Expert answer

Hi Anthony,

With a budget of €30,000 you can afford the most expensive five-door Mazda3 officially on sale in Ireland. It's called the Z-Sport and is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine with 151hp. It's priced at €29,495 plus the usual 'dealer related charges'.

You wouldn't have much left for accessories though...

Mazda's site shows what's available on that front (click here to go straight to the Mazda3 section). There are loads of roof attachments, including a Thule-made bicycle rack. Unfortunately there don't appear to be prices on the site for the accessories so you'll need to contact your local dealer.

Boot space for golf clubs won't be an issue.

If you'd like recommendations for alternatives to this Mazda please let us know in the comment box below and we'll see what we can find.

Expert answer

Hi Tony.

Thanks for writing in. With €30,000 to spend you have quite a fair degree of choice. As you are retired, I would imagine that you might want something for a variety of purposes. You mention that you will travel a bit with some of the work you are going to be doing now. When you refer to farming work, then I guess you might end up in a muddy field now and again too, so perhaps some off-road ability would be a help too?

I don't want to ask a retired gentleman his age, but I know that when you get older access becomes important and something a little higher will be easier on 'well-used' joints and kind on your back too. I would recommend the Skoda Yeti because I think that this could tick a lot of the boxes. It has great build, is comfortable, easy to get in and out of and if you get one with four-wheel drive then it will cope with all your farm work too.

A figure of €25,220 will get you a 2wd Yeti 2.0-litre TDI (110hp) with all the bells and whistles. The 4x4 model isn't on sale yet, but we will check with Skoda and find out when that version arrives. If you don't think you would need the 4x4 version for towing or getting over bad terrain then you should probably get the 2wd version as it keeps fuel economy and emissions low.

It will cost you just €156 to tax each year because emissions are just 138g/km and the 110hp 2.0-litre diesel is eager enough too. We reckon this car could really suit you.

Another option would be the Subaru Forester Diesel. The newer model is a little over your budget, but you could get a 2009 model for about €30,000.

Anyway, hopefully this steers you in the right direction. We will come back to you on the Skoda Yeti 4x4 once we have spoken to Skoda.

Expert answer

There has been a huge move towards diesel cars here in Ireland because of the change to the road tax and VRT laws in July 2008.

Since then, as you may or may not know, road tax and VRT are calculated according to a car's CO₂ emissions and because diesel cars use less fuel than petrol ones, their emissions tend to be lower.

When your father bought the Mazda6 in 2008 it may well have been better value than the diesel model. Now, there is much less difference between the price.

Before we move away from Mazda, there is now a very good range of diesel engines in the new Mazda6 and that might make the most cost-effective swap if he was happy with the car he has because you will most likely get the best trade-in price from a Mazda dealer. However, by the sounds of things he wants a change.

Covering only 10,000km a year we previously might have said that there was no real need to buy a diesel because you would not save the extra price of the car in fuel.

This point remains true, but the difference now is that the market has changed so much to diesel that petrol cars are likely to lose their value faster and become increasingly unwanted by used car buyers, so at this size of car, we would say yes, move to diesel. Also, if you do buy new, your father will most likely benefit from lower road tax.

Without knowing a budget it is difficult to point you in the right direction but from the cars you mention I'm guessing the budget is between €25,000 - €35,000. This does offer a lot of choice.

The 2004/2005 BMW 320d is certainly an option. Since the current shape model came out in 2005, we would encourage you to look at these, or even a 2006. The prices of these are quite competitive at the moment. A 2005 320d SE at a SIMI dealer would probably cost you between €15,000 - €17,000.

BMWs are always tempting to buy used, but you must choose one that has been properly serviced and cared for, because they can become more expensive to put right as they get older. The choice of used 320d models at the moment is vast so if you do go down that route, shop around. It is a great car and with the small mileage your Dad does it is unlikely to end up costing you too much.

If you want to go down the new route, there are a few that would spring to mind. The first is the Skoda Superb. This car is really brilliant and huge too. It is well made and loaded with equipment. If your Dad likes comfort then this will be right up his street.

Our choice would be the 2.0-litre TDI Comfort for €27,805. It is excellent value for money and comes with lots of creature comforts (cruise control, climate control, etc.), a 170hp diesel that is powerful, yet still frugal at 5.8 l/100km. Road tax on this car is €302 per year. For me, if I were heading out to buy a family saloon today, I wouldn't pass the Superb.

You mentioned some other cars there. The Jetta isn't a bad car, but it's been out a few years now and is probably due an update, so I wouldn't buy that new. The Audi A4 is nice. A new one is going to cost you from €34,060 before you start looking at optional extras, so a 2009 model would make sense with all the options already added. €35,000 should get you a nice 2009 TDI version with lots of the toys thrown in.

Please feel free to come back to us with more details if you like (just add a comment below), but for me I would probably have the Superb.

Expert answer

Hi Ciaran.

Funnily enough, I was just last week at a tyre event and we got a full briefing on tyre wear, which I knew would come in useful somehow.

Firstly, no this isn't normal wear at all unless you were on a track racing. I take it that you aren't and from what you are saying the wear is even. Usually shoulder wear is a sign of under-inflation. Under-inflation can also lead to tyre blow-outs.

Drivers should check their tyre pressure every two weeks according to the manufacturers. One-sided wear is usually an alignment issue and that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Anyway, we contacted Bridgestone / Firestone on your behalf and they are happy to send out an engineer to inspect your tyres. I have sent you their details. They want to check out if there is a fault and we can take it from there.

What we will say about tyres is that it does not make economical sense to buy cheap ones. They tend to be of lower quality and there is no wisdom in having poor tyres on your car. See how you get on with the engineer and let us know by posting a comment back on this page.

Hope that helps. 

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

There has been a lot of debate about the benefits of hybrid cars, but few would disagree that they are a step in the right direction. The principle of the current crop of hybrids, for those that don't know, is that a standard petrol engine is combined with an electric motor, with the result being better fuel consumption and lower emissions. The original Toyota Prius was the first mass-produced hybrid on sale and Toyota has just released the third generation of the model and it promises to be more refined and cleaner than ever.

There are other alternatives such as the Honda Civic Hybrid, which isn't bad either, or the Honda Insight, while at the top end of the scale Lexus does three hybrids, the GS 450h, the LS 600h and the RX 450h. In the case of the Lexus hybrid technology it's as much about giving the cars higher performance as it is increasing efficiency.

A hybrid is cleaner in so far as official emissions figures are very low. The Prius emits less then 90g/km, which will make it the cleanest petrol car on sale in Ireland. In some cases you could get better fuel economy from a diesel engine though.

With a budget of €40,000 you could easily get into the new Prius when it arrives in October, as the car is expected to cost about €28,000 and this will be a very cheap car to run, so it seems the natural choice. Bear in mind that even cleaner technologies will arrive soon, including those in the Opel Ampera and even a new plug-in version of the Prius.

Expert answer

Hi Alison.

As your car is ten years old this year scrappage seems like the right solution and there are some amazing discounts on offer in addition to the Government's current incentive. The cars you mention are three of the best superminis on the market and because you use the car for quite a lengthy commute a diesel could be the best solution for you.

All three of these cars have diesel options. Opel's Corsa comes with a 1.3-litre 75bhp diesel with emissions now down from 119- to 114g/km. Prices for this start at €15,905 for the three-door version.

The Mazda2 is another very good option. With a 1.4-litre 68bhp diesel, emissions are just 114g/km so again you pay road tax of just €104 per year. The Mazda2 diesel starts from €15,930.

The Fiesta also has a 68bhp 1.4-litre diesel engine and emissions of 110g/km and this starts at €16,645.

All three of these cars qualify for the Government Scrappage Scheme, so would get a discount of €1,500. Much of the additional discounting available on any of these models is on the petrol models however, as dealers try and clear stocks of slow-selling petrol versions.

Of all these three cars the Mazda and the Fiesta are better cars so it would be down to these two in our opinions. We like the Mazda2 a lot, but we'd still say buy the Fiesta based on its looks and the way it drives. The Fiesta has been the outstanding small car over the last few years so if budget allows it is the car we would chose.

Expert answer

Hi Paul.

It's true, Lada's owners, which include the Renault-Nissan alliance, have said that it makes sense to bring the brand back to this side of Europe. If that happens it's also likely that the cars will be made in right-hand drive for the UK and Ireland.

I agree it'll take some marketing genius to turn around the image side of things, but bear in mind that Skoda was once seen as no better than a Lada - and look at it now.

The reasoning behind all this is apparently to beat the Chinese car makers to it. Renault-Nissan will be represented at the super-cheap end of the market by Dacia and Lada before the likely arrival of a handful of Chinese manufacturers.

Whether they'll be successful in Ireland or not remains to be seen. You reckon that the budget end is already pretty busy? Maybe there's room for new cars at an even lower price.