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Hi John,

A pre-2008 car being imported means that it’s on the new CO₂-based system. A 2004 MINI Cooper 1.6 has CO₂ emissions of 163g/km so you’ll be paying €570 a year to tax it.

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Hi Mike,

Back as far as 2008 and 2009 sadly you're missing out on the Volvo V60, which is a cracking car and very affordable to run. You could get a bigger V70 with the 1.6-litre diesel engine, but it's a bit more expensive. The smaller V50 estate might be too small for you.

Would you consider a Skoda instead? An Octavia Combi is hugely spacious, reliable, cheap to buy and cheap to run. 

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Hi David,

It's a 1,990cc engine so that'll be €710 a year. 

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Hi Dwayne,

It will depend on the dealer and the small print in their 'scrappage' deal. The current deals actually aren't scrappage at all, as in the car being traded in isn't usually actually scrapped, so they tend to be a touch more fussy about condition. Usually, the car has to be taxed, insured and driven onto the forecourt under its own power, but have a chat with the dealer in question first and see what they can do for you. 

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Hi Kay,

Yes, you should see a considerable saving on fuel, probably in the order of 10mpg at least, depending on how and where you drive. It is worth noting, though, that you will also be looking at considerably higher maintenance and servicing costs, as the 320d is much more sophisticated and high-tech than your Golf and, without careful, regular attention from a specialist they can start giving serious trouble.

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Hi Derek,

OK, you haven’t told us the year of your Mazda so that makes it a little hard to value, but seeing as it’s the 1.8 petrol I’m going to guess that it’s around 2006-2007. If so, then I’d say that the €4,400 trade-in offer is actually pretty good.

As to what car to get, if you’re looking for a small hatch then it’s very hard indeed to look past the Volkswagen Golf. It’s one of the world’s best-selling cars for a reason, and as long as you buy one with a full service history and keep it looked after, you should get plenty of years of reliable service out of one yet.

Ditto for the mechanically identical SEAT Leon and Skoda Octavia. The Opel Astra GTC is a fine car in many ways — handsome, good to drive, decent quality, but it was hamstrung by poor diesel engines (other than the range-topping 2.0-litre) and unless you’re looking at the 1.4 petrol turbo model, it’s possibly not the best purchase.

The Focus is definitely a good buy, and that TDCi diesel is frugal to run, but you just have to be slightly cautious about diesel power right now. If you’re not doing big miles, you’d be better off with a petrol car.

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Hi Valentine,

You haven’t told us the year of the car, but assuming it’s a 2010 model, then it should be worth in and around €10,000.

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Hi Mihails,

Good: economical if you drive it right (i.e: gently), well made, incredibly reliable, roomy, comfortable, cool gear shifter.

Not so good: not pretty, not fun to drive, thirsty if you try and drive it quickly, lots get used and abused as taxis, not good for motorway work (unless you mean the current model).

Read our review of the 2017 Toyota Prius here

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Hi James,

Assuming that it's the supercharged V6 S, with CO₂ emissions of 213g/km, it'll cost €1,200 a year to tax. 

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Hi Jonathan,

Assuming it's the 1.4 VVTi petrol model then you'll pay €385 a year to tax it. As for problems? Not many - the Corolla is spectacularly rugged so, as long as it has a full service history, we wouldn't expect any major problems. Fuel economy should work out at about 40-45mpg depending on how you drive it.