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Hi Fionn,

You see, if we could answer that then we would have cracked the deep and dark mysteries of car depreciation and possibly time travel. In which case this would be written from the deck of our yacht, moored in the Caribbean. But it's not, so the short answer is we don't know. Fifty per cent depreciation over the first three years is the normal rule of thumb for most cars, and a 5 Series diesel would drop in value a little slower than that. So a five-year old one would probably be worth just under half of what it cost when new, assuming it's in perfect condition and has a full service history.

Hope that's of some assistance!

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Hi Dee,

Get yourself into a Skoda Yeti. Fab family car that. Three individual rear seats, which slide, tip, fold and remove. Should easily take your seating arrangement and they're brilliant to drive. 1.6 TDI is the best all round engine and it's available with the DSG automatic gearbox. Still a cracking car after all these years - reliable and high quality too.

What do you think?

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Hi Dave,

A really decent car, actually, and an interesting alternative to the likes of a BMW 3 Series or Audi A4. Lexus' quality and reliability are both utterly off-the-clock-good so there are few, if any, problems to worry about. As long as it comes with a full service history, you should have nothing to be concerned about there. It's not quite as polished an all-rounder as a 3 Series though - space in the back is surprisingly tight, the ride quality can be very firm and while the 180hp 2.2-litre diesel is punchy and economical, it's not especially refined. Still, it has one of the best-looking and best-made cabins in the business and we think it's an uncommonly handsome car too.

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Hi Annette,

I think your best bet could be to upgrade to a newer Mazda3 Saloon. The second generation 3 four-door is a really nice car - spacious, comfy and reliable, and if you get a 1.6 diesel from 2008 onwards you'll be paying half nothing for your road tax. 

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Hi Eitvydas,

A bit, yeah. 75hp was never quite enough to shift the Golf's bulk. You're better off trying to track down a nice 1.6 petrol instead, or going for the ever popular 1.9 diesel.

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Hi Barry,

To be blunt, you're going to struggle to get a decent diesel engined car at that price level. There do seem to be one or two diesel Peugeot 307s or Renault Méganes around at that sort of money but we'd advise serious caution before purchase - neither have a great reputation for reliability. 

Unless you're covering mega-miles every week, you would probably be much, much better off getting a tidy 1.4 petrol hatchback, perhaps a circa 2002 Toyota Corolla? Really solid on the reliability front, excellent fuel economy and affordable motor tax. It would be a much better idea than going all out for diesel but ending up with a less reliable car.

What do you think?

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Hi Jemima,

It really depends on which model you're talking about. Assuming it's the all-new Qashqai launched this year, the 1.5-litre dCi diesel are in Band A2, costing just €180 per year to tax; the 1.6-litre diesel (manual or automatic) is in Band A4 at €200 per year; while the 4x4 Qashqai with the 1.6-litre diesel is in Band B1, costing €270 per year. The 1.2-litre petrol versions are also in Band B1.

Hope that's of some help

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Hi Mary,

Let us know which way you go

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Hi Peter,

Probably about €9,000 on a trade in, maybe slightly north of €10k if you sell it yourself. 

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Hi Damien,

It's only ever going to be a rough guess where VRT is concerned, but I'd say between €2,500 and €2,800.

Let us know how you get on