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Hi Sandra,

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Hi John,

It will depend on the condition and history, but in the region of €3,500 to €4,000.

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Hi Pat,

Generally speaking, a 2012 Qashqai should retail for somewhere in the region of €12,000 (that’s a mid-market value), depending on condition and history. Your Corolla Verso, again depending on condition and history, should be worth around €1,500 to €2,000 as a trade-in.

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Hi Colm,

Of the ones you’ve suggested, I’d say that the Octavia is the best bet, not least because a Mazda6 or Toyota Avenisis with a 1.8-litre engine is going to be at the very bottom of the range. Your budget should get you an Octavia with the 1.2 TSI turbo petrol engine (which is actually a better choice than a naturally aspirated 1.6 or 1.8) and probably with a 131 numberplate.

Yes, you might have to swallow a high-is mileage, but as long as you get one with a full service history, that shouldn’t be a major issue as the Octavia is a reliable car. Other models worth considering are the Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta, SEAT Exeo (if you can find one) and Honda Civic.

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Hi Biju,

Official fuel economy for a 2008 1.4 D-4D Toyota Corolla stood at 56mpg. If the car has been well cared for since, I’d say you could expect to get around 45mpg in daily motoring from one.

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Hi Ciaran,

There are not many Toyota Levins about and without seeing the car it's a tough call to make, but you should certainly offer much lower. If you test drive the car and its history and condition check out then we'd suggest offer in the region of €1,400.

Let us know how you get on.

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Hi Helen,

An old RAV4 will be pretty thirsty, to be honest. Official fuel economy for the 1.8 petrol model, from 2004, was 38mpg, and around town I’d expect it to do not much better than 28mpg. The 2.0 diesel version is only 1mpg better off on the official figures, so don’t expect miracles from one of those either.

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Hi Olive,

Define good value. The problem with a car of that age is that it’s going to come down to how well it’s been looked after. A more expensive car that’s been cared for will, in the long run, cost you less than a bargain shed. I’d look out for a good Toyota Corolla Verso, or Opel Zafira, or (if you need something bigger) SEAT Alhambra. Shop around carefully though as anything of that age is going to be feeling its years by now.

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Hi Jon,

Well, it depends which model you mean, but I’m assuming it’s a 1.4 VVTi petrol with a manual gearbox. If so, the original official fuel economy was 42.2mpg, or 6.7 litres per 100km. Depending on how well the car has been looked after in the 14 years since then, it’ll probably do around 35mpg in daily driving.

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Hi Robert,

There’s lots of choice in that price bracket for an estate. You could go posh with an Audi A4 Avant TDI (you’ll get into a 2007 model for that budget), or big and practical with a Toyota Avensis (2011 or thereabouts), or sporty with a BMW 3 Series Touring. However, you’re probably best going for a Golf — that budget gets you a 2008 or 2009 Golf Estate, which is roomy, practical, reliable, and nice to drive.