Expert answer

Hi Alisa,

That is a terrible situaton and I'm not sure if you can do anything. If you buy a used car from a private individual then there is usually no warranty and though you never met the actual seller, it sounds as if you were aware it was a private sale and there was no mention of warranty. 

If you have other information that you have not disclosed to us, perhaps contact the CPCC (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) and talk through the situation to see if there is anything more you can do.

Expert answer

Hi Lorraine,

The MG is certainly worth a look as it's exceptionally good value and also quite a spacious car. The Hyundai is perhaps a better-known quantity with a wider dealer network, but MG offers a great new-car warranty as well so don't be put off by that. If you're tempted by all the mod cons for that price I expect the MG might win for you, though make sure you go drive both for yourself to see which you prefer.

Buying new suits some people and not others. If you're buying with finance then it works well, and there's nothing quite like that new-car feel either. But others don't want to pay for the early years of depreciation that a new car comes with.

Of the used cars you mentioned, the Karoq and Ateca were never offered as hybrids. The Formentor was available as a plug-in hybrid if you'd consider that. It's a lovely car for sure. 

Expert answer

Hi Ankit,

Let's go through your list for a start:

Suzuki Swift: Even the top-spec model with loads of options comes in under budget, has adaptive cruise control and can be had with an automatic gearbox. Easy to drive, well-specified, should be reliable, though doesn't feel as substantial as some of the other cars listed. Read our Suzuki Swift reviews here.

Volkswagen Polo: Only the Style and R-Line versions come with adaptive cruise control, but those are slightly out of budget if fitted with the DSG automatic gearbox so unless you stretch the budget this isn't an option. That's a shame as it's probably the best car in this list all things considered. Read our Volkswagen Polo reviews here.

Toyota Yaris: The 1.5-litre hybrid is an automatic by default, and as you've identified, the Luna comes with adaptive cruise control. It's the only version in the Yaris lineup within budget with those items and it's an excellent car. The rear seats aren't huge, but the fronts are fine, it drives fantastically, should be very reliable and the hybrid system is efficient and good to drive. Quite likely the pick of the cars here all things considered. Read our Toyota Yaris reviews here.

Dacia Sandero Stepway: An automatic gearbox is available, and even the most expensive version is well within budget, but this car can't be had with adaptive cruise control - only the non-adaptive type is fitted. Otherwise, it's a spacious and well-equipped car for the money. Read our Dacia Sandero reviews here.

MG3: All versions are automatic and come with adaptive cruise control, so those boxes are ticked. And even the most expensive version is within budget so it's a realistic possibility. It's the most powerful car here, which is probably not important, but it's quite efficient as well. The Yaris is a more polished product, but the MG has a little more space. Read our MG3 reviews here.

Hopefully that's all of help. I'd strongly recommend you and your wife go check out a shortlist of cars in person and test drive them to see which you prefer, as it will come down to personal preference.

Let us know which you go for.

Expert answer

Hi Patrick,

The exact figure will be on the car's log book, and we assume you mean the 1.5 TSI 150 as the 1.5-litre engine only came in that guise in the Karoq.

We found data for three different UK trim lines (I'm assuming you're looking at importing from the UK) and all came back with a NOx rating of 29mg/km. However, the highest CO₂ rating for these cars was 127g/km, not 133g/km, so it's possible that the actual NOx figure of the car you're looking at might be a little higher than 29mg/km.

It won't be much higher anyway so that's a good estimate for you to calculate the NOx levy from.

Expert answer

Hi Teresa,

We used to get so many queries on this subject that we published a feature called Why won't my car's stop-start system work?

If you read that you'll discover that the systems are highly sensitive to battery charge and load, even when working perfectly. Could it be that you often have high-load items switched on? Things like heated seats, air conditioning, rear window demister, that sort of thing.

Now, in a DSG-equipped automatic car, you shouldn't need to put the car into neutral to get the stop-start system to work - that's only on manual cars. You can leave it in D (drive). What does affect it, however, is how firmly you are holding your foot on the brake pedal when at a standstill. Sometimes it's necessary to give the brake pedal a firm push before the engine will cut out.

Other things to watch out for: if you move the steering wheel, it is likely to cause the engine to restart. And if you're in the Sport driving mode or you've selected the Sport gearbox setting, then stop-start might not work either.

If none of the above changes your experience, I suggest getting a mechanic to come out in the car with you to check it over and observe how you drive, and then let them do the same.

Best of luck with it - come back to us and let us know how you get on.

Expert answer

Hi Phelim,

A rate of €750 a year suggests that the car has been put into the 171-190g/km emissions band. That does seem higher than native Irish Santa Fes. When did you import the car? It sounds to me that Revenue may have 'uplifted' the NEDC emissions rating to its WLTP equivalent, something that has happened since 1 January 2021.

See our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK feature for more information - most of that applies to a car imported from Australia too. Hopefully that helps you understand it.

Expert answer

Hi Stuart,

I'm afraid we don't ever attempt to give such prices, as both parts and labour costs vary considerably depending on where you get the work done. It will be several hundred Euro anyway, unfortunately, and the labour shouldn't be quoted as much more than four hours.

Expert answer

Hi Seamus,

This is obviously a tricky decision, and we wish your wife all the best in coping with this. When it comes to ride quality, the most important factors are the stiffness, overall, of the suspension, the size of the wheels, and the sidewall depth of the tyres. Basically, smaller wheels and normal suspension is the rule of thumb if you’re trying to get a car with a soft ride quality.

SUVs are actually generally quite bad for ride quality. That sounds counter-intuitive, because of course they’re taller and have longer-travel suspension, but the problem is that the springs and dampers have to be stiffened up to prevent the higher centre of gravity from inducing too much body roll. I would therefore suggest that keeping away from SUVs would be a good bet.

That said, the Subaru Forester you’ve mentioned below does indeed have a soft ride quality, again as long as you avoid the larger alloy wheel options. Ditto the smaller Subaru XV, which is helpfully lower to the ground and can get away with slightly softer suspension rates. Citroen, of course, is famed for having pillowy-soft ride quality, and the current C5 Aircross is pretty soft and springy, and has great seats into the bargain. You should definitely look at a Toyota Camry as well (very soft, and again with great seats) and the Skoda Superb.

Avoid anything that has a sporty designation (S line, R-Line, M Sport etc) as that will almost automatically have stiffer springs and bigger wheels.

Hope that helps. Below are links to our reviews of the cars mentioned above:

Subaru Forester reviews

Citroen C5 Aircross reviews

Subaru XV reviews

Toyota Camry reviews

Skoda Superb reviews

Expert answer

Hi Owen,

Unfortunately, by law, Citroen can refuse to carry out work under warranty on a car that’s been written off. You’d need to get a solicitor to comb through the fine print of the original warranty agreement to make absolutely sure, but in general — across Europe and in the UK — if a car is written off by an insurer, even for something as trifling as panel damage, then the warranty on that car is automatically void. It’s because if it was to carry out warranty work, there could be legal implications further down the line if a safety issue to do with the writing-off were to be found, or worse still someone injured themselves in the vehicle because of something that should have been spotted. 

Expert answer

Hi Jim,

Assuming you're sure that diesel power is for you, the Kuga is not a bad choice. There were various different power outputs available, so make sure you test it and that you're happy with the performance. The only major thing to look out for is the dual-clutch automatic gearbox - we'd steer clear of it if at all possible as it comes with many known faults.