Michael McAleeranswers your questions
From James Duffy:
What would you think of a Mazda 323 (1.3-litre) from say, 2000 or thereabouts, for a young person (early twenties). What else would you advise in same sort of price range?
That price range would be about €5,500 and there are plenty of offerings out there for that money.
In taking a look for you, I came across some really interesting cars for sale, particularly of the classic variety.
A Ford Anglia Gt from 1964 would be a pretty unique purchase, along with a Ford Capri 2.8-litre V6 from 1983 that apparently has only 31,000 miles on the clock.
The first looks a real gem, the latter looks like those 31,000 miles were all on the racetrack.
Anyway, getting back to your query, the Mazda is a rock solid buy, if not exactly a head-turner in terms of looks.
Given the recent stories by Simon Carswell in Motors, about write-offs, you would be well advised to seek some written confirmation from the owner that this car was never involved in a serious crash.
Check out its history fully before you decide to make the buy.
If it meets the usual criteria of a verifiable history, etc, then the 323 is very reliable and a great first car.
From M Gill:
My children are keen that we go "green" but I'm still not certain that a hybrid car is going to make much of a difference to my daily life. I'm driving 40,000km a year, criss-crossing the country and currently have a diesel 1.9 TDI Passat. Would it be worthwhile from a "green" perspective for me to change into a Prius?
I don't mind losing a little space as most of the time I'm the only occupant, but I do need a decent boot during my travels around the country.
On paper the Toyota Prius looks like a better proposition, with a CO2 emissions level of 104g/km against your VW Passat diesel's 148g/km. It also has a much better official fuel consumption.
However, that is not the complete story. The Prius is powered by a mix of electric and petrol power and when you are out on the open road, it's the 1.5-litre petrol engine that bears the brunt of the effort.
Around town you will notice a big improvement in fuel consumption but if you are "criss-crossing" the country and clocking up 40,000km a year then you may well find the diesel offers a lower fuel consumption and in turn a lower CO2 figure. If you are changing car and opt to stick with diesel, then be sure that your next car has a particulate filter to remove pollutants specific to diesel engines from the exhaust fumes. You might also look to converting your car to biodiesel. A colleague, Tim O'Brien, runs a Passat on biodiesel. "My converted VW Passat 1.9L TDI finds cold pressed vegetable oil at 84 cent per litre (excise exempt and VAT inclusive price) delivers economy and performance comparable to using diesel," he says.
"That is 650-700 miles from a 60 litre tank. In green terms I believe veggie oil is a no-brainer."
It's worth considering biodiesel over petrol hybrid if you spend most of your driving time on national rather than urban roads.
From Oliver Martin:
I only recently bought a new SUV several months ago but there seems to be rust on the brake pads.
The guy I bought it off says this is normal, but surely a new car should not have rust, and certainly not on the brakes.
It is actually normal to have a mild film of rust on the brake discs if the vehicle has been parked up for some time. Simply driving it will remove the film of rust from the brakes.
Simply take the car for a drive and once you are clear behind apply the brakes hard. By the time you are home again the discs should be clean.
The problem is that if the car has been parked up for some time then the rust could be deeper into the discs. That means replacing them.
Unfortunately rust on disc brakes of under-used cars is a fact of life these days.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin 2 or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie