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Hi Liam.

Suzuki knows how to build a solidly reliable car (indeed the old Baleno saloon holds a decent claim to being the world's only truly indestructible car) and the Jimny is no different. It's also been in production since 1998, so all the bugs should have been worked out by now. The only weak point seems to be minor electrical grumbles, and apparently the passenger electric window motor and switch are both on the fragile side. Other than that, just watch out for Jimnys that have had a hard life off-roading or as farm hack-abouts. 

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Hi Jack,

Depends — do you want one? If so then yes. It’s a decent car, well-built, fine to drive, roomy and reliable. Just make sure you get one that’s been looked after properly, is all.

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Hi Alan,

The Sport only has minor trim differences on the Passat — it’s not a separate model, just a slightly sportier-looking body kit and some extra equipment on the inside. Essentially, there’s no difference at all.

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Hi Stephen,

At the time, they were very reliable and solidly built, but I’d be slightly wary now, especially if it’s a car with patchy service history. The diesel models develop problems with both the injection system and the air mass sensor, while the 1.6 petrol was underpowered and consequently has to strain to push the car around, leading to excessive wear and tear (especially to the front driveshafts).

The good news is that there aren’t too many fiddly electronic system to go wrong, but check the car over very carefully and if there are too many holes in the service record, walk away.

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Hi Charlie,

Skodas tend to be very reliable and well-made, but there are a couple of recurrent niggles on the first-generation Fabia that need checking. Both fuel and water pumps can prove fragile, so check that the engine isn't cutting out and that there's plenty of coolant in the water tank. Check also for 'mayonnaise' - white deposits of mixed water and oil that give away a leaky head gasket.

The sensor for the power steering system can fail (a red steering wheel-shaped light on the dashboard is the tell-tale) and water temperature sensor failure is the most common cause of engine management warnings. The on-board computer that diagnoses when the car needs a service needs to have the correct grade of oil (it measures the quality of the engine oil to decide on the service interval) so check that the recommended oil has been used.

Check for a heavy clutch (the master cylinder could be on the way out), collapsing driver seat, broken speedo illumination and water getting in through the rear door seals. If the dashboard is rattling, it's usually a mounting bracket behind the air vents and can be easily packed with foam to stop it.

If it passes all of those tests you've found a good one!

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Hi Kevin,

As discussed via email, as you knew from the outset that a six-month warranty was included and you never queried it then there doesn't appear to be be anything you can do after the matter. It's up to the individual seller/dealer/garage how much of a warranty to offer I'm afraid.

Hopefully your car will prove reliable in any case.

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Hi Jim,

Only if you go through the process of declaring the car off the road. You can get form RF150 from your local Garda station and the minimum time declarable is three months. And you can’t switch the declaration on and off as you like; the process has to be gone through again every time. To be honest, unless the car you’re looking at is from 1987 or before, you might just be better off waiting until the 30-year rolling limit for classic tax has passed.

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Hi Greg,

No, it will be valid from the point where the car should have had its NCT done, based on when it was first registered. 

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Hi Lisa,

It depends on how the conversion was done originally to turn it from a passenger car into a commercial, but to be honest, we wouldn’t recommend it. Removing and then replacing things like rear seat mounts, seatbelt points etc, not to mention cutting out the floor of the rear of the car to get at the structure, just seems to be asking for possible safety trouble.

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Hi Ronan,

Currently, legislation on tyre pressure monitors works like this. In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Authority has required all new passenger cars to be fitted with tyre pressure monitors since 2007. In the EU, all new models of cars introduced since November 1st 2012 must have tyre pressure monitoring, while from November 1st 2014, every model of car on sale must be fitted. The current gap between the haves and have-nots is simply down to model cycles and replacement schedules.

Hope that's a bit clearer