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Hi Bernard,

They're a solid old thing, the Corolla, and not at all bad to drive, it may surprise you to learn. Just check a few small things. There were recalls for brake, airbag and gearbox faults that should have been carried out, so make sure they were. Small niggles occur and apparently condensation building up in the rear lights - potentially causing a short-circuit - is one of them so check for that. Otherwise, you can pretty much bask in Toyota's legendary reliability and solidity.

A good buy, that one.

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Hi Claire,

The revised Polo is now in Ireland, so we assume you mean that one. The 1.2-litre TSI petrol model is in Band A3, costing €190 to tax. That's the case whether it's manual or DSG automatic and for both three- and five-door body styles.

The only 1.4-litre Polo on the Volkswagen Ireland price list is the TDI diesel. It's available in 75- and 90hp guises, in both three- and five-door bodies and with a DSG automatic for the higher power unit. It doesn't matter which of all those you buy, they're all in Band A2, costing just €180 per year to tax.

Hope that helps, but please do check out our first drive of the revised Polo here as well.

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Hi Alan,

Well, that's 67,000km a year so we'd call that pretty high mileage. To say the least. Get the diesel. You're going to need it.

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Hi Padraig,

As trade-ins, the Ford will be worth between €1,500 and €2,000 depending on condition while the Polo would be right down to around €500 to €750 as a trade in.

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Hi John,

I reckon you should get between €13-14k for your Golf as a trade-in (depending on whether it's petrol or diesel). Hyundai ix35s do indeed hold their value, not least because they're a very in-demand car. Obviously, a 2011 or 2012 model will still be under its original five-year unlimited mileage warranty, which should give you some peace of mind. Better yet, we've been unable to unearth any horror stories on the ix35 - aside from some recurrent problems with the built-in media system (stereo, reversing camera etc) they're exceptionally solid.

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Hi Claire,

I'd go for the Leon. The Focus is a fine car, don't get me wrong, but the Leon is (as you point out) better looking, SEATs have incredibly good build quality and reliability (we've had four SEATs in our family and from personal experience there's barely been a day off the road between any of them) and the Leon is really good to drive too. Cracking car, you won't go wrong.

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Hi Mike,

It depends which engine and year you mean. Here are a few examples:

o 1.6 petrol - 2003 to 2005 - 80,000 miles (128,000km) or every eight years

o 1.7 CDTi - 2010 to 2012 - 100,000 miles (160,000km) or every six years

o 1.7Di or 1.7 DTi - 2004 to 2005 - 100,000 miles (160,000km) or every ten years

o 1.8 petrol - 2003 to 2010 - 60,000 miles (96,000km) or every six years

Hope that covers the model you're interested in

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Hi John,

To be honest, it's a little hard to tell. The A3 Saloon hasn't been out long enough for us to get a solid handle on its resale values but we can work from a couple of basic assumptions:

 1. Yes, diesel is currently more highly valued than petrol.

2. That won't always be the case - now that the mad post-2008 scramble for diesel has subsided buyers are starting to get wise to the value of petrol power again, helped by improved engine tech.

3. An Audi, any Audi, will likely have stronger residual values than most other marques so you're already ahead of the game.

So I guess the answer is yes, your depreciation will be a little sharper on petrol than on diesel but I suspect it won't be by very much. Fret not and just enjoy owning one of our favourite current cars. 

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Hi Martin,

I'd say you're looking at a trade-in value of between €5-6,000.

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Hi Eitvydas,

The first generation A-Class had shockingly poor reliability and while the second generation version was an improvement, we'd still be a bit wary. Electrics and suspension are your biggest areas for problems so check everything over carefully and don't even think of getting one that doesn't have a full and complete service history. Apart from that, they were also a little odd to drive - feeling rather like a gigantic shopping trolley in their vague and uncertain way they trundle along. Also, basic versions came with no air conditioning and had rubbish ventilation so hot days are a bit of a chore.