Michael McAleeranswers your questions
From T O'Grady:
In last week's road test you mentioned many alternatives to the Scenic, but your blind spot for the virtues of Honda's FR-V continues.
More seats than a C-Max, cheaper than all the seven-seaters mentioned, better build quality than the Verso and with distinctive styling, it's a worthy machine. Poor engine choice though - thanks Honda Ireland.
As the road test was of a diesel Scenic, I purposefully left out competitors that only offered diesel options. The FR-V is a worthy competitor to any petrol models and I agree that it's build quality is among the best on the market.
However, I would question the practicality of having six seats rather than seven and I still have doubts about the safety of having a passenger - invariably a child - sitting so close to the driver in the front.
From Sarah Bolger:
I'm looking for your advice on motor insurance for an Irish car in France. I received a green card from Quinn Direct, my insurance company, at the end of September 2006 to bring my Irish-registered Cinquecento to France.
The problem is that the green card is only valid for 90 days per insurance year, but I will be living in France until next September, which would mean I could not drive my car from January-July 2007. I rang Quinn Direct and several other insurance companies such as Hibernian, but it seemed a bit of a grey area. I don't know if French insurance companies insure Irish-registered cars.
Can you shed any light on the matter?
This can get rather complicated and clearly shows that the free market forces at work in the EU have yet to fully impact on the insurance market. The first problem you will face is that you cannot officially drive a car in France for longer than three months without re-registering it.
However, you can bypass this rule - as many do with foreign registered cars in Ireland - by simply bringing the car back home once every three months.
As you say, your Irish insurance policy will cover you for 90 days. Readers should be aware that they need to contact their insurers to get a green card and not all insurers offer it for 90 days.
After this time, it is my understanding from speaking with the Irish Insurance Federation, that your original policy will cover you for the legal minimum insurance necessary, in which case it will be third-party cover.
You need to check this with your insurer however. In any event this only lasts until it's time for your policy to be renewed. As you mention, this is not enough to get by.
There are French insurance companies who seem to offer foreign motorists insurance while there, but please read the small print.
Having scanned some of the discussion websites on insurance in France it seems that some firms will insure the car but will not then pay out in crashes if the car remains on foreign plates.
It may be best to buy a cheap car there, insure it in France, and sell it before you return.
From DB:
I have moved to Ireland from Portugal. My wife is hoping to learn to drive and I'm hoping she can sit the test here. She is learning in my imported car. Can she do the test in it?
No. Only Irish registered cars can be used for the test. In fact, if you have moved here then the car should be re-registered.
She should really take driving lessons from a qualified instructor who would have told her these facts. She also needs an Irish provisional licence.
From T Logan:
I realise the legal limits for using car horns, but should it not be promoted on blind corners in the countryside?
If the corner is as blind as you suggest, then drivers should take adequate precautions and slow down to a speed where they can react to problems ahead.
While it is sensible in extreme circumstances to sound your horn before you enter a particularly dangerous corner, the very act seems to be about passing responsibility to other road users, implying that they should get out of the way.
It's better to slow down and prepare for problems, rather than blow the horn and hope others can react to your arrival.
From S Reilly:
A colleague claims that some dealers have cars left from last year just sitting in a field outside Dublin and when you collect your "new" car it could well have been parked up in a Dublin yard for a year before I collect it. How can I tell if the car was built last year or last month?
There is a quick way to check: look at the date markings on the seatbelts and also on the year markings on the window glass. There may also be date stamps on other parts of the bodywork, in particular the plastics. It's common, for example, to find a stamp under the ashtray.
The "field" your colleague may be referring to is the massive enclosure of cars at National Vehicle Distribution, a firm that handles delivery and storage for several leading manufacturers.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara Street, Dublin 2, or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie