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Hi Cyril,

There are a few advertised ‘trick' fuel additives such as STP or Dipetane that promise to reduce the emissions from the engine, but these are at best unproven and at worst utter snake oil. Your best bet is simply to get the car thoroughly serviced and tuned up and make sure it’s running on high-quality petrol or diesel bought from a reputable source. 

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Hi Paul,

It’s fine, but you’ll probably find the CO₂ emissions a touch high – it was generally from a time before car makers got really serious on CO₂ so with 146g/km it’s a bit more expensive to tax than newer models.

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Hi Brian,

Well, it's all down to the CO₂ emissions because it's that on which the rate of VRT will be applied. You need to do your homework though as cars that can be quite affordable in the UK can be wildly over-priced in the Irish market leading to you paying more VRT than you really should do.

Ideally, you need to be spending above €30k on a car to make it truly worth your while on importing a car, thanks to the exchange rate. The BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class are all well worth looking at, as well as higher-spec versions of the likes of the Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat and Mazda6. 

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Hi Philip,

No. During this year you will be written to by Skoda and Volkswagen inviting you to bring your car in for a recall, at which time the engine will be modified to bring it into line with the emissions regulations. Volkswagen has thus far assured us that the modifications will not lead to any degradation in drivability or fuel consumption, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see on that score.

At this point, there’s no legal way you can force the dealer to buy the car back, but it is of course your legal right to take a case against them selling you the car under false pretences. That, I would say, is unlikely to go anywhere as the dealer is highly unlikely to have known what was happening within Volkswagen at the time of selling you the car so really your only legal recourse is to take a case against Volkswagen itself. And in that instance, it’s a case of get in line, because there’s a lot of people ahead of you…

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Hi Barry,

It depends on whether it's the 90hp versions (with CO₂ emissions of 109g/km) or the 134hp stop-start version (CO₂ of 94g/km). It'll be either 15 or 16 per cent of the open market selling price, which is around the €16,000 mark - so around €2,400 to €2,500. 

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Hi Barry,

Well, it’s never possible to say exactly as each car is assessed individually, and it depends on what optional extras etc are fitted, but the cee'd has CO₂ emissions of 100g/km, which means you’ll pay 15 per cent of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) in VRT, which, with values hovering at around the €16,000 mark, means a VRT cost of around €2,200.

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Hi Paul,

It depends on the car and its CO₂ emissions. VRT is calculated on the basis of emissions starting at 14 per cent of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP - or what Revenue calculates the car would sell for in Ireland) and topping out at 36 per cent. 

That said, if the car is only costing you £595, the VRT isn't going to be very much regardless.

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Hi Pauline,

You're absolutely 100 per cent dead right - diesel is not for everyone and especially not for those with overall low mileages and short commutes. And as the recent emissions scandal has shown us, diesel exhaust can be staggeringly bad for your health. 

As for finding a diesel without a DPF filter, I'm not sure you'll be able to. In order to meet the particulate emissions legislation under EuroV and EuroVI regulations you pretty much had to have one. Some people have, of course, removed the DPF to avoid maintenance issues, but then you're just spewing out a plume of highly carcinogenic soot particles as you drive...

So, I think your best bet is to go for a compact turbocharged petrol engine or, just maybe, a hybrid. The Toyota Prius would potentially be ideal for your daily drive, but could be a bit of an over-thirsty pain on that six-time-a-year longer journey. Try instead a car fitted with the Volkswagen Group's excellent 1.2-litre TSI turbo petrol engine (Golf or Skoda Octavia are the best ones), a Ford Focus with the 1.0 EcoBoost engine or maybe an Opel Astra 1.4 Turbo. Here are a few relevant reviews for you to consult:

Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost review

Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI review

Opel Astra GTC 1.4 Turbo review

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Hi Paul,

I can't tell you as you won't get a final figure until you bring it to an NCT centre for assessment, and Revenue will give you the cost of the VRT. Anything I tell you is mere speculation, but if you want a very vague ballpark figure, a 2014 Optima will probably be judged to have an Irish Open Market Selling Price (and that's what Revenue will base its assessment on, not the price you pay in the UK) of around €24,000. With 136g/km CO₂ emissions, that means you're in Band B2 for tax, so that means 19 per cent of OMSP, which works out at roughly €4,500.

But, please, don't take my word for it...

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Hi Una,

The 2010 1.5 Mazda2 has CO₂ emissions of 135g/km, so that'll be Band B2, and motor tax of €280 a year.