Expert answer

Hi Anthony,

Well we can't quite say exactly what you are likely to get offered for your Corolla, but let's presume that it is likely to be about €2,500 - €3,000 when traded in against something new. With a budget of €25,000 on top of this then there is a lot of choice available to you. You could have a wide variety of new cars and an even greater choice of used models.

In answer to your first question, with you doing 18,000 miles per year, you could do with a diesel engine to keep your fuel bills down.

Your choices in terms of a new car are massive, including a brand new Toyota Avensis, which would probably add up to the best deal in terms of your trade-in. The new Avensis is remarkably comfortable and for a car that you are likely to spend so long in, this would make a nice place to sit. The diesel engine in the Avensis is very good, and it will be cheap to run and Toyota residuals are superb.

A sum of €26,735 will get you the 125hp Avensis Strata saloon. Another great choice for comfort and residual value would be the Volkswagen Passat. You could have the 1.6 TDI Comfortline BlueMotion for €27,375 and that has the feel of an executive car and would be great for the high mileage you do.

Almost impossible to ignore is the Skoda Superb. It really is great. You could have a 2.0-litre 170hp Comfort model for €27,805. Granted you might not need all that rear space, but there are few more comfortable cars on the road.

A car we have just spent a few days in is the updated Mazda6. The new model has a much better diesel engine than before, and there are some changes to the spec of the car. This offers a good blend between comfort and sportiness. It is a good-looking car too and comes as a hatchback.

A car I really like is the Subaru Legacy diesel. This is one of the most underrated cars around and it is lovely to drive. A 2009 model would cost you about €23,000 so it would be under your budget by quite a degree:

http://tiny.cc/43787

However, the car I'd think about with your budget is the VW Passat CC, the more coupé-like version of the Passat. There is a stunning 2.0-litre TDI model on sale in Dublin for €29,950 and it is absolutely stunning:

http://tiny.cc/4j2hf

Expert answer

Volkswagen aren't saying much at the moment, but you can take it as a given that the new model will feature the 1.4-litre TSi and I reckon (and this just a guess) that it will be the same one that is in the Passat at the moment. This is a reasonably new engine and I think it will be carried over to the replacement. The 122hp unit replaced the 1.6-litre petrol and for the first while I would see this engine being carried over.

As you can see from what they have done in the Polo, with the 105hp unit available, there is increasing popularlity and relevance for these smaller turbocharged engines and they definitely have a future. They offer a great way of keeping emissions down but at the same time returning pretty potent performance.

Everyone is being conditioned to buy diesel cars at the moment, but this new raft of small petrol turbocharged engines will offer a great alternative.

Expert answer

Hello Brian,

This is an interesting one. I am guessing, as you own and love the 406 Coupé that you don't really want something too mainstream. It might seem obvious to put you into something like a BMW 3 Series Coupé, but I don't think that is what you are after.

As you probably know, you might not get offered very much for your 406 Coupé, which is a shame. Try to sell it privately because these cars do have a loyal following and if you got €2,000 that would no doubt be welcome. There is one for sale with a lot less miles than yours in Dublin for €2,650, so work backwards from there. 

Trading it is probably the easiest. Let's say that you have a budget of €16,000 and see what is around that might suit. 

One, perhaps rather obvious, choice would be to go for a Peugeot 407 Coupé. The diesel model sold really well and remains expensive, but I found a 2007 2.2-litre petrol version with just 21,000 miles on the clock and they are asking just €14,950. You can find it here:

http://tinyurl.com/33k7nl3

That might work given the really small mileage that you do and since you loved your 406 Coupé then this could be a great buy. 

If you want something very pretty and unique, how about an Alfa Romeo Brera? Here is a 2.2-litre petrol model for €17,950, but you could well haggle this price down further. There aren't too many about and while we cannot say that it won't give you the odd headache, it is a real head turner.

http://tinyurl.com/3ydqk89

Even if you're not a BMW guy, it's worth considering a 2006 320d Coupé, which will be reasonably economical for under €16,000. This one is in Monaghan and the mileage is pretty good at 69,000 miles.

http://tinyurl.com/3yr7wgq

I don't think you need a diesel given your mileage. I'd pick a Volkswagen Golf GTI. I know it isn't a coupé, but it is a super car to drive. This one is a 2006 model, but you might sneak into a 2007 version for your budget too. The example we found has the brilliant DSG gearbox, has done just 26,000 miles and is loaded with kit. It is such a rewarding car to drive and, since you live in the city, the gearbox should suit you perfectly giving you the best of both worlds.

http://tinyurl.com/32aftto

Please feel free to come back to us if we are way off the mark!

Expert answer

Hi Ollie,

Cars like your Golf are retailing for around €8,000, so you might get close to this as a trade in against another car. Presuming that it might be a little less, say €7,000, we could say that you have a €13,000 budget overall. I will come back to you shortly once I have done some more research for you. 

Expert answer

Well you haven’t said what your budget is but there are plenty of interesting cars that are available under the scrappage scheme.

Alfa Romeo’s Mito is a small premium hatchback, and its clean 1.3-litre diesel engine puts it in Band A; the 1.4-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel models fall into Band B. Prices start at €18,995 before you take away the government discount.

The Audi A3 with the 1.2-litre TFSI petrol, the 1.6-litre diesel and 2.0-litre diesel all qualify for scrappage, as does the Cabriolet version. The A3 3-door starts from €25,195 before scrappage discount, it’s €26,195 as a 5-door Sportback model, and €32,785 for the Cabriolet version before the €1,500 discount.

The A4 with a 2.0-litre diesel engine in either 120bhp, 136bhp and 170bhp all fall under Band B in either saloon or Avant form. Prices start from €34,060 (€32,560 with scrappage) for the diesel saloon and €36,460 (€34,960 with scrappage) for the Avant. The stunning A5, with a 170bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine, falls into Band B. Prices start at €44,265 (€42,765 with scrappage). You can also have the Audi A6 2.0-litre TDi with 136bhp, which is in Band B. This huge car starts from €39,735 (€38,235 with scrappage). The Audi TT diesel is a really superb car to drive. At €44,175 for the Coupé (€42,675 with scrappage), this is a brilliant buy and that fact that it costs €156 per year to tax makes it all the sweeter.

BMW also has a huge number of models that qualify for the scrappage scheme. Its 2.0-litre diesel is used in various power outputs across the 1-Series, 3-Series and 5-Series and these all have emissions of less than 140g/km, even when fitted with an automatic transmission.

The 1-Series is available with clean diesel engines ranging in power from 115bhp to 177bhp. Prices start at €24,900 for the 3-door 116d, €23,400 with the scrappage discount.

The BMW 3-Series starts from €33,310 for the 316d. All its models get €1,500 off from the government through scrappage. Largest of all is the 520d. Although there is a new model coming later in the year, the run-out models of the 520d are expected to sell well, especially with a price tag of €40,220.

Mercedes-Benz has a number of models that qualify under the scrappage scheme. The standout model is the C-Class Blue Efficiency 200 (136bhp), 220 (170bhp) and 250 (240bhp) manual versions, the E-Class 200, 220 and 250 manual version and the E-Class Coupé 220 and 250 models with manual transmission. Prices start at €36,500 (€35,000 with scrappage) for the C200 CDi, €41,200 (€39,700) for the E200 CDi and €47,700 (€46,200) for the E-Class Coupé E250 CDi.

Finally, what about the Volkswagen Scirocco? You can have the 1.4-litre TSi petrol or 2.0-litre TDi Sport model under the scrappage scheme. Prices start at €25,190 for the Scirocco (€23,690 with scrappage),

To answer your question though, which is fastest? We think it is the BMW 123d Coupe. It has emissions of 138g/km yet has a top speed of 238km/h and 0-100km/h time of 6.9 seconds. This is faster than the Audi TT TDi, which has a top speed of 226km/h and 0-100km/h time of 7.5 seconds.

Expert answer

It is very true that obtaining finance is a major problem at the moment. A survey by the Peugeot dealer network in late 2009 showed that 71 percent of car finance proposals were being rejected compared to 30 percent in September 2008. In the last 12 months GE Money, Friends First and Lombard Ireland all left the market, which is now dominated by the likes of Permanent TSB, Bank of Scotland Ireland and the two main banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland. Evidence also suggests that the credit union has become a prominent lender for private individuals in the car market. It isn't a free for-all from the credit unions, but if you do have a decent savings record with a credit union they are a very good option.

In most dealerships, if you go through the likes of Permanent TSB, then you will usually need a pretty hefty deposit. Volkswagen Group now have their own bank and are said to be getting very high pass rates. As with most cases, it does depend on the state of your own finances and your ability to pay back the loan.

What seems to be clear is that motor finance is available, but like so many of the radio advertisements will say, ‘terms and conditions apply’. Large deposits and tough credit checks have replaced the sort of one-click, one-signature availability of the recent past

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.