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Hi Ed,

Land Rover's quality has been getting better and better and it seems as if the current Discovery model has shaken off a lot of its reputation for weak gearboxes and electrical maladies. I think it's probably worth the punt, but there are two other good options - both the Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Land Cruiser are also available in 'business versions' that mean you can buy them for the price of a commercial but you get the back seats and luxury touches. That said, you'll have to tax them as a private car if you're going to carry the kids around - it's a €4,000 fine if you're caught with the incorrect tax.

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Hi Pamela,

Unless you actually need the seven-seat layout of the Hyundai, I'd go for the BMW. It'll be much more affordable to run in terms of fuel costs (close to 60mpg versus more like 45mpg in the Hyundai) and cheaper to tax too. The only concern might be that the Hyundai would be more reliable than the BMW, pound for pound. If you're buying the Beemer with a full service history and a warranty though there shouldn't be any problems.

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Hi Ash,

Well, obviously you could sell it and try and buy something younger, but don't lose hope - you can still get insurance for older cars. Try and find a good broker who can run through the options for you.

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Hi Laszlo,

I'm afraid not. When you import the car into Ireland it will have to pass through an NCT (National Car Test - our equivalent of the MOT) before it can be legally registered here. That shouldn't be a problem though - any car that can pass an MOT should also pass an NCT. The problem is that because you have owned the car for less than six months, you'll get caught for Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) when you bring it in to the country - and on a 2.5-litre V6 engine that's going to be 36 per cent of what the Revenue Commissioners judge the vehicle's market value to be. This could get very expensive and you might be better off selling the car before you move and buying something new here.

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Hi Shirley,

I think you need to be looking at diesel with that kind of mileage. A €10k budget would slot you nicely into a 2009 Honda Civic 2.2 i-CDTi (don't worry about the size: it's cheap to tax). It's ood to drive, massively spacious, economical and reliable. 

There are also some Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDIs and Toyota Auris 1.4 D-4Ds around for this budget that are well worth looking at. 

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Hi Gheorghe,

Around €3,500 to buy. Probably worth about €2,000 as a trade in. 

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Hi John,

Yup, you'll have to pay the VAT I'm afraid. The rule says that if a car is less than six months old or has less than 6,000km on the clock, it's liable for Irish VAT upon entry into the state. You'll be charged it along with your Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) at the time of inspection.

Read our guide to importing a car from the UK here

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Hi Michael,

It depends on the model but if it's the Octavia 1.9 105hp then the CO₂ emissions are officially quoted as 135g/km, so you'll pay €280 a year to tax it. If it's a Fabia hatchback 1.9 TDI then it'll be €270 (129g/km of CO₂), a Roomster 1.9 TDI will set you back €390 (145g/km) and a Superb the same €390 (153g/km).

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Hi Darragh,

All versions of the XC90 sold that year were in Band F, costing €1,200 per annum to tax.

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Hi John,

The critical question here is how much road tax and insurance pain are you willing to take? An early 2000s Porsche 911 will crack 5.3 seconds 0-100km/h all day long but you'll pay through the nose for tax, disc and servicing. And never, ever buy one without a full Porsche or Porsche Specialist service history.

Most Mercedes-AMG models from the same era will do similar but again the same caveats on servicing and running costs apply.

A BMW M3 Evolution will do 5.5 seconds, but watch for ones that have been badly fiddled with or modified.

Probably better would be a Ford Focus RS or a Volkswagen Golf R or R32. Both are pretty rugged in the reliability stakes but again you have to be wary of cars that have been modified or altered from standard. 

However, possibly the best bet is a Honda S2000. As long as you don't need back seats it's a fantastic thing to drive, will do 6.0 seconds 0-100km/h and it's rock solid in reliability terms. Loads around well within your price band but again watch carefully for badly done modifications or cars that haven't been cared for.