Expert answer

Hi Gary,

The only major recurrent problems seem to be exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves that can get sticky (a smell of unburned diesel is the giveaway) and a weak timing belt tensioner that needs regular attention. There's an excellent UK-based owners club at stdrivers.co.uk and the forums there are full of helpful advice. Apparently, in the UK, some of the parts for the 2.2 diesel engine are cheaper from Jaguar dealers (the same engine was used in the X-Type), but we're not sure if that holds true here. Lovely car the ST TDCi, although I do recall from my (long ago) test drive that the brakes needed a hell of a good shove to work hard...

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Hi Maebh,

Codes P1122 and P1120 relate to the accelerator pedal position sensor, but we can't find P1155. It should be possible to just change the accelerator pedal assembly rather than the whole computer going on that information, unless P1155 means something else entirely of course.

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Hi Ronan,

Generally speaking, it’s best to get the car serviced beforehand, and let the garage know that it’s going in for its NCT. That way you’re dealing with all issues that are there, not just what the NCT picks up on. That said, with it being a Toyota, and you having serviced it every year already, you shouldn’t have any major issues I suspect.

Read our Eight top tips on how to prepare your car for its NCT feature

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Hi Ciaran,

There are not many Toyota Levins about and without seeing the car it's a tough call to make, but you should certainly offer much lower. If you test drive the car and its history and condition check out then we'd suggest offer in the region of €1,400.

Let us know how you get on.

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Hi John,

Put simply, the RX-8 is usually costly to run and requires a lot of maintenance. Make sure you go into it knowing what to look out for and what it will cost you. In general, you'll want to ensure that the previous owner stuck rigidly to the servicing intervals and regularly topped up the oil. Stay away from cars that have no service history.

It's worth having a mechanic do a compression test of the engine too to check it and ask them to look at how old the spark plugs and leads are, as these are costly to replace.

Other than that, the suspension components are prone to wear, so watch out for slack responses and body control while cornering, which may indicate that it needs new dampers and anti-roll bar bushes.

Best to pay for a full mechanical inspection from an expert in this case.

Hope that helps

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Hi Paul,

When new this car was once of the most comfortable cars in its class, however, it's now 8-9 years old so unless a lot of the suspension components have been changed (mainly dampers and bushes) then it won't have retained that. Check with a seller for receipts for work done.

In any case, take a few for a test drive so you get to know which is good and which is bad.

Let us know how you get on.

Expert answer

Hi John,

You're in an enviable position. We're assuming you'd like to stick with an open-top car and rear-wheel drive. The Irish market isn't exactly flooded with €50,000 sports cars that match that brief so in your position we'd seriously consider importing from the UK.

Fabulous cars that fall within your budget include:

- Honda S2000 - very reliable and huge fun, though even newest ones are getting on now

- Lotus Elise - one of the most engaging road cars at any price; you could afford a relatively new one with the more reliable Toyota engine

However, we'd put our own money into a Porsche Boxster. You should be able to afford one of the last of the just replaced generation Boxster S. It's very quick, genuinely brilliant to drive and reliable too.

What do you think?

Expert answer

Hi David,

The latest BMW X5 xDrive30d uses 7.4 litres of diesel every 100 kilometres on the official combined cycle. That's equivalent to 38.2mpg. As ever, few cars achieve their official figures.

For the record, emissions are 195g/km.

Hope that answers your question.

Expert answer

Hi John,

Well, the Road Safety Authority specifies that you must take 12 hours minimum of professional instruction before you can apply for your test, but they don’t specify that it must be done in Ireland. As the UK is recognised as a competent authority for driving standards (our licences are interchangeable etc) they might just accept that your existing 30 hours has you covered. Give them a ring on 1890 40 60 40 and ask.

Expert answer

Hi Adrian,

There is no mention of glow plugs or indeed engine starting in the official NCT testing manual so you should be ok, though we'd still recommend getting your car sorted beforehand.