit off if it's as far back as an 09, though.

Sadly, you're not going to get much for the Laguna - it's a car the trade just doesn't like much, so even if it's in exceptional condition, you'll probably get €1,000 to €1,200 at best.

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Hi Joe,

If it's the 180hp 2.0 dCi model you mean then its CO₂ emissions are 172g/km, which means annual road tax of €750.

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Hi Carmel,

OK, full disclosure - I owned a 2003 Laguna estate for several years, so I know here what I'm talking about. Realistically, they're not very reliable at all. The engines tend not to break in and of themselves, but everything else does. Anything electrical is suspect (especially the electric windows and the credit card key system), the suspensions are fragile (especially the rear rubber bushings) and the catalytic convertors regularly pop a rivet or two.

Best avoided to be fair.

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Hi Paul,

The coil pack would be the first place to start, as they fail regularly in that model Laguna. The vibration, we suspect, is from misfiring at low speeds.

It's definitely a job for a qualified mechanic, but let us know how you get on.

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Hi Gerard,

It’s a very good family car from the point of view of safety and comfort, and yes that 1.5-litre diesel is hugely economical (you should see better than 50mpg on a regular basis). You just need to keep a close eye on electrical items such as the central locking, the key-card and the windows and beware of traditionally steep depreciation for large French cars.

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Hi Gerard,

I write this as a former (recovering?) Laguna owner and the best I can tell you is to tread very, very carefully. Admittedly, I owned the previous generation Laguna that was quite simply a reliability disaster and one that cost Renault a fortune in warranty claims. The third-generation car, the one you're looking at, is much better in reliability terms, but still, you need to be suspicious of anything that uses electricity – make sure absolutely everything electrical is working properly and watch it like a hawk to check for failures. The 1.5 dCi engine is actually pretty good, and robust too, and you should pretty easily get high-forties mpg out of it. However, you're going to be on a pretty steep depreciation slope as nothing loses value faster than a big French car. That's fine if you're planning to keep and use it until it dies, but not so good if you're planning to trade-in in a few years. As a family car, it's actually quite good though – spacious and comfy, with a big boot and Renault has an excellent reputation for safety too.

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Hi Don,

Ah, a familiar problem this one, especially to anyone who's owned a second generation Renault Laguna (yes, that's my hand up). It's most likely that the clunking noise is coming from the top suspension mount, which is a spectacularly weak area on second generation Lagunas. It's not a massive job to replace but get it done now before the mount breaks and takes other expensive items with it. In extreme cases, the noise could be coming from a broken spring, but if that were the case you'd probably notice the car sitting lower to the road on one corner. When you're getting the work done make sure the garage checks out the other suspension mounts as if one's one the way out, the others could be too.

Expert answer

Hi Joan,

We highly recommend the Hyundai i40 Tourer. It has a huge boot (though the Passat's is larger again) and is very comfortable. It's not easy to choose between the i40 and Passat at a fixed budget, so see what you can get for your money. The Hyundai, for instance, comes with a great five-year warranty from new and a high level of standard equipment. Its 1.7-litre diesel engine is also better than Volkswagen's 1.6-litre TDI equivalent, though the Volkswagen 2.0 TDI engine is better again if that's within reach.

Either way you're making a good choice and we'd recommend you test drive both cars to see which you like best.

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Hi Ben,

Watch for faulty exhaust cats, failing electrics (especially the electric windows), fragile suspension mounts and bushings, disintegrating cabin trim and cracked engine mounts.

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Hi Gareth,

Unfortunately, if the dealer from which you bought the car is now in liquidation, then your options are a bit limited. You can of course apply to have your case heard by the liquidator, or bring a case to the small claims court, but I would suggest that the first thing you do is talk to Renault head office directly.

A figure of 200,000km is not excessively high mileage for a car such as the Laguna III (it’s only just over 120,000 miles in old money) so there’s no reason for the engine to fail. If the dealer in question was a Renault franchised dealer, then there may well be some comeback on it. The only problem is that, at nine years old, the car is long, long out of warranty so you are, as you suggest, relying on Renault’s corporate goodwill.

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Hi Tom,

Power steering aside (that's strange...) it really sounds like you might have connected the battery incorrectly or shorted the battery somehow. Have you any way to safely test the battery?

If you're not confident in finding the problem for yourself we'd really recommend you get an auto-electrician or a mechanic to take a quick look for you.

Let us know how you get on.

Expert answer

Hi Catherine,

Put simply, no, they are not. There are examples out there that run without a problem, but we've heard a lot of complaints from a lot of owners and it's a used car we'd steer people away from, as some repairs - especially the electrical ones - are expensive to fix.

No doubt you've been tempted by low pricing, but we couldn't recommend it.

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Hi Jack,

The scrappage scheme is over sadly, though Renault is running a similar offer until the end of June. You can get another €1,500 off if you're trading in a car that's over eight years old. Even without that offer you're more likely to maximise the value of that Laguna at a Renault dealer.

Saying all that, I'm sure you know that the Laguna isn't worth a whole lot at that age so it's probably not worth going for a new Renault just because you'll get a better trade-in price for it. If you do decide to go down the new Volkswagen Golf route, check with the dealer how much they'd be willing to knock off the price of the Golf by taking the Laguna. If it's a tiny amount then consider selling the Laguna privately. It's more hassle, but you're likely to get a better price.

Hope that helps

Expert answer

Hi John,

It's no firecracker, that's for sure, but it's not that bad really. Depends on your benchmark. Depending on the age of the car you're looking at it had either 112- or 117hp and 0-100km/h took about 11.5 seconds. Just don't expect to win any races when it's full of people and luggage.

Hope that helps

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Hi Dave,

This Laguna has a bad reputation, as you said. The two largest customer and reliability surveys in this part of the world consistently put it near the bottom in its class, which is not great, especially if you're considering a high mileage example.

However, because of all that the prices are low and I am guessing that you've got a bargain.

So, first thing to look at is if the car has had all its recall work done. Call a Renault dealer with its chassis number to confirm, as there were several recalls that applied to this car.

As with any used car check that every switch and control is working as expected and that all the warning lights come on when you turn on the ignition and go off again when the car is started.

Apparently the tyre pressure sensors are inaccurate as well, so check the pressures with a gauge for yourself.

Best of luck

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Hi Bill,

As with all such jobs, we'd recommend it is done by an experienced mechanic. Special tools are sometimes required to remove these connections from fuel filters, though most of the time they're held on with clips that need to be pushed/pulled or squeezed in a certain way.

If you send us on a photograph we may be able to give you more specific advice.

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Hi Brian,

The previous generation Renault Laguna had an awful reliabilty record, but this has certainly changed with the latest model. It actually ranked first in its class in the German JD Power reliability survey. 

There was a recall over a defective seatbelt, but this isn't mechanical and by and large the latest model has been pretty solid. 

That is about all the evidence we have so far on the car and up until now anyway the 2007 Laguna has been fine. 

I hope this helps! 

Expert answer

Hi there,

Well the obvious choice would be to go and get the latest Renault Laguna Sports Tourer, which could cost you as little as €23,090 under the scrappage scheme with a 2.0-litre diesel engine. This might be a bit over budget though. 

You are almost certainly going to get the best deal from a Renault dealership. The Grand Mégane is another option, but this only comes with a 1.5-litre diesel or 1.6-litre petrol. I am not sure why you would need it to be over 1.6-litre because the modern smaller engines are really good and the 1.5-litre diesel in the Mégane is really very competent. 

Hope that helps - if you need further advice please drop us a line in the comment box below

Expert answer

Hi Alan

The scrappage scheme has been good news and as you might have seen today SIMI is calling for an extension of this. Unless this happens, there would be no point in you getting a new car at the end of the year under scrappage because the €1,500 that you would get off this in the case of something like an Insignia would not be as much as you could lose eventually by buying a car later in the year. 

Sure enough, you could buy the Laguna and get €3,000 off. It isn't an awful car, but there really isn't anything remarkable about it and I personally wouldn't spend over €20,000 on one. I actually think the Renault Fluence is a better buy than the Laguna and it costs much less. It is a fine big car and really well equipped. 

However, with your budget we could do a whole lot better. Supposing that you get at least €1,000 for your Corsa, then you still have a generous budget. There is always the temptation to look at the German cars and as long as you realise that these can get pricey to service and run as they get older, they can be a great buy. 

You have a staggering amount of choice. For sheer ease of ownership I have noticed that Lexus IS models are really good value now. You can get a 2008 IS 220d for under €25k and that would be a pretty nice car to own. Here is an example. 

If you were buying new or almost new, this 2010 Subaru Legacy diesel is also within your budget. 

However, you could go a little larger and get yourself a 2007 BMW 520d. This example is from a main dealer and has tiny mileage and would be a really nice car to own. It has done just 20,000km and is an automatic too with a nice spec for just €28,000. I would find it very hard to pass up on this car to be honest. You could opt for one with a manual gearbox and get lower road tax, but to be honest, this is where my money would go.

I hope this helps

Expert answer

Firstly, there are probably more diesel automatic cars in Ireland than you might think, but they tend to be executive models rather than mainstream family cars because it seems that there still isn't a huge demand for them.

Toyota does in fact sell an automatic version of its Avensis. It is a 2.2-litre 150bhp diesel and that costs €35,530. Since you mentioned the Toyota Avensis we must assume that you are after a family saloon or hatchback so for a start you could have a Ford Mondeo 2.0-litre TDCi Style Auto for €32,225 - that comes as a saloon, hatchback or estate.

For you a few quid more you can have the run out version of the Jaguar X-Type 2.2 Diesel Auto for €32,995 or you could have the Mercedes-Benz B180 CDi Auto from €33,640.

There are loads of versions of the excellent Opel Insignia available with a choice of 130- or 160bhp diesel engines in saloon, hatchback or estate body styles. There are 24 different Insignia diesels available in total. Prices start at €30,380. You can have a Renault Laguna 2.0-litre dCi 150 TomTom Edition for €36,890.

A Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI with the excellent DSG gearbox will cost you from €35,960 and Skoda will sell you something with DSG for even less. How about an Octavia RS 2.0-litre diesel with 170bhp and DSG for €31,195? For us, that last car is the top choice. However you could stick with Skoda and go much bigger and that would be the Superb. You can have that with DSG and 170bhp for €31,195.

There is a fuel economy penalty in some cases and that is because the traditional automatic transmission has a torque converter. Automatic cars are generally a little heavier too, to the detriment of economy. Saying that, the latest generation of dual-clutch automatics and some of the newest conventional autos have massively improved.

Fuel economy and CO₂ emissions are directly linked, so often the manual version of a car can be in a lower tax band than their automatic siblings, but this is starting to change as mentioned above.