Expert answer

Hi Patricia,

Buying a car from the UK can be cost effective. I have done it twice myself and certainly saved money. But like any car purchase you really need to make sure that you do your homework properly and exercise lots of caution. The more you can do in terms of a background check on your car the better.

We would advise you to avoid buying privately in the UK as this could prove riskier. Buy from a main dealer, where there is a proper warrranty and usually a full service history. You are still likely to save money yet there will be greater piece of mind.

Services like MotorCheck.ie offer a very thorough check on UK cars too, so they are worth spending a few Euro on for some added piece of mind. The actual purchase itself isn't really very complicated. You just need to factor in some additional costs like a flight over and a ferry back and then you need to have a good idea of how much you will be paying for the car in Vehicle Registraion Tax (VRT) when you import the car. You can pretty much do this down to the last cent these days on the Revenue on-line calculator.

Research is key; do this and you can perhaps not totally avoid risk, but certainly reduce it.

Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

You're in an enviable position if that's your choice for a new 2011 car! You can't go wrong with either. Before I give my personal preference let's look at the facts:

The new BMW 520d SE will be priced from €41,750. That's for the manual model, which is lovely, but for resale values it makes sense to opt for the automatic, bringing the price up to €43,964.

In comparison, the entry-level diesel E-Class (the E 200 CDI BlueEfficiency) costs from €41,035 - or €43,885 with an automatic gearbox.

However, on paper the BMW beats that car hands down. It has 181hp to the Merc's 136hp (and hence takes only 8.1 seconds to get to 100km/h versus 10.4 for the E 200 CDI) and yet it is much more efficient. In automatic guise it emits 137g/km, which means band B annual road tax. A manual version of the E-Class will do the same, but the automatic transmission moves the car into band C, almost doubling the tax. The BMW's fuel economy is better too.

The more expensive E 220 CDI BlueEfficiency costs €43,425 with a manual or €46,275 with an automatic. It's not much less efficient than the E 200 model, but it's significantly faster. However, the 520d still betters it in both respects.

Having driven both cars my personal preference would be the BMW. The new 5 Series has taken a major step forward in terms of luxury over the old car yet it's still good to drive.

Let us know what you decide by leaving a comment in the box below.

Expert answer

I did like the original BMW X5, although it was probably always a little over-priced for what is was. As they have aged and the new model has arrived the first generation has come down quite a lot in price. You say that you aren't concerned about the running costs as such, which is just as well, as they can be quite high. The repairs and spare parts can be expensive too. I think in buying one of this age and at this price you will certainly not see it depreciate that hard in the next year or so, but once it creeps over 100,000 miles it will drop in value again.

We haven't reviewed this car on the site because it has been quite a few years since it was on the market (and CompleteCar.ie is very new), but we have driven it in the past. It is very agile for an SUV and was always one of the best handling SUVs around.

You did mention to us by e-mail that the car you were looking at is €23,000 with 88,000 miles on the clock. Well we found this one on beepbeep.ie from a SIMI dealer with just 45,000 miles for €19,750, so perhaps this would make a better buy?

Hope that helps

Expert answer

The Octavia is a car that makes so much sense for so many reasons. For a start, it is superbly built, with build quality as good as a Volkswagen. There is plenty of space both inside and also in terms of luggage space. The 1.6-litre engine offers low emissions and therefore is cheap to tax and to run. To drive, it is geared more towards comfort than outright agility (that is why it is a car so favoured by taxi drivers), so what you get is a car that is great for long trips. They have proven themselves to be ultra reliable too. 

The price of the Octavia 1.6 is also very attractive and residuals have remained strong. It is definitely a car we would recommend without too much trouble. 

Expert answer

Hi John,

The new tax has not yet been fully implemented and there's a minefield of complications yet to be worked out, but trials are soon to begin in restricted parts of Dublin City before it is rolled out to Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. Take a look at the official details here on Revenue.ie and come back to us if you have any specific questions that are not answered by that.

Thanks

Expert answer

Hi Eamon,

That's quite a wide selection! Let's go through each model first of all:

Toyota RAV4:

Going by your shortlist you obviously need four-wheel drive and an automatic transmission. There's only a single Toyota RAV4 on sale fitting that, the RAV4 Sol in 4wd powered by the 'D-Cat 150 (2.2)' engine. That's a 2.2-litre turbodiesel. Choice stats:

• Price: €39,465
• CO₂ emissions: 189g/km
• Tax band: E
• Annual road tax: €630
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 150hp
• Maximum torque: 340Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,800kg

BMW X1:

The cheaper xDrive18d model doesn't seem to have an automatic option so you'd have to go for the xDrive20d SE at least. The stats:

• Price: €43,091
• CO₂ emissions: 155g/km
• Tax band: C
• Annual road tax: €302
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 5.9 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 180hp
• Maximum torque: 350Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,800kg

Hyundai ix35:

This is one of the newest SUVs on the market, but it's more of a crossover than an SUV really. That's emphasised by Hyundai only listing the two-wheel drive model with a manual gearbox on its website. It does say that "Automatic subject to availability. Please contact your local Hyundai Dealer", but we're not sure there is an automatic option available for this car as yet. We've asked Hyundai for clarification.

Kia Sportage:

There's an all-new Sportage launching later this year, so we assume you're thinking about that. Full details have yet to be released, though Kia tells us that, along with a new 1.7-litre turbodiesel engine a 2.0-litre turbodiesel 4x4 model will be offered on special order with an automatic gearbox. Tax will be band D, costing €447 per year. I'm afraid that's all we know at this stage. We're driving it next month for the first time.

Nissan Qashqai:

Nissan gave the Qashqai a facelift this year and it looks better than ever. For some reason the new look has not been applied to the seven-seat '+2' version on Nissan Ireland's website. However, the figures below refer to the regular five-seat version. The cheapest available with a diesel engine, four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox is the Qashqai 2.0d A/T 4x4 SV. The stats:

• Price: €37,995
• CO₂ emissions: 191g/km
• Tax band: F
• Annual road tax: €1,050
• Combined cycle fuel consumption: 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres
• Maximum power: 150hp
• Maximum torque: 320Nm
• Towing ability: Up to 1,400kg

Summary:

So, let's leave the Kia and Hyundai out of the equation for the moment, as we don't have enough information to make an informed decision.

The Toyota and Nissan compare well to each other. Like the Qashqai, the RAV4 was given a makeover for 2010 so it's fresher than ever. In diesel, automatic, four-wheel drive guise, the Toyota appears to win that battle, as the Qashqai is very expensive to tax. The Toyota is the better tow car too.

It looks like the Toyota probably wins outright on paper. The BMW X1 xDrive 20d is more powerful, significantly better on fuel and a newer design than the RAV4, but it's also a lot more to buy to begin with. Even paying less tax and fuel costs, it'd take a long time to claw that price difference back. Pity the xDrive18d doesn't come with an automatic transmission, as that could be a better choice, but in this list, the Toyota wins the logical argument.

Make sure you test drive examples of both before you decide and please do let us know in the comment box below what you end up doing.

Expert answer

Hi Pat,

First up, we thoroughly recommend the Peugeot 3008 itself. It's an excellent family car with a high quality, well thought out interior and it drives pretty well.

However, we're not sure that the Ecomatique version makes any sense in Ireland, unless you absolutely have to drive an automatic car. It's not a conventional smooth automatic gearbox; instead it features a robotised manual, which means that the clutch and gear change are operated automatically. Sounds great in theory, but in practice the gear changes feel slower and progress is jerkier than in a manual car. That's partly perception and you can learn to smooth out the changes yourself, but overall we reckon it detracts from the driving experience.

On the positive side, the Ecomatique 3008 is a little more economical than the regular 1.6 HDi 110hp version. However, it's only a difference of 0.2 litres per 100km on the official combined cycle. Given that the Ecomatique is more expensive to buy in the first place, you'd have to cover a lot of distance to start making savings and even then we'd argue that in real world conditions the manual version will be just as econonomical.

In some countries, the Ecomatique's lower CO₂ emissions would reduce your tax bill, but it's still in band B in Ireland, just like the regular version.

Hope that helps with your decision. If you'd like to know more, feel free to add a comment in the box below.

Expert answer

On the manual version of the 520d you will pay €156 annual road tax. If you get an automatic version from 2009, annual road tax will be €302. This is considerably less than you would have paid under the old system, which based on the engine size of the car (1,995cc) would have meant that road tax would have been €614 per year.

Expert answer

Yes, your car is eligible for the scrappage scheme. The best car you could get, if your budget stretches, is the Renault Fluence, which would cost €15,800 under the scrappage scheme. 

Renault also has a special option for taxi drivers:

"Renault has a specific extended warranty programme of up to 5 years with unlimited mileage for taxis.

Renault Ireland is the first car company on the Irish market to offer very high mileage customers like taxi drivers who purchase a Renault, this extended warranty programme. Drivers can opt for a 4^th year or 5^th year extended warranty with unlimited mileage from €529.00."

Hope that helps.

Expert answer

There are lots of suggestions, but we need to know what your budget is. Pop the details into the comment box below.

Thanks