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Hi Patricia,

No we don't - we review cars, as well as writing motoring news and features and producing video content to support same.

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Hi Paul,

That sounds like a nightmare.

We're motoring experts, not legal, though I suspect it would be challenging to make a legal argument for a full refund this long after you first bought the car, a vehicle that was already seven years old - especially as it appears that you accepted a warranty extension and the returned car on several occasions.

I also suspect you’d have a stronger case if it was the same issue being dealt with for the past year and a half, but it’s a long list of seemingly unrelated problems.

Nonetheless, I’d urge you to get in touch with the good people at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) before you make any decisions. And as in all such disputes, I’d encourage you to talk to the garage first and foremost, telling them you are going to investigate the legal options open to you, but is there anything they can do to fix the situation before you do.

Please do let us know how you get on so we can use that information to advise others.

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Hi Robert,

You should discuss this in more depth with a qualified accountant, but our understanding is that you cannot claim back the cost of buying your private car through the business. If the car is owned by the business and used exclusively for business use, that is a very different scenario, but it doesn't sound to me as if that's the case. If you go ahead with a private purchase of a car and the business is paying back the loan for you then we believe it would be seen as income and taxed accordingly. 

However, as you can claim back all business-related expenses, you should keep a record of all motoring expenses, such as fuel, tax, insurance, repairs, etc. as you may be able to claim back a large portion of the costs if you use the car for business a large portion of the time. 

As I said, it's best you talk this through with your accountant.

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Hi Gerry,

In terms of tax there won’t be any changes before the Budget in October, and there are unlikely to be major changes then. There have been rumblings of a change in the diesel tax system, but the various departments are known to be hesitant to introduce a third motor tax regime on top of the two we already have. A general increase in the cost of motor tax, within the existing bands, is quite likely though, as the Government starts to push people towards electric motoring.

In terms of fuel costs, prices at the pump have spiked up in recent weeks thanks to the Trump-Iran standoff, and this week the average per-litre cost of diesel rose to €1.31. That is likely to continue to rise as long as tensions in the Middle East, and indeed in the White House, remain high. 

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Hi Martin,

If the car is registered as a commercial vehicle, and that’s how you’re using it (strictly no social, domestic, nor pleasure motoring) then yes, absolutely, you can tax it as a commercial.

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Hi Lee,

Bearing in mind that I’m not an accountant (not even close and, if you have an accountant, I would direct this question to them too...), it seems to me that, as a car is a depreciating asset, it’s daft to be paying interest to fund that depreciation so let’s park the idea of paying a big deposit and going for finance.

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Hi Colin,

Yup, first world problem right enough, and actually not a new phenomenon at all. The old left-hand-drive-right-hand-drive swapover has been done better and worse by various car makers down the years, and it varies hugely from model to model. Anyone who’s driven a Mazda RX-8, and found the handbrake digging into their left thigh, for example, will have no doubts that even the Japanese, in spite of their right-hand-drive home market, often design cars for left-hand drive and then switch things around on the cheap.

Generally speaking, there should be no safety issues from the switch (wipers, as you point out, should really be swapped across and I can’t think of a model in recent years that hasn’t had that) although there was the old issue with the second generation Renault Megane that used a rod to switch the brakes across and which could still be activated by a passenger poking their shoes into the footwell…

As you point out, some buttons, switches, etc are often left the same and it’s all down to the investment needed to swap them around and the likely return on sales from right-hand-drive markets. Car makers do the maths very carefully, and while you’re right that it might only be €100 a car, that’s a multi-million up front investment, and one with no guaranteed return.

Incidentally, if you think it’s bad now, wait until after Brexit — if the UK car market slips, then the business case for right-hand-drive cars will fall further still.

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Hi Donal,

Yup, Alfa is definitely offering some very sharp value deals on the Giulia at the moment, especially when you consider that you can effectively get a mid-spec car for the same price as a basic model. It’s a car we really like — it’s gorgeous, terrific to drive, practical and Alfa seems at last to have gotten on top of its quality issues. Two caveats, really — the infotainment system is not as sophisticated as you’d find in rival models, and to see the Giulia at its best, you really need to avoid the 2.2 diesel and go instead for the 200hp turbo petrol, although obviously that may not suit your needs.

Read our Alfa Romeo Giulia review here

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Hi Al,

BMW, Audi and Mercedes don't do an in-house commercial option, but you can get an aftermarket conversion, of course.

One option worth looking at is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. A really nice car, good to drive and Agnelli Motors on the Naas Road in Dublin do a five-seat commercial conversion with prices starting around the €45k mark.

There's also the Toyota Land Cruiser 'Business' model, but it's a bit more expensive,  at €57k. Utterly indestructible though and hugely comfortable.

Just make sure you've properly taxed it if you're planning on using it for domestic or family motoring as the fines for using a commercially taxed vehicle for that are pretty stiff. 

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Hi Martin,

To be fair to the car companies, they would all like to see the end of VRT – there’s little or no protectionist advantage to them (aside from it causing a small, largely ineffective brake on personal imports) and freeing customers from that yoke would make the Irish car industry much more competitive.

As for lobbying against it, that has largely dried up now. Why? Because of the tacit admission that even if VRT could be dismantled, any Irish Government would simply come up with a replacement for it. Even with the Apple tax decision hanging in the air, no Minister for Finance is going to turn off a €4 billion annual tap of combined motoring revenues, of which VRT makes up a a major component.

As for the application of both VRT and VAT to major safety items, you’re quite right – that is a staggering shame, one that should (but probably doesn’t) weigh heavily on the consciences of all in the Department of Finance, the Road Safety Authority and the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. Whether it’s autonomous emergency or a child safety car seat, adding VRT and/or VAT increases the price and makes it less likely that a customer will spend the extra to buy that system, not least because there is no benefit to your insurance premium for doing so.

Mind you, in some ways, Irish customers have only themselves to blame. Back in the early 2000s, when anti-lock brakes were often an option, and not an especially expensive one at that, most buyers shunned them in favour of a sunroof or a better stereo…