Expert answer

Hi David,

The SEAT Toledo and Skoda Rapid are basically the same car, but with different badges. There’s no close relationship to the Jetta (other than minor systems and bits and pieces under the skin). Actually, the underpinnings are a combination of old Golf and old Polo bits, mixed and matched together. They’re decent cars — reliable and roomy — but not the most sophisticated. You’ll have to put up with a narrow cabin, slightly crude rear suspension and a fair bit of noise inside. If you’re doing 30k a year, you’re probably best off with the 1.6 TDI diesel. You should easily squeeze 55mpg out of that.

Read our Skoda Rapid reviews here

Read our SEAT Toledo reviews here

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Hi Peter,

It looks like nobody working with CompleteCar has driven this combination. The CVT is only offered with a 1.6-litre petrol engine in Ireland and our experience of any CVT gearbox with any petrol engine is not good. It is smooth, as there are no gear changes as such, but engine revs don't often correspond to forward motion, so it often feels that the engine is revving unnecessarily. CVT works well enough with diesel, but not with petrol engines.

Saying all that, you really should try it for yourself before discounting it completely.

Hope that helps.

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Hi Dave,

If you don't have any luck cleaning this by hand it's probably worth bringing the car into a spray painter and having the paint machine compounded and then polished back up.

Cheaper than a respray!

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Hi there Sheila,

If it is against a new or reasonably recent used car then it really isn't that generous. Presuming that it is in decent condition you could push for about €500 more, but as we always say here on CompleteCar.ie, don't look at how much you are getting for your car, but rather the 'cost to change' as this allows you to shop around with more clarity. You could try and sell your car privately. The cheapest one I have seen for sale privately is asking €5,250, so you could try that price and if you got €4,500 you would still be quids in! I hope that helps Sheila.

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Hi Noel, 

You obviously spend a lot of time in your car on a very bad road so the Volvo would probably have been ideal for you. In that case I am recommending that you get something with super comfy suspension and super comfy seats. You have probably extracted all of the value from your Volvo, so you can't really expect to be offered much more than a token gesture of up to €1,000 for  that car, but I imagine that you know this. 

So, with your budget of €15,000 then what should you buy? I would imagine that you keep your cars for a long time so future depreciate probably isn't a major factor for you, but you say that running costs are. 

The first car I have picked is a Saab 9-5. Saab are in a little bit of trouble, but their cars are so comfortable, with great seats. This one has a diesel engine and will be cheap to run. It would be a great car to own long term and is well under your budget. 

We really like the Mazda6 here at CompleteCar.ie and here is a nice one with a diesel engine and low mileage. This is a great car for mega mileage and would be super for your needs.

Another brilliant choice would be the Skoda Superb which is massive, comfy and really well built. This one has low mileage, the right engine and is great value. It is amazing value at under €13,000. I think I would buy this to be honest. 

I hope this helps!

Expert answer

Hi Gar,

We are never short on opinion here at CompleteCar.ie Gar, so you have come to the right place. Coming out of your 5 Series you are going to have to buy something that is vaguely interesting or you are going to really hate whatever you buy. Given that you are concerned about reliability you are right to express some concerns about the Passat. Unfortunately there have been quite a few issues with the last model Passat and it would probably stop me buying one second hand, even though it is usually the default choice. I'm not sure why you mentioned the Rover 75, but lets pretend that you didn't.

If I was buying something with €8,000 - €9,000 I think it would probably be a Mazda6 Diesel. I really like them and they age really nicely. 

Here is a decent example: 

You would have to check the DPF is ok, but otherwise they are a cracking good car. 

Expert answer

Hi Mark,

It is hard not to look past a BMW 520d Touring. There are a few nice ones around that fit your budget and to be honest this is where I would be looking. You might need one from a dealer if you intend to trade in. They are super cars and cheap to run too.

However, an outside choice as an estate is the Volvo V70. I personally love them as they are timeless and great for the dogs too. I have been drooling looking at this one in Cork all week and I reckon it would be a super buy - look at how low the mileage is!

Failing that, and if you aren't too worried about it being petrol, then a Subaru Outback is a marvellous car; this one has low mileage and is within your budget.

You might notice I didn't mention any Audis there. I figure you want a change, otherwise you wouldn't be asking us!

Best of luck with the change and make sure to tell us what you bought. You will find us on Twitter @completecar.

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Hi Jacqueline,

There are a lot of questions there. Let's go through them. The Hyundai i10 is indeed better than the new Nissan Micra, but the latter comes with lots of equipment as standard and you will probably get the best price for your own Micra from a Nissan dealer. Hyundais are reliable - very reliable in fact. The i20 would definitely offer more space than the i10 though it costs €2,000 more.

I think you should try a Mazda2, which is a car we really rate here on CompleteCar.ie. Otherwise, the Hyundai i20 could make an ideal purchase.

I hope this helps and let us know how you get on.

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Hi Peter,

Diesel cars are now outselling petrol cars by 3 to 1 and of the petrol models that are selling, they are mainly small runabouts. The fact is that the majority of people are being drawn to the lowest possible road tax and in some cases, oddly, this means that they are actually spending more on the car then they really should have. There seems little sense to spend €2,000 - €3,000 more on a diesel car if you are saving €50 a year in road tax and your mileage is low, but that is the way it seems to be happening right now.

The problem with this is that buyers are missing out on on some really good petrol cars. Fiat and Volkswagen in particular have some smart new petrol engines. Take for example the Jetta, which you  mentioned: the new one is out now, but in the older model there was a 105hp 1.2-litre TSI petrol engine and most people baulked at this because they thought it would be too weedy for the car. The same is true of the 1.4-litre TSI, while both are more than capable of adequate performance. 

In terms of fuel economy, sure enough the diesel will usually trump the petrol, but this will only really start to make monetary sense when you do a lot of mileage. It you intend on high mileage, then you are probably better off sticking with the diesel car - Volkswagens are generally quite good at mega mileage, as are Skodas.

We've been getting quite a few queries about DPFs (diesel particulate filters) here in CompleteCar.ie but Mazda appears to be the only brand showing up faults. The Passat though has not been without its troubles and, to be honest, I am not sure if I would be buying a used one with a lot of kilometres on the clock if big mileage is likely.

You mentioned the Jetta, well this one we found would be a top buy. It has just 14,000 miles on the clock, the right 2.0-litre diesel engine and is within your budget. This would be a good buy.

Expert answer

Hi Frank

The dual manual you refer to is I am guessing a DSG or double-clutch gearbox and we are certainly fans of them here at CompleteCar.ie. They have been around for quite some time now and therefore most of the major problems appear to have been ironed out. They offer a smoother auto change than a standard automatic transmission, plus they will behave like a manual (without the clutch obviously) if you want them to.

Something like this would be a lovely car.