Expert answer

Hi Brian,

From your description it sounds as if the heating element bonded to the rear window has been damaged in some way. Unfortunately there is usally no easy fix to this and it means replacing the whole glass panel, as it's not a part that can be removed.

Note that, if the window itself is cracked or broken it may be that your insurance will cover its replacement for a modest excess.

Hope that helps,

Expert answer

Hi Jane,

First things first. The petrol versus diesel debate. Everyone is very caught up on diesel cars right now and that makes a lot of sense when you are buying new because they have lower road tax, but since small cars tend not to use a lot of fuel, the road tax should be quite low anyway. The mileage you are likely to do might warrant a diesel, but the diesel small cars tend to be a lot more expensive, so in this case I would say that a petrol model would do you fine and still won't cost the earth to run.

The VW Polo is an excellent choice because it is really nicely built and holds its value well too. I did a search for ones with the lowest mileage within your budget from main SIMI dealers (so there is more security and better history checks on the car). A 2007 Volkswagen Polo with just 15,000km on the clock is within your budget and would be a really nice buy. It would be dead cheap to run too. 

This 2008 Ford Fiesta is really nice too; with 11,000km on the clock so it is practically brand new. This is a five-door model so it might be a little more practical. It is at the upper end of your budget but you wouldn't pay the advertised price. 

One I would love you to consider though is the Suzuki Swift. It is a smashing little car. It is really reliable, cute, nicely built and fun to drive. It's a 2008 model with low mileage for less than €9,000. 

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Renault Clio (it was my wife's first car and it was great) and you could find another one with ridiculously low mileage for less than €9,000 too. Here is one I liked the look of.

You wouldn't really go wrong with any of these. Personally, I'd be really tempted by that low-mileage Polo as a long term investment because you will always get a good bit of your money back. 

I hope all that helps

Expert answer

Hi Sarah,

First of all you need to be aware that the cash-for-car places are usually going to give you a deal that is at the lower end of the scale so it can sting a little. I think your best bet is likely to try and trade-in your Colt for something bigger. I can imagine that the three-door Colt is a bit of a nightmare with one child, and two will be even worse. 

Depending on the condition of your car - we are guessing it might look like this, then you may get offered around €4,500 as a trade-in against another car. Obviously you need something a little more spacious. I think the right car for you would be a Ford C-Max because it is spacious, safe and comfortable. We found one from a SIMI dealer in Westmeath that has 67,000 miles on the clock, is petrol-powered, but won't be too expensive to run if you aren't doing a lot of mileage. This car would be ideal for your needs and €4,900 is the the asking price. You can find the advert here.

I think this would be in ideal car because the Spacestar is getting on and isn't all that good and the early Mercedes -Benz A-Class has been notoriously troublesome.

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

I did like the original BMW X5, although it was probably always a little over-priced for what is was. As they have aged and the new model has arrived the first generation has come down quite a lot in price. You say that you aren't concerned about the running costs as such, which is just as well, as they can be quite high. The repairs and spare parts can be expensive too. I think in buying one of this age and at this price you will certainly not see it depreciate that hard in the next year or so, but once it creeps over 100,000 miles it will drop in value again.

We haven't reviewed this car on the site because it has been quite a few years since it was on the market (and CompleteCar.ie is very new), but we have driven it in the past. It is very agile for an SUV and was always one of the best handling SUVs around.

You did mention to us by e-mail that the car you were looking at is €23,000 with 88,000 miles on the clock. Well we found this one on beepbeep.ie from a SIMI dealer with just 45,000 miles for €19,750, so perhaps this would make a better buy?

Hope that helps