Michael McAleer answers your questions
From CR, Co Donegal:
My car was damaged parked outside a friend's house. The insurance company of the other driver have agreed to pay the repair bill, but refuse to consider loss of value as a legitimate expense.
I know when I go to change that I will lose out. What is your advice on the matter?
You are really dependent on a goodwill gesture from the insurance company.
According to a spokeswoman for the Irish Insurance Federation, the insurer is not obliged to pay loss of value in instances such as this.
She states that insurers are obliged to meet the costs of returning the car to the road in a safe driving condition: "However, as a goodwill gesture an insurer may pay depreciation if a car is less than two years old and the damage to the car is significant.
"If a car is older, a claimant may make a case for depreciation/loss of value but will need to provide supporting evidence."
There is room for a case to be made for such compensation and you may seek legal redress on this. In either case - goodwill or a legal challenge - you will need to build a strong case by attempting to estimate the financial damage accruing from the incident.
From M O'D:
I am thinking of converting my front garden into a driveway. I may also change my car in the near future and I would be looking for a small car (four-door) with a good turning circle.
I currently drive a Mazda Demio. The boot would have to accommodate a set of golf clubs. Any suggestions?
The first thing to note is that Mazda is launching a new Mazda2 later this year that will be a lot more stylish than the current model. It may not be here until the end of the year, but then again, you are just considering the garden conversion for now.
If you are going to stay in this small car segment then the three we would recommend you to try would be the new Opel Corsa, Suzuki Swift or Kia Picanto.
In terms of turning circle, the Kia Picanto is the best of these and is one of the best in the market for swinging around in a tight space. It's also very cute.
From MC:
I'm in a dilemma. My current car is a Peugeot 406 coupé and I really had a great time with it but I don't like the new 407 coupé - it's just too big and bulky.
I've got about €40,000 to spend, along with my own car to trade-in and want to stay with coupé styling. I do, however, like the idea of back seats for storage so I'm not interested in anything like a Mazda MX-5 or Toyota MR-2.
Toyota don't actually sell the MR-2 - or any other sports car - in Ireland, so that wouldn't be an option in any event. The Japanese marque has chosen to be strictly a family car firm for the foreseeable future, with the upmarket Lexus brand taking on the role as provider of premium or performance models.
Cars like the BMW 3-Series coupé and Volvo C70 are probably outside your price range, but there are a couple of cars I would suggest.
First up is the Alfa Romeo Brera, a truly gorgeous coupé that comes with a 2.2-litre JTS petrol engine for €48,000.
I have another suggestion if you are prepared to wait: the new VW Scirocco.
It will not be coming to market until next year, but it's sure to be a hit if VW follows the styling of the recent IROC concept car upon which the new car will be based. It will feature a new 1.4-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo engine that will put out 168bhp.
If you are not prepared to wait - and you probably wouldn't be e-mailing me if you were - then I would point you to either the Alfa or the Mazda RX-8. The Mazda is probably a better buy in your price range as it starts at €38,995 - compared to €48,000 for the Brera - so you will certainly get a good specification on an RX-8 with your budget.
From PA:
I'm getting terrible kickback from the brake pedal in my car under heavy braking. I only noticed it when I had to brake suddenly last week and it felt like the brake pads were bouncing off the wheels. It was truly frightening but the dealer tells me that it's just the normal pedal reaction with anti-lock brakes. Is this true?
Yes. Anti-lock brakes apply and release to allow some driver control during braking, so you can steer around a potential hazard. You can often notice the ABS effect in skid marks on the road, where there appears to be small gaps in the line of the tyre track.
The kickback is natural, but it should not be severe.
From S Hamilton, Co Wicklow:
I asked a used car dealer to locate for me a used Toyota Corolla saloon and he said he would find one for me, but I'd have to leave a deposit. We agreed a sum of €400.
Within days of this I had found the right car myself and completed the transaction privately. When I went back to the dealer he said he'd gone ahead and sourced a car. He accepted I didn't have to take the car off him, but he won't give me back the deposit.
The problem is that you entered into a verbal agreement with the dealer, so that makes it difficult to force him to return the €400. It's likely that this sum would be regarded as a consideration in a contract between you and the dealer, and as such you broke the agreement by sourcing the car yourself.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara Street, Dublin 2, or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie