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Hi Richie,

There is slightly better value to be had on a Tucson in the UK — a 2016 model will cost you around £12-13,000, compared to somewhere in the region of €17-19,000 here, but that doesn’t take into account the cost of VRT (probably in the region of €2,500 to €3,000 depending on spec) and of course the costs of getting to the UK and back with the car.

Trading in shouldn’t be a major issue — most of the big UK dealers are well set up to deal with Irish customers, and there are services that can even find the car you want, arrange a trade-in and then deliver the new car to your door, from the UK.

It’s always, always worth having a good shop around at home though — Irish dealers need the business, and many will trim their prices to match the cost of importing a car if you ask nicely and bargain hard.

The arrival of the new Tucson will, we presume, put a little downward pressure on the used prices of the current model, but it probably won’t be by much — considering how well the current model is still selling, it’s likely that there will be significant demand for used stock for some time to come.

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Hi Colette,

Unless you're covering huge mileage, that seems way too often to us. If a Honda dealer has told you that, you should ask for clarification as to why, as, other than high-mileage, it would be normal for a new car such as that to have an oil change once a year - or when the built-in service indicator suggests it's needed.

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Hi John,

It may well be. Generally speaking, when it comes to longer warranties such as those offered by Hyundai and Kia, for example, they stipulate that the warranty continues to be valid only if the car is serviced at a main dealer. Hyundai Ireland tells us "Please note that only cars sourced through Hyundai Cars Ireland Ltd. and purchased through a Hyundai Authorised Dealer qualify for the five-year triple care package." It would be worth having a word with your nearest Hyundai dealer before you take the plunge, perhaps?

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Hi Moy,

As long as it comes with a full service history and is in excellent condition, I’d say that’s a fair price, but you could potentially get into a 2008 model if you shop around a bit. As for the acronyms, SE is simply a trim level, and denotes the most basic A4 version, but TYS doesn’t appear in any Audi model lists. Could it be a typo on the advert?

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Hi Wilstan,

Assuming you mean the 1.6-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, our information is that the belt should be changed every 200,000km or 10 years, neither of which applies to your car.

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Hi Ann,

We'd suspect the battery or alternator aren't performing at their best. Stop-start issues are very commonplace, across all cars. So much so that we've written a feature for drivers on the subject: Why won't my car's stop-start system work?

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Hi Kenneth,

You can tax it privately, and all you need to do is to ring up your local motor tax office (you can look yours up here) and tell them that you want to tax a van as a private vehicle. You’ll be shifted on to the old by-engine-capacity tax system and so, with a 1.6-litre engine, you’ll have to pay €514 per year.

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Hi James,

The Qashqai has long been one of the most popular cars on the market, and with good reason — it’s roomy, quite stylish, decent to drive and mostly reliable. We say "mostly” as there have been reported issues with turbocharger problems (although those seem to affect the diesel engined version rather more) and suspension problems. With a five-year-old car, we’d recommend getting an inspection by someone like the AA to ascertain if there are any serious issues with the car, and of course do a full history and background check with Cartell.ie.

Other than that, as long as it comes with a full service history, it should be a good buy.

Read our Nissan Qashqai Mk2 (2014-2021) used car buying guide for more.

Expert answer

Hi William,

Officially, it's every 30,000km or every year, whichever comes first.

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Hi Mark,

Actually, the rules on this are a little unclear, because the examples given by Revenue don’t relate to a bike as old as yours with as little mileage. I think the best thing to do is to get onto your local motor tax office and check with them before making any decisions.