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Hi Helen,

Well, obviously, the 207 is a newer and more sophisticated car than the 206, and I reckon you'll find it to be a much more comfortable drive (better seats, especially) than the older 206. That said, the 207 is much, much heavier and the 206 always felt much more fleet of foot and more enjoyable to drive.

The 206 has something of a reputation for unreliability, but the upside is that most of its problems are of the minor, electrical variety. The engines and gearboxes are long-lived and robust,  although if you're buying a heaver diesel model, look for excessive wear and tear on the front suspension and brakes.

The 207 has a couple of recurrent niggles as well, the most important of which is the engine's anti-polution monitor, which can go haywire and cause the engine to switch into limp-home mode. Beware also of diesel models that don't quieten down when they're warmed through; check for suspension failure, especially at the front; and as ever beware of electrical gremlins. Make sure every button works properly.

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Hi David,

OK, well the Ka wins in terms of road tax as you'll pay just €358 a year for that, as opposed to €710 for the 2.0-litre Citroen, but after that things start to get a bit more murky. In terms of fuel consumption, it does depend a lot on what kind of driving and mileage you do. If you're a low-mileage person, driving mostly in and around town, then the Ka, even though it uses an aged petrol engine, will probably work out more frugal to run than the Citroen. But if you're doing lots of long motorway miles, then the Citroen will win hands down in economy terms. I'd say you'll average around 40mpg in the Ka, probably 50mpg in the Citroen, depending on your driving style. Beware though; neither of these two cars has the greatest reliability reputation. The Citroen is prone to annoying electrical failures, while the Ka suffers from occasional total engine failure if not cared for.

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Hi Pat,

Hmmm. That generation of Corolla doesn't seem to be keeping Toyota's usual reliability standard up. There have been reported issued with brakes (squealing, not failing), troubles with the automatic gearbox, clutch failures, slipping handbrakes and noisy gearboxes. If your potential purchase isn't displaying any of those symptoms, then it might be just fine, but be prepared to raise merry hell with your nearest Toyota dealer if it starts to develop problems. After all, if you're selling your cars on the basis of their reliability, then you'd better be prepared to back that up...

In terms of efficiency, well, it's a quite a small engine in quite a large car, so no, I wouldn't reckon it would be more economical than a 1.2 Fiesta - quite the reverse in fact, unless most of your mileage is on the motorway, in which case the Toyota's extra torque and power should make it more frugal than an over-stretched 1.2.

That price sounds pretty good - maybe even a touch low. Have you done a thorough history check on the car with Cartell.ie?

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Hi Alan,

By 2006 that 1.9 TDI engine was nearing the end of its life, and so had most if not all of its earlier issues (injector problems, air sensor failures) ironed out. As for the flywheel, yes there does seem to be an issue with it occasionally, but the way to tell is to listen to the engine, getting your head as close as safely possible to where the gearbox is located. If you hear a rattle, or feel an obvious vibration, it's probably the flywheel.

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Hi Tony,

OK, there are a couple of issues here. One is that a trawl of the Internet forums, especially in the UK, seems to indicate that there is a common problem on the N47 2.0-litre diesel engine whereby the timing chain can either fail or jump its sprockets. Either way, you're looking at an engine failure and a need for replacement. Not a trivial matter. 

However, BMW has not issued a recall or any specific advice in this area, which may indicate that there has not been a significant level of these incidents. It's easy to accuse a car company of ignoring a major problem but actually that's rarer than you'd think and it's all to easy to get into a froth of indignation from just reading complaints on the internet.

That being the case, we'd simply advise caution. There are some very good independent BMW specialists out there (such as http://www.bloomfieldgarage.ie/) and it might be worth getting in touch with them for more detailed advice.

Also, insist on full service history with these cars, paying particular attention to oil change intervals.

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Hi Noreen,

By and large, the Touareg is built to impressively high standards and you only need to look at the fact that the Porsche Cayenne uses the same basic mechanical package to realise that it's going to be of high quality. 

That said, there were some glitches with the early-build cars, and while a 2005 model should be over these wobbles, you need to make sure that all the various complex electronic systems are working properly. Watch for things like electric seat adjusters failing and be wary of glitchy infotainment systems.

Mechanically, the electronic control of the turbocharger can go awry leading to an inconsistent loss of power and get a mechanic (or the AA) to check the propshafts for potential wear and failure. 

Just as an aside though, enjoy it if you buy it. That generation of Touareg has one of the nicest cabins of any car of the past decade. A cracking car, and actually superior to its replacement, I reckon. 

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Hi Sophie,

It's a bit tricky to say. There's no question that the 2002-2012 Range Rover was a massive improvement over its dreadful predecessor when it came to reliability and solidity but there are legions of potential problems - everything from minor electrical niggles to full-on major component failure. Fragile areas seem to be the gearbox (perennially a Land Rover weak spot) and the air suspension. The engines and bodies are solid as rocks though. Make utterly sure there's a full LR service history.

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Hi Cormac,

Interesting one this. To be frank, it was news to us. We don't have a standardised headlight test on CompleteCar.ie (perhaps we should), but a trawl of the Audi-based internet forums does indeed seem to show that many C5 owners do have doubts about the power of their lights, especially on dipped beam.

While we can't find any definitive evidence that the facelifted model is any better, it seems that there are two potential fixes to the problem. One is to replace the standard bulbs with better models - and we've seen German-made Flosser bulbs recommended. Philips also produces a line of higher-output bulbs that may be worth a look. The other issue may be the state of the headlamp lenses, and any problems there can potentially be fixed by a good clean. Cleaning kits are available from most good motor factors. Incidentally, beware an aftermarket upgrade to a HID or Xenon headlight set. If it doesn't conform exactly to the original equipment specification, then there are doubts over the legality of such units and it could potentially lead to an NCT failure.

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Hi Tony,

Er, not very I'm afraid. Yes, underneath it's essentially an old Honda Civic, so those bits are pretty solid but the build quality coming out of Rover's now dead-and-gone old Longbridge factory was never especially good, and you need to be very wary of electrical issues, rain seals, poor quality cabin trim and rust creeping in, especially underneath. Plus, if it's the 1.4-litre petrol, that K-Series engine was always a lovely little powerplant to drive, but it had a plastic inlet manifold that can warp and there's also the all-too-common head gasket failure. Tread carefully!

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Hi Gerard,

Generally the S40 is a solid enough car, but watch for leaky windscreen surrounds, some issues with faulty wheel nuts, vacuum pump failure leading to reduced braking power and, on the 1.6 diesel, problems with the exhaust gas recirculation valve.