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Hi Sean,

Yes you can. It'll set you back €1,250 a year in tax though with 220g/km emissions.

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Hi Michael,

Without knowing anything else we'd assume this is a feature of the car's immobiliser. Not all work the same. It's likely that you don't need to get out of the car, just take the key out of the ignition and press lock and then unlock again.

As to how it's activated, it's probably a time thing.

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Hi Nicola,

You haven't given us a year but we'll take a stab at circa 2007, which would suggest a value of about €6,000 to €7,000. The three-door is worth a bit less than a five-door and obviously this is hugely dependent on condition and history.

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Hi Caroline,

How hard? How long is a piece of string? You're pitching it about right, in terms of price, but to get rid of it quickly you just need to stick to some rules. Make sure the paperwork and history are all present and correct, make sure the service history is up to date, have the car professionally cleaned inside and out and then make sure you advertise it both nationally and locally, with good quality photos and a clear, simple description of the car. 

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Hi Amanda,

You may get lower labour rates at an independent garage, but we rang an Opel dealer to get a starting point. If it's the front crankshaft oil seal then it'll be about €170 (1.5 hours), but the rear seal is much more expensive to replace as the gearbox needs to be taken out and put back in, which is estimated at 5.5 hours of work. That costs about €580.

In both cases, those prices include VAT, labour and parts, but there might be a small bit more to cover topping up the oil.

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Hi Jim,

Nope, certainly not any more. The rules say you must book a Vehicle Registration Tax assessment (which is carried out at an NCT centre) within seven days of the car's arrival in Ireland, and the registration process, including the payment of any VRT and VAT owing, and the use of the new Irish number plates, must be completed within 30 days.

 Or, you know, fines, courts, thumb-screws, all that jazz. 

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Hi Annemarie,

It depends what you want to do. Do you want to trade it in for 'scrappage' against a new car? Simple, there are several car makers currently running scrappage-style schemes and you could get as much as €4,500 for your old Volvo, depending on which car you're trading it in against.

If you just want to get rid of it, then there are a number of private firms that will pay you for the car and come and collect it. A quick run through Google will find one of these for you, but you need to be wary - if a car is sold as scrap it must actually be scrapped, and you should be issued with an End Of Vehicle Life certificate that you can then present to the National Vehicle and Driver File maintained by the Dept. Of Transport Tourism and Sport. That's a legal requirement and if you don't comply then it's a fine or court case time.

So you need to make sure that the person scrapping your car is above board and professional. Don't, whatever you do, ring one of the mobile numbers on road-side signs saying 'we scrap your car for cash' because they don't - they give you €100 and then tart the car up to sell it on again.

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Hi Seamus,

This is quite a tricky one so we sought the advice of the car data experts at Cartell.ie. Here's what they came up with:

"This is an unusual query and you'll need to get confirmation from Revenue in Ireland and HM Revenue & Customs in the UK. Based on what we think, and we don't see this query a lot, you may be able to buy the vehicle brand new for export, meaning that the VRT isn't paid on it at all - so no need for refund. The vehicle may get a temporary registration so it can be exported. Also the VAT of 23% can be claimed back as it's a new vehicle and you'll have to pay the UK VAT rate when it's registered there. To be honest this is a bit of a minefield and we strongly advise getting all details and clarifications from the Revenue both in Ireland and the UK before proceeding."

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Hi Siobhan,

There's nothing wrong with buying a UK import but you do need to keep your wits about you. Make sure you get a proper history check from Cartell.ie to make sure that it's not being sold with outstanding finance owing, or that it was written off or that it has been clocked. Then make sure that it has a full and complete service history. Then make sure that the dealer has re-registered the car and paid the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT). There are strict time limits on doing so, so it's their responsibility and don't be fobbed off with any excuses on that score. Is it worth getting a mechanical inspection? Yes, definitely but maybe try the AA rather than just a mechanic friend.

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Hi Caroline,

It's a bit hard (actually impossible) to predict where values are going to be next year, but if you were to chop it in now, I reckon you'd get around €22,000 for it, depending on condition and history. Selling it yourself might grab you a little more but you'll need to make sure it's spotlessly clean and has all its paperwork in order to get the best price and the easiest sale.