Andrew Hamilton's weekly motoring clinic to help with all your motoring needs and queries.
Could it be that some manufacturers don't take account of the right-hand-drive market given that most of Europe drives on the other side of the road? Owen Smyth from Co Donegal clearly thinks so. He has a Nissan Almera Tino which he likes a lot.
Left hand wipes
"It goes well. I am very happy with it and it suits my family needs very well. There's only one small problem: the windscreen wipers appear to be hinged for left-hand-drive. When it rains, which is very often this summer, my front passenger gets a much clearer view of the road than I do."
We frankly haven't heard of this problem before. The Almera Tino is built near Barcelona in Spain, primarily for the European left-hand-drive market. Britain and Ireland with Malta and Cyprus are the only right-hand-drive markets which might explain why the wiper pattern was not redesigned.
We put the query to Nissan Ireland, where Jean McGann was keen to emphasise that there was no safety concern.
"We build both right and left-hand drive cars on our assembly lines in Spain and we operate to the highest standards. Wipers are fitted with that very much in mind. Our fitting procedures are very much the same as other manufacturers."
Military jeeps
Jim Rutledge from Dublin has a second World War Jeep which he bought in England "for a song".
"I have had great fun with it, restoring it and then driving around and enjoying the open air. But now I want to sell it, probably back in Britain.
"Is there a magazine that caters for this kind of enthusiast where I could advertise? I asked at my local newsagent and they didn't know."
Bigger newsagents like Easons should be able to direct you to a publication called Classic Military Vehicle. We understand that it has a substantial classified section.
. . . and MPVs
Michael Johnston up in north Co Antrim wants to buy a people carrier with plenty of luggage space and the ability to tow a large caravan. He wants our suggestions. We think there's only one realistic option, Toyota's Land Cruiser Amazon VX 4.2 turbodiesel.
It's a seven-seater with about the best towing ability available. Front-wheel-drive MPVs are generally not suitable for use with large caravans because they can only safely tow 95 per cent of their unladen weight.
It's fortunate for Mr Johnston that he lives north of the Border.
There, our recommended Land Cruiser retails from £40,700 sterling. It could be attractive to import from the Republic where the pre-tax price is much lower than in Britain.
However, buyers in the Republic would have to fork out €101,325 ex-works for the manual, and €105,250 ex-works for the automatic version. The prices here may seem intimidating but Steve Tormey for Toyota Ireland tells us that 20 have been sold so far this year.
Saab's spare tyre
Jim Crowe from Dublin was visting friends in England and he borrowed their Saab 9-5. It was his first Saab driving experience and he was impressed - until he got a puncture. He was surprised to discover only a space-saver spare tyre. Mr Crowe wants to know are Saabs sold in Ireland similarly equipped with the skinny spare.
The answer is yes. Scanveco, the Irish Saab importers, tell us that not every buyer is happy with the arrangement. But the policy is dictated from Saab's Swedish base. "The space-saver tyre is offered because punctures are a relatively rare experience now", says our Scanveco source.
Time to take flight
It's that time of the year when some experienced drivers on Irish roads will have their experience tested driving on Continental Europe on the other side of the road. It's actually not all that testing. Do remember that tolls apply on motorways in France, Italy, Spain and much of Portugal.
There's no charge on the excellent German autobahn system but it's an offence to run out of fuel while driving on it.Speeding fines can be punitive in France and French police don't take a benevolent attitude towards tourists. Indeed the opposite seems to be the case. Breaking the limit by up to 50 kmh (just over 30mph) will cost offenders well over €200.