Expert answer

Hi Tanya,

Without knowing your budget just yet, it is a little difficult to guess, but a car that is a top buy for a family, with a great boot is something like a Skoda Octavia. One like this has low mileage, a frugal diesel engine and will be perfect for a lot of mileage. It is solid and has a great sized boot too.

The Nissan Qashqai has been a massive seller in Ireland of late, with good reason too, as it is very good value, has a brilliant safety record, looks great and is perfect for a family. Here is a fully loaded 1.5-litre diesel for €20,950 with low mileage. 

You could have the choice of a number of family hatchbacks too, such as a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Auris or perhaps even a small MPV.

Come back to us with more details and we will try and help you further. Just add your comment to the comment box below.

Expert answer

Hi Sinead,

Well your car does qualify for the scrappage scheme, which ends on December 31^st this year. All dealers who have cars that qualify for scrappage (new cars with emissions of 140g/km or less, Band A and B cars) are partaking in the scheme - at this stage most mainstream brands have some cars that qualify.

Renault is offering the best deals when it comes to the scrappage scheme and although you might not have considered a new car, it would probably make the most cost effective way of getting into another car as you will get the most money for your current Clio and the most money off a new one.

For example, if you were to trade-in your current Clio against a new version under the scrappage scheme it would cost you just €8,990 for a new one, so essentially, along with the Government allowance, you are getting a total of €5,050 off the price of a new car, and you certainly won't get this off a used one. You might, at best, hope for €1,000 off a used car for your 1999 model, so you might just get a 2008 Clio with your budget.

In summary, if your budget allows, go and get a new Clio under the scheme.

Expert answer

There are lots of suggestions, but we need to know what your budget is. Pop the details into the comment box below.

Thanks

Expert answer

Well firstly, congratulations on your impending arrival. I am going to be conservative and say that you might get around €4,000 for your Focus, but let's say that you have a budget of around €14,000.

You could indeed have a Ford Galaxy for this price, with a 2005 model with 79,000 miles (1.9 110hp diesel) costing you €12,950. 

It seems to be hard enough to find examples of the Alhambra around that are on sale from official SIMI dealers, which is something we would recommend, but you would pay very similar money for an equivalent Alhambra.

The Sharan is pretty much identical to the Alhambra, but they tend to end up a little bit more expensive because of the VW badge on the front, so I think these should probably be avoided, as there is no major benefit for quite a lot of extra money.

In terms of alternatives, there are a few you could look at. Have you considered the Opel Zafira? The rear seats might not be as big as you would like, but they are fine for small ones and it is a nicer car to drive than the ones you have mentioned.

If you wanted something a lot newer, you could have a petrol Renault Grand Scenic. We found a 2008 example with low mileage for under €14,000. I know you might prefer a diesel, but if your mileage is low then this could be a good buy.

In terms of your query on mileage on older cars, it isn't unusual for cars like this to have low mileage, because they tend to do things like short school runs and are often second cars in families. However, you can always be as sure as possible by buying from an SIMI dealer. 

Expert answer

Hi there,

There are very few small diesel cars available under the scrappage scheme that match your budget, but there are quite a few small petrol models that run the diesels close in terms of fuel economy. 

You could have the Fiat 500 for €9,995 under the scheme, which although it is petrol, is Band A, with just €102 per year road tax. 

You could have a Fiat Grande Punto, a much larger car, for €9,995 or, if you really wanted a diesel one you could have that for €12,495.

The Ford Ka, a similar car to the 500, would cost just €7,995 under the scheme, with the even better Fiesta costing €11,700, but again these are petrol models. 

Similarly, the Renault Clio is a smashing little car and a petrol one will cost you just €8,990 under the scheme, but a diesel one will cost you €12,200. 

The Hyundai i10, a five-door model, is also worth a look. The 1.2-litre, 78bhp petrol i10 is a good little car and comes with a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. Hyundai will add a further €2,000 to the Government's €1,500 discount, so the i10 effectively starts at €8,495. 

Our advice is that you forget about a diesel under scrappage unless you are prepared to up your budget. 

Out of that lot, I'd take a strong look at the Fiesta, or if you must stick to €10,000, perhaps the Ford Ka or the Fiat 500.

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

This is quite an eclectic mix of cars. We can't really give you an exact valuation on your Mondeo, but if we guess that it will be worth around €11,000 (you might get more) then you should have a budget of €31,000.

You could get into a brand new Jaguar X-Type for this price without too much difficulty. Bear in mind that this car is no longer made and while there are a few around, residuals won't hold up too well in the future. But you are getting quite a lot of car for your €30,000 with that. 

You could have a 2008 BMW 520d from a BMW dealer for under €30,000, obviously less than that if you decided to go non main dealer. Have a look at this one from a main dealer here.

A 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 220 CDi from a main dealer will cost you about €28,000. Here is an example. This would be more comfort-orientated, but obviously a year older than the BMW.

Finally if you wanted a passenger Touareg (as opposed to the commercial version), you would get a 2007 model, maybe a 2008 with this budget. This would obviously be a very different drive to what you are used to and running costs could be a little higher. Here is a good used example. 

Out of this lot, I would have the BMW, just from a personal point of view. That 5 Series was better than the E-Class of the same age. The X-Type is an old, discontinued car and I wouldn't spend that sort of money on a new one. The Touareg is nice, but it's very different to the others, so you would need to try it.

Hope this helps. 

Expert answer

Hi Michael,

We found an identical car to yours with the same mileage for sale for €8,950. You probably won't get offered that much as a trade in, but you could have an overall budget of about €17,000.

In terms of the Mazda6, that is a really good car and there weren't too many of the diesel models sold initially. The petrol models sold in higher numbers initially because they were cheaper than the diesel ones at the time.

You would pay about €16,950 for a 1.8-litre petrol model like the one we found here at a SIMI dealer.

Here is another excellent one in Cork, for €16,900.

Diesel models cost quite a bit more, with a 2008 model at a SIMI dealer costing closer to €20,000.

For the mileage you do, you could get away with a petrol model without totally breaking the bank and you certainly won't save in fuel costs by spending the extra on the diesel model. Granted, road tax will be higher on the petrol.

You could probably get into a 2008 Passat BlueMotion with your budget and that too would be a good car. Yes, I've heard of some occasional issues with the latest Passat, such as a problem with the power steering and with the electric parking brake, but they have been pretty well dealt with by Volkswagen.

Expert answer

Hi Edward,

There is no such thing as a cheap used BMW. I just recently sold a 2002 BMW 318i Touring and I loved it, but the repair bills when things went wrong were high, even from independent garages, so you need to bear this in mind.

Having said that, you could get something that will be similar, like a Lexus IS 200 perhaps, which should be less costly to put right if things go wrong.

Here is one for €3,975 and it is from a main SIMI dealer.

Or how about this? A nice Subaru Legacy for just €2,950? This would be a great car for the money.

Expert answer

Hello Helen

Thank you for your enquiry. In this instance, we are going to look on the website beepbeep.ie, because that is the official classified website of SIMI, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. Because we are looking at something on a budget we want to get something with as much history on it and as much security as possible for you. On that site, all cars come with a history check and they are also covered by the consumer protection act. 

A couple of things are important here. One is that your car is cheap and the second is that it will be reliable and I suppose, attractive would be good too?

You could never accuse it of being sexy, but this Nissan Micra on sale at a dealership in Drogheda has done 80,000 miles and has had only two owners. It will cost you just €1,550 and will be cheap to run, insure and service:

http://tinyurl.com/3y9m5fh

This Toyota Yaris from 1999 has done 130,000 miles and while that might sound like a lot, this little car is well able for it and this could be a decent little buy that won't cause you too much heartache:

http://tinyurl.com/3ydjl87

How about this? A 1995 Opel Corsa, which has only done 18,466 miles and has an NCT until early next year. That will cost you just €1,250:

http://tinyurl.com/3a59low

However, what I really think would be a great first car for you would be the Ford Ka, which is a great little runabout and still looks funky. This 1999 model has only covered 52,000 miles and has an NCT until 01/11. It is advertised at €1,850 but I reckon you could get it as a straight deal for a little less:

http://tinyurl.com/378vt9h

Let us know if any of these don't float your boat and we will put on our thinking caps again!

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