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Hi Robert,

It's all down to the history, really, which at least is the one thing you can really investigate before buying a car at auction. Look through to see if it has a full service history and if those services were done on time. If there's a good thick sheaf of receipts, stamped service books, previous NCT or DOE results and more with the car, and if it looks clean and straight when you have a poke around underneath, then it should be a good buy.

One word of caution though - while Nissans tend to be rugged and reliable cars, pickups can be hard working and often abused company machines. Again, check the history to see if the previous owner was a private individual or a company.

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Hi Marie,

It's just what it says - a check-over. There's no way a car would need an actual service at just 1,000km, but it's a good idea for a dealer to have a car back in at that point just to make sure all is well with both car and customer, and gives them a chance to quickly rectify any issues that may not have been caught at either the factory or in the pre-delivery inspection.

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Hi PJ,

It's a slight oddity that the Qashqai has two different engines so close in capacity. The 1.6 is actually a replacement for the old 130hp 1.9-litre engine while the slightly older 1.5 has 110hp and is a direct competitor for most rivals' 1.6-litre engines. Confused? Don't worry - the basic answer is that the Qashqai's 1.5 is indeed competitive and should suit your driving just about perfectly. There's plenty of poke in it and it's still very economical.

Read our Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi review here

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Hi Eamonn,

Auto petrol SUVs are hard to find in most manufacturers' ranges, but there are a few you can have a look at - Skoda Yeti 1.2 TSI DSG, Nissan Qashqai 1.2 DIG CVT or Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI DSG, for example. All frugal, good to drive and well under €40k even with options.

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Hi Brendan,

There is no specific market data for Ireland in this respect. The old rule of thumb still holds true - if you want ultimate reliability, buy a Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Subaru or Mazda. You could probably pretty easily add Kia and Hyundai to that list too now.

The best I can do for you is to point you towards the results of the JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study for the UK market in 2015. An independent research agency, JD Power ranks the various brands surveyed by problems per 100 cars - although it's worth remembering that those problems can range from minor electrical niggles to total engine failure, so you can't read everything into the stats. The last set of figures, ranked from best-performing to worst, were:

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Hi Sally,

Generally speaking, automatics and small engines don't go well together, but there are a few good ones. Any Volkswagen Group cars using a combo of either 1.2 TSI or 1.4 TSI petrol with the DSG gearbox should be pretty smooth and there are some Toyota Auris 1.4 D-4D diesels around with self-shifters. The Auris, while not exciting, is certainly smooth and comfy.

Actually, your best option could be to go hybrid or electric. The Honda Insight has a 1.3-litre hybrid powertrain and is an automatic and is surprisingly good to drive. Or what about the Nissan Leaf? If the roughly 160km electric range suits your lifestyle, there's nothing smoother than an electric motor.

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Hi Leni,

We don't do scrappage quotes I'm afraid. We're a website that does the best new car news and reviews.

If you want a scrappage quote, visit your local car dealer. Many of the big brands (including Ford, Nissan, Opel and Hyundai) have scrappage offers in place and you can get as much as €4,500 off the price of a new car. 

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Hi Mick,

We contacted Nissan Ireland for an answer to this query, and here's what was said:

"E6 stands for Euro 6 - ie that the car meets Euro 6 regulations. The regulation change from Euro 5 to Euro 6 came about last June - so there are still some Euro 5 cars in circulation. All Euro 5 cars need to be registered by the end of this year. There is no difference between a Euro 5/Euro 6 car in terms of specification. An E5 XE and E6 XE Qashqai are the same car in terms of specification - the difference lies in the level of regulation it adheres to."

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Hi Mick,

Somewhere in the region of €12-13k I would think, but less if you're trading in.

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Hi there,

There are many, with Ford, Nissan, Opel, Toyota and Hyundai, for instance, all having notably good offers. You can get as much as €4,500 'scrappage' (not really scrappage, but actually a trade-in bonus really), but it depends on which model you're trading in against.