Michael McAleer answers your questions
From RC:
With regard to a reply to a query on penalty points in Motors (November 8th), I have a similar question. However, when I looked for a resolution the Dept of Transport and gardaí were unsure as towho was responsible.
In June I was charged with speeding and two counts of crossing an unbroken white line. I paid the fines but have been issued six points (I am currently on a German licence).
When I received notification of the six points I contacted the Dept of Transport who told me that the three offences should have been "linked" as one and I should have this done by the gardaí in Capel St before surrendering my licence for an Irish one, or my points will remain on record as they do not elapse over three years on foreign licences.
I did this, and the Garda seemed to know nothing about foreign licences. They seemed to only find one offence. At Capel St they told me to contact the superintendent in the area where I was stopped. I spoke with him and he wants a written account of what happened.
Should one of the other offices I've already spoken to about it be able to deal with this?
The mistake seems to have been made with the Garda. The Department of Transport manage the points system and were informed of three separate offences.
You should, of course, have incurred fines for three offences, but points only for the highest point offence.
According to a spokeswoman for the department, they can't remove the points from your record without a request from the Garda. So the best route to pursue is to contact the relevant superintendent, inform him of the error and he will hopefully request the department to rectify your points.
As for the Capel St garda, he probably was not aware of the rules regarding changing EU licences to Irish ones, because that is handled by the Motor Tax office.
From Michael McDonagh:
I have a 1999 Ford Focus 1.4-litre which suffers from pinking, especially under load.
I read that the simplest cure was to use higher octane fuel, but as I could only find 95 octane on the forecourts I resorted to adding octane boosters. I have since discovered that if I add 10 per cent bio-ethanol with the regular unleaded, this has cured the pinking, but will it damage fuel lines or tank?
In this particular case, Ford does not recommend using a mix of more than 5 per cent ethanol in a regular petrol engine. The Focus handbook states that the use of bio-ethanol greater than 5 per cent in a "non-FFV" vehicle invalidates the warranty. While that might not impact on you, it certainly does for any other motorists considering such a move.
Ethanol is more corrosive than petrol though most new engines can handle a higher mix of ethanol than even Ford recommends and in the US various car companies have a limit of 10 per cent on modern engines. The problem is that ethanol can also cause problems with the powertrain control module (PCM).
One solutionis to opt for a compromise fuel, E5. This has 5 per cent ethanol to 95 per cent petrol. Unlike a 10 per cent mix - which we were unaware was on sale - there are several stations selling E5, though only on the east coast.
A spokesperson for Ford raised some questions as to whether the engine was actually "pinking". Also known as knocking or pinging, this is where the fuel/air mix pre-ignites in the cylinder away from the spark plug and often out of sync with the piston movement. It was a feature of older engines where timing was governed by electro-mechanical distributors, but ignition timing is now electronic.
He suggests instead that fuel quality may be a cause of the problem you have encountered.
From Bill Roe:
I have a well-maintained 1999 Audi A4 with 34,000 miles on the clock. I want to update it to, say, a 2003/2004 A4. Would I do better to wait until 2007?
You have relatively low mileage, but age remains an issue when you go to trade-in. At this late stage in the year, dealers' minds are already in 2007 so you're unlikely to get a much better price by trading in now. They are unlikely to find a buyer for your car until the January car sales rush. The New Year will also bring more '03 and '04 versions to the market so choice would be better then.
Dealers may also be more willing to take a pre-2000 A4 now, while the longer you leave it into the new year the dealer may already have more than enough pre-2000 models on the forecourt and therefore be less keen to offer you a good deal. The best approach is to look around at the stock of '03 or '04 models on sale at present and see if there are any you would like to buy.
Depending on the engine size and condition of your car, you are probably looking at between €6,500 and €9,000 for your car while the 03/04 models will set you back €25,000 and over, depending on engine and condition.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie