Andrew Hamilton's weekly motoring clinic to help with all your motoring needs and queries.
Nice and VRT
Two readers are looking for help: they want you to vote No in the Nice Treaty referendum because of the Government's failure to do anything about reducing Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT). It's an issue that surfaced before the General Election and whether we like it or not, it didn't become much of an election issue.
But Jim O'Connor from Co Roscommon feels the Nice referendum is a more relevant area for motorists to vent their anger: "We are paying VRT, which is totally anti-European, against the spirit of free trade and all our Government can say is that they can't afford to get rid of it. If Ireland is a member of the EU and the euro zone, we should be playing by all the rules. Nice, I understand, is about the entry of new countries to the EU. Why should we allow them in, when we are not even playing the game right ourselves?"
Jim O'Driscoll from Cork city thinks that motorists have it within their power to teach the Government a lesson on Nice. "What angers me is that I have just read that around 17 per cent of total taxation receipts come from motoring. Is there no respite? Please also can you tell me what block exemption is all about? Nobody seems to be able to explain it simply."
Sadly, there isn't likely to be any respite. All the indications are that we are going to be paying even more for our new cars because of the European Commission's plan to harmonise pre-tax price variations. In the pre-tax scenario, Ireland happens to be one of the cheaper EU countries and the harmonisation move will, ironically, send our lower pre-tax prices higher.
As for block exemption, we have a simple analogy. Go into any supermarket or any store and you will find competing products on the same shelves. That doesn't really happen in the retail motor trade, and that's why the EU wants to change the whole car-buying scene.
Proton plea
James Delahunt from Waterford has an old Proton that's going well. He's reluctant to scrap it: "I know their cars disappeared off the market a long time ago, but maybe there's someone who has an interest in them. I would be like to able to get parts."
Proton from Malaysia was launched on the Irish market with an extravagant party at Ardmore Studios, Bray. But now it's gone and largely forgotten, like other cheap-and-cheerful ilk, Lada from Russia and FSO from Poland. Maybe there's someone out there with an affection still for Proton.
Lane disciples
Conor O'Sullivan from Dublin wonders why we have 24-hour bus lanes in the city when there isn't a 24-hour bus service. We spotted one such lane on the Swords road which used to be the old airport road.
We put the query to the press office of the Director of Traffic. The response was that it's a matter for Dublin Bus. "We don't provide the bus services," said the press office. But who or what organisation put down the 24-hour bus lane markings? Didn't they have a responsibility? The press office couldn't say.
Vapour trails
Rita Davidson from Co Louth has an old Opel Ascona that's going well in spite of age. Her only problem is a petrol smell in low gears, especially second: "No fuel leak is evident under the car or on the driveway. Any suggestion what the problem could be?"
In hot or humid weather, many people experience a fuel smell in their car, even though there are no visible petrol leaks.
Our hunch is that it's probably fuel vapour, which may be vented from the filler cap or one of the tank pipes.
We think that the prominence in second gear has to do with the road speed rather than the gearbox itself.
On the double
Ron Smith from Co Dublin owns a Nissan Primera and he wants to complement it with a double cab vehicle. He heard that Nissan has just launched one and he heard that it's good value for money. Is this right?
Yes, Nissan has the Navara 4x4 double cab. So too do Mazda, Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi. The Navara retails at €28,269, including VAT.
The appeal of double cab vehicles has hugely expanded because VRT has been reduced from 30 per cent to just €50. The double cab means a car-like configuration attached to a pick-up, useful for a farming family or maybe a small contractor with workers to transport.