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Hi Linda,

It certainly does sound like an injector issue - assuming the coil and plugs are fine. We'd suggest that the injectors are tested before hastily replacing them. Any decent garage will do that for you - it doesn't have to be a main dealer. From the information you've given us about the car, we don't believe you can re-program the injectors. It may be possible to refurbish them, but in most cases it's probably better just to replace it.

If that's what is needed, the cost of the part itself is well over €100, but no garage should charge you more than an hour of labour for replacing it, as it's a relatively easy job.

Hope that helps and you get sorted.

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Hi Frank,

We would expect the new Audi A3 saloon to come to Europe. Aside from retailing stretched versions of the Audi A6 in China, we are pretty sure that Audi always give Europe all of their cars. We could probably expect to get more details on this later in the year, most likely at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Like any car evolution, the A3 will undoubtedly get bigger!

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Hiya Donal,

Our initial research shows that it appears to be 60,000km, but we will double check with SEAT and come back to you on this one.

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Hi Ciaran,

There were a lot of used Audi A4s brought into Ireland over the last few years, mainly by personal import. I remember seeing a statistic at the time stating that there were more used Audis being imported into Ireland than there were new Audis being sold. The quality of these imported cars varied quite a lot. Two members of my own family bought cars from the years that you mention and while they have been fine, when something does go wrong (through wear and tear) the costs of parts can be pricey. 

The car you have shown us is petrol powered, which might make it tricky to sell on again, especially since you will probably reach 100,000 miles reasonably soon in it. It has had three owners too in quite a short space of time, so I would want a full history check done on the car and I'd want to know if there have been any problems. 

I think if everything checks out on that car then you could be on to a winner, although I would probably be inclined to look at a diesel with slightly higher miles because resale value might be better. 

Hope that's of help

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Hi Jerome,

I spoke to a representative from the National Car Test on your behalf who said that changing your speedometer or your odometer would not affect your NCT at all or the VRT inspection in any way.

I hope this helps

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The next Santa Fe will be called the ix45 as far as we know, with the ix55 being a larger seven-seater above that model at the top of the range. These will be European-spec models and will be different to what you get in the US. It is possible that the ix45 will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, which is at the end of next month, but we haven't seen images as yet. 

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Hi Patricia,

A total of 80,000 miles on a three-year old vehicles is indeed on the high side, but if the car was serviced properly then it shouldn't be a problem. If the garage or seller in question can show a full service history and if the price is right then I wouldn't be overly concerned - especially given that you don't plan to drive it a lot.

The issue is that once the car gets over 100,000 miles then the value of the car will decrease quite quickly and there will also be more repairs due because of natural wear and tear. If you only do about 10,000 miles per year then you should see three to four years of good service out of the Galaxy, but I must stress that this car must be perfect to begin with, with a full service record. 

I hope this helps

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Hi Patricia,

Buying a car from the UK can be cost effective. I have done it twice myself and certainly saved money. But like any car purchase you really need to make sure that you do your homework properly and exercise lots of caution. The more you can do in terms of a background check on your car the better.

We would advise you to avoid buying privately in the UK as this could prove riskier. Buy from a main dealer, where there is a proper warrranty and usually a full service history. You are still likely to save money yet there will be greater piece of mind.

Services like MotorCheck.ie offer a very thorough check on UK cars too, so they are worth spending a few Euro on for some added piece of mind. The actual purchase itself isn't really very complicated. You just need to factor in some additional costs like a flight over and a ferry back and then you need to have a good idea of how much you will be paying for the car in Vehicle Registraion Tax (VRT) when you import the car. You can pretty much do this down to the last cent these days on the Revenue on-line calculator.

Research is key; do this and you can perhaps not totally avoid risk, but certainly reduce it.

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Hi Donal,

We got a little more information from you and we now know that your budget is around €20,000 with scrappage. The Corolla has grown in size as a saloon so I guess you aren't after something of that size. My first thought had been a Skoda Octavia diesel, which starts at €19,340, but this is also quite a big car so might not appeal.

Another excellent choice would be the new revised Mazda3. This comes with a good diesel engine and is available as a saloon, but isn't overly bulky. We drove this car recently and found it really competent. The four-door saloon version starts at €22,525, though there is €3,530 off in the scrappage deal so it would cost you €18,995, which is well under budget.

Another option would be the Renault Fluence. This is a substantial car and you get so much for the money. We had the top spec TomTom edition and although the sticker price is €23,500 it drops to €19,000 under scrappage. Read our review of the car here. However, if you think the new Corolla is too big, you may find that the Fluence is as well.

It is very hard to look beyond the Ford Focus too. The saloon might be just over your budget, but there is an excellent offer on the hatchback, which is €21,015. With scrappage this would be under budget.

In answer to your question, best for comfort, economy and reliability (and not too big), the Mazda seems to suit you best out of this lot, especially when it comes to the price. They are pretty good at holding their value too.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to come back to us if you have more questions. Just drop them into the comment box below.

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Hi Ger,

We are likely to see the new EcoBoost engines in the facelifted version of the Mondeo, which is expected to make its debut at the Paris Motor Show later in the year.

The new EcoBoost engine will be similar to that about to make its debut in the new S-MAX. This is a 2.0-litre petrol engine (which has 203hp), but there will also be a 1.6-litre EcoBoost at some stage later this year. The 1.6-litre EcoBoost will make its debut in the new C-MAX and Grand C-MAX models. We are guessing at the power, but I think 130-150hp from the 1.6 EcoBoost would be about right. 

Ford EcoBoost combines a single turbocharger with a direct injection fuel system, delivering, as Ford says, V6 performance from a four-cylinder with fuel economy improvements of at least 10 percent.