Expert answer

Hi Richard,

The phrase ‘can of worms’ springs to mind. In general, a car can be registered to a company, and taxed and insured by the company, and still used by an individual for social, domestic and pleasure use. That’s how company cars work, obviously, but equally obviously there’s a Benefit-in-Kind tax liability to be paid. So it’s possible that your friend with the Land Cruiser is trying to avoid paying BIK.

In the case of the SUV, in theory a car that’s taxed as a commercial cannot be used for personal, social, domestic, or pleasure driving and there’s a fine to be paid if you’re caught displaying incorrect tax. Now, we should state at this point that we’re neither legal nor tax experts, and that the people you’re talking about could be operating entirely above board, and we’re not going to cast any aspersions on anyone.

Of course, this is Ireland and as we know, we don’t like sticking to the rules...

Expert answer

Hi Aidan,

Insurance is a perennial bugbear and, unfortunately, we don’t have much of an answer for you. It could be that, when damaged, the C4 is more expensive to repair than the Almera, or simply that Irish insurers view anything that’s not a dull four-door saloon as ’sporty’ in some vague way. I’m afraid that the only thing to do is the old ’shop-around’ routine when it comes to renewal. I think it would also be worth having a word with your current insurer, find out exactly why your insurance went up (this might take a bit of drilling down through layers of ‘computer says no’) and make it very clear how dissatisfied you are, and that you’re planning to move your insurance at renewal time. 

Expert answer

Hi Orlagh,

Insurance has for eons been the bugbear of the Irish motorist and, sadly, it’s not getting any easier. Aside from the usual ‘ring-around’ advice, I think your best bet is to find a good local broker — they can often unlock deals not available to mere mortals. 

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Hi David,

OK, slightly tricky territory here, and it depends on where you live — in Northern Ireland or in the rest of the UK, as there are two different procedures for replacing a lost licence, you can find more details here: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/replacing-your-driving-licence and here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-to-replace-a-driving-licence. The bigger problem might be your insurance when it comes to sorting out this accident. Unless you can show that you had applied for a replacement licence before the accident took place, the fact that you were driving without a current licence that could be shown to a police officer within seven days might affect how your insurer views the claim.

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Hi Paul,

You can, but as for insurance that’s a piece-of-string question — it depends as much on your own personal record and no-claims bonus than on the car. For tax, I’m assuming that this is a 1.8 TDCi model? If so, that’ll set you back €636 for a year’s tax as a private car. 

Expert answer

Hi Pat,

To be fair to the 2 Series Gran Coupe, it’s a coupé in name only — really it’s a 1 Series saloon and is likely to be treated as such by the trade. The conceptually similar Mercedes CLA has solid residuals so we wouldn’t be too worried in that respect.

As far as insurance is concerned, Irish insurers will always find a way to hammer you, but the combination of the relatively mild engine and your own age should ensure that you don’t get hit too hard. And, of course, shop around for other quotes if you do get a big bill.

Of course the right 2 Series to buy is the gorgeous little, rear-drive two-door actual coupe, but perhaps that’s a discussion for another day...

Read our BMW 2 Series reviews here

Expert answer

Hi Catherine,

You’ll probably get a very broad mix of quotes. Some companies will like the fact that you’re an older driver, with a relatively low-powered car, and assess you accordingly. Many others will simply look at your lack of an Irish driving history (and won’t take your Canadian history into account) and will simply try to charge you an absolute fortune.

Our advice would be to track down a good local insurance broker, who may well be able to help you find a better deal than you’d find yourself. Criteria? That would be expecting the Irish insurance industry to be open and transparent, and that’s simply not going to happen...

Expert answer

Hi David,

A camper van that’s more than 30 years old qualifies for vintage tax, which is just €56 a year. You will have to NCT it, but only once every two years. Once it’s older than 40 years, it’ll be NCT exempt. As for insurance, that will very much depend upon your insurer, but usually a classic car policy will have a mileage limit included. Some are as little as 5,000km per year. 

Expert answer

Hi Herbert,

We’ve been in touch with GoCar, which is the current leading supplier of subscriptions for instant, on-street, vehicle hire and drive, and there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that, normally, GoCar’s insurance only covers those up to the age of 75. However, the good news is that there’s potential for discretion. GoCar might waive the age limit if you meet certain criteria, which include  that you have a valid licence; that you can provide a doctor's letter to say they are fit to drive; and that you can show that you were insured to drive within the last two years, and haven't had an accident in five years. It’s worth a try, anyway...

Expert answer

Hi Ken,

In terms of insurance, you simply need to contact your insurer and tell them that you’re going to tax the vehicle for private, social and pleasure use. There may be an increase in your premium because of this, but it shouldn’t be massive. As for the tax, all you have to do is contact your local motor tax office and inform them that you want to tax the vehicle for private use. That will put you onto the old by-engine-capacity tax system, so for a 2.0-litre TDCi Kuga, that’ll be €710 a year.