Buy a car to travel?

Q.We are looking into the feasibility of buying a small second-hand car in Ireland or Northern Ireland to use as transport for a year or so touring mainly around the UK, and a little of Europe. We have been told that small 4 cylinder vehicles around five to 8 years old are readily available. Does anyone have any info about things such as ease of resale, market conditions, good places to buy, models to recommend etc.?

A.'Top Gear' actually started life as a TV programme on BBC 2, but has now spawned a magazine and a web-site, and the web-site offers what looks to me a lot of sensible and straightforward guidance on owning and buying a car. It also includes links to sites which advertise cars for sale over the Internet. Having said that, *new* cars, like many other things, are more expensive here in the UK than in most other parts of the world. I honestly don't know how closely this is reflected in prices of used cars, but if you're in Ireland it would be worth checking prices on both sides of the border. Finally be aware that if you are to register a car in the UK you will need a 'permanent' address to give to the licensing authorities. If you're spending a year here I assume that you would have somewhere to regard as home, even if you don't spend much time there.

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