Michael McAleer answers your questions
From D Murphy: I'm looking to buy an off-roader, but unlike Dublin buyers I actually use mine for my everyday work, with a large farm to keep. I've had Nissan Patrols, Land Rover Discoverys and even a borrowed Land Rover Defender for a while. What do you recommend? I may consider a commercial vehicle as we have a second car now.
Mr Murphy rang us with this query last week, and made it clear that he would not consider another Discovery, despite my suggestions that he try one out.
The Defender is the ideal workhorse on the farm but he is looking for something a little more refined in the cabin.
For me, the perfect mix of refinement and off-road ability remains either the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Land Rover Discovery. The Toyota probably swings it, because of its rock-solid reliability.
From P O'Reilly: Frequently in motoring articles, reference is made to A, B or C segment cars? What does this all mean? Is it based on social classes? I drive a Fiat Punto. Where does that put me?
The segment references are industry reference that should really not be used in articles. I certainly try to avoid referring to them as such and if I have done in the past, please accept my apologies.
They are not references to social status, merely to the size of the vehicle.
The A segment cars are what are otherwise known as city cars - in fairness that's another industry term. These are cars such as the Fiat Panda, Kia Picanto or Ford Ka.
The B segment is made up of cars such as the Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris and Peugeot 206. The C segment is family hatchbacks like the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla. These are the biggest sellers in Ireland. D Segment is cars like the Toyota Avensis and Ford Mondeo.
Even in the industry there is some confusion as to which cars go where, especially when it comes to SUVs and people carriers. Originally the segments were meant to make it easier to understand just who the competitors were for each car. These days there are so many derivatives and crossover vehicles that the industry is in disagreement as to which car goes into which segment.
I wouldn't concern myself with the segments, for ultimately you know how much you have to spend, and what cars are in your budget range. Again, apologies if I ever slip into industry 'lingo'.
From T O'Boyle: I know this may come across as slightly racist, but it is not meant to be: I 'm merely enquiring as to what the situation is with the increasing number of foreign cars on our roads these days, some of which are clearly not being used by tourists but by those resident in this country.
Are they insured and what happens in a crash?
My colleague Daniel Attwood has looked into this issue and states that if a person is resident here they must import their car immediately and register it here.
"However, and this is clearly where the issue lies, a non-resident (ie someone who does reside in the state for more the half of each year) can drive a foreign registered car provided they meet certain criteria, such as paying all the tax due on the car in the country of origin etc, for up to one year.
"That period can be extended if the car belongs to a foreign student who is studying on a course in Ireland that lasts more than a year.
"Insurance can also be temporarily transferred from the country of origin to allow the driver to use the car in Ireland. Although this is temporary, some insurance companies will allow cars to be driven for quite a period in foreign countries.
"Therefore, foreign registered cars can be legally driven here, with insurance, for a substantial period of time (years in fact).
Of course, there may be cars on the road that do not fulfil the Revenue's criteria and are being driven here when they should have been imported, or are being driven here when the insurance and tax in the original country have expired."
From H O'Malley: Where can I get a proper list of new car prices?
They are published in several places. We will be publishing a list ourselves next month
However, in the meantime, you can always try the websites of the manufacturers for the most recent and trustowrthy prices.
Remember, however, that most prices published are the base price before extras and delivery charges. These can add up to between €300 and €1,500 depending on the car and the marque. Then there's always the question of discounts, trade-in values and your ability to argue the dealer down.
Send your queries to Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 - or e-mail to motorshelp@irish-times.ie