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Hi Mia,

That's a little difficult to answer as Honda Ireland never imported that generation Civic diesel here. In the UK, a 2004 1.7 CDTi is worth around £2,000 so I'd take a stab at a value of around €2,500 to €3,000 here.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi Ste,

That depends on which engine it is, as there are loads of different types. Here you go:

2.0 CDTi ecoFlex 165hp/130hp: 4.5 litres

2.0 CDTi ecoFlex 170hp: 5.3 litres

2.0 CDTi: most are 4.5 litres, except for the 130hp/170hp variants made from 2014 to 2018 (engine code LFS/B20DTH)

There are biturbo versions as well, but I suspect you don't have one of those.

Please use the above as a guide only and don't put that amount in at first. Go by the dipstick always.

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Hi Geoff,

First thing we'd look at is the air flow meter. Try to get a known good one to swap and re-test.

Let us know how you get on.

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Hi John,

Sorry to say but the high mileage of the car you mention means its value is a good bit lower than comparable models with lower (i.e. average) mileage. About €4,000 to €5,000 seems reasonable, but you'll probably be bid lower than that for a trade-in.

Let us know how you get on

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Hi Gary,

The only major recurrent problems seem to be exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves that can get sticky (a smell of unburned diesel is the giveaway) and a weak timing belt tensioner that needs regular attention. There's an excellent UK-based owners club at stdrivers.co.uk and the forums there are full of helpful advice. Apparently, in the UK, some of the parts for the 2.2 diesel engine are cheaper from Jaguar dealers (the same engine was used in the X-Type), but we're not sure if that holds true here. Lovely car the ST TDCi, although I do recall from my (long ago) test drive that the brakes needed a hell of a good shove to work hard...

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Hi John,

At 10k miles a year, to be honest, you’d be better off going for a petrol model as you’re just not going to get the fuel savings out of a diesel to justify the extra cost, plus you might be running into issues with exhaust filters. Of the two cars, the BMW is without question the nicer to drive, and it has a fractionally more spacious interior than that of the Audi. The Audi is seriously well-made though, so from a reliability point of view, we’d probably give that one the nod. Just make sure you buy one with a full, preferably main dealer, service history.

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Hi Eileen,

A lot here depends on what kind of car, and indeed what size of car, you’re looking for. There’s a huge choice out there, and most models now have at least the option of an automatic gearbox. Overall, it’s as ever hard to get away from the trusty VW Golf in cases such as this. A 1.6 TDI diesel or 1.2 TSI petrol with the DSG automatic gearbox would seem ideal.

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Hi Kevin,

The Volvo S40's engine is susceptible to a few issues that are, unfortunately, quite expensive to fix. Without seeing the car or message for myself, I'd suspect that it means turbocharger failure due to build up of sludge in the oil supply pipe to the turbo.

You'll need to get the car along to a good mechanic to confirm this for you before deciding on how best to remedy it.

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Hi Michael,

That model has a CO₂ emissions rating of 208g/km, so if it’s one that’s been imported since 2008, then it will have motor tax of €1,250. If it’s an original Irish market car registered in 2007, then it’s on the old by-engine-capacity tax system, so that’ll be €1,345.

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Hi Michael,