What car will cost me less in tax than my 2007 Golf?

I have a 2007 VW Golf diesel with 44,000 miles on the clock. I wish to change it for a similarly sized 08/09 car with lower tax. My annual mileage is about 12,000-14,000 miles. Which cars would you recomend and how much should I receive for my own one?

Thanks

Mary Hughes (Westport)

Sep 2010 Filed under: choosing used car

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Expert answer

Hi Mary,

A 2007 TDi Golf with your mileage would retail at a main dealer for about €13,000 - €14,000. You will most likely get offered a bit less than this, so perhaps you could expect around €12,000. You don't mention a budget but we can give you a few ideas. Most of the equivalent cars, post 2008 will be cheap to tax. 

For example, a 2009 1.6 TDi Golf, which has emissions of 118g/km (Band A) would cost you around €22,000. Here is an example of one from a main dealer in Naas. This would also be the newer shape model too, although I am not sure you want to go for another Golf? You could get something of a similar theme with the Skoda Octavia. A 2008 model like this costs around €17,000 and would give you a little more space and would still be in Band B with road tax of €156. 

Something slightly more SUV-like would be nice too. The Nissan Qashqai has a great reputation and owners love them. You could have a 2008 Qashqai, like this would cost around €19,000 and this example here has very low mileage. This still has emissions of 139g/km, so would only cost €156 to tax each year. This would be a great buy and isn't a major jump, financially. 

I think you might like the Qashqai, so perhaps you should give it a go?

I hope this helps. 

 

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