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Hi Carmel,

OK, full disclosure - I owned a 2003 Laguna estate for several years, so I know here what I'm talking about. Realistically, they're not very reliable at all. The engines tend not to break in and of themselves, but everything else does. Anything electrical is suspect (especially the electric windows and the credit card key system), the suspensions are fragile (especially the rear rubber bushings) and the catalytic convertors regularly pop a rivet or two.

Best avoided to be fair.

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Hi Conor,

Yes, Mercedes suffered no end of electrical, steering and braking issues with that generation of E-Class. A pretty full and complete campaign of recalls and replacements and extended warranties have ironed out a lot of the bugs by now, and the 320 CDI engine has always been a tough, long-lived unit, but make sure you check absolutely every single electrical item and ensure that they're all working properly and if there's even the slightest gap in the service history, walk away.

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Hi Brendan,

We asked Volkswagen's tech people about this:

"I've never heard of a complaint like this before, but I'm guessing it's something in the adjustable lumbar support feature fitted to the seat that may not be operating correctly or secured correctly. Depending on the specification of the car this may be manually adjustable or electrically adjustable.

Without any knowledge of the mileage or previous use of the car it is not possible to determine if this is manufacturer defect or from an outside influence.

We would recommend the car is brought to a main dealer for inspection and advise on recommended repair."

Sounds like good advice to us Brendan. Here's the Volkswagen dealer locator.

Let us know how you get on.

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FULL DISCLOSURE: Cian is known to us at CompleteCar.ie through the medium of Twitter. Friend of the show, you might say...

Hi Cian,

Given that we know you I'm half-tempted to steer you into some hilariously disastrous classic car cul-de-sac, then sit back and watch the carnage unfold. However, I know you've already been there and done that so I won't.

Instead, I'm going to go out on a major limb, put my journalistic reputation to the test and recommend an Alfa Romeo. Yup, an Alfa. Your budget should get you into a 2007 or 2008 159 1.8-litre petrol MPI version. The 159 was always a ruggedly built car and while it's still occasionally prone to the classic Alfa electrical glitches, it's also probably the most all-round reliable car ever to come out of Milan.

It's also utterly gorgeous. reasonably spacious and really very good to drive. True, the 1.9 diesel would be more economical but it doesn't sound as good as the petrol. Enjoy, and let us know if anything goes explosively pop!

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Hi F D,

I'd say on a trade in you'd probably get between €12-13k.

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Hi Bjarne,

The first thing we'd check are the heater plugs. They're not cheap though, so have an auto electrician test them before you shell out money paying for their replacement.

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Hi Owen,

Not bad actually, but check it carefully for electrical gremlins, gearbox issues and look underneath for signs of abuse from over-enthusiastic off-roading.

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Hi Mark,

Of the two, I'd go for the Note. The Almera is a reliable old workhorse but it's about as dull as a car can get. The Note, by contrast, is nicer to look at, pleasant to drive and massively spacious and practical. There are a few things to keep an eye on though,  which is surprisingly given Nissan's reputation for reliability. Electrical gremlins, including needing a complete reset and reboot of the ECU, are not uncommon, while the folding rear seat mechanism can jam. There have been reports of problems with the diesel engines on early models too.

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Hi John,

Clearly no car is utterly immune to breakdowns or component failures, but the Lexus LS 430 comes closer than probably any other. It is staggeringly reliable. We have heard tales of people buying the (older) LS 400 model from the '90s for under a grand and still finding every single electrical item working perfectly. Try that with a 7 Series or S-Class...

The Lexus is also hugely comfortable and deeply luxurious and actually better to drive than you might think. No hot hatch, obviously, but still more capable than the roly-poly reputation would have you believe.

Downsides? Colossal motor tax costs and it helps if someone else is paying for your fuel...

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Hi Des,

As with all Suzukis the Grand Vitara is impressively well bolted together and there are very few reports of any major reliability issues. The only recurrent problems seem to be glitches in the electrical system, but as long as the car you're looking at has a full service history, you should be OK. There are only two major downsides: the interior looks and feels pretty cheap and old-fashioned compared to some rivals, while the 1.9-litre diesel engine (which Suzuki actually bought in from Renault) can be very thirsty, as the Vitara is no lightweight.