Every recession has a silver lining, and for motorists that silver lining is the ability to purchase a car at a significantly reduced rate. But even with falling prices there is still the feeling that cars in Ireland are far too expensive when compared with their European counterparts.

And this feeling is compounded by the fact that better value can be found among prices just north of the Border.

Of course, we are well used to the notion of better value in Northern Ireland, although we are usually comparing the prices in Tesco. But the discrepancies become more significant when dealing with big ticket items such as cars – and those discrepancies remain, even when the unpleasantness of VRT remains to be added to the overall price.

VRT is just another one of the tribulations that we have to put up with if we want to live in the Republic. It is not calculated on the price that you paid for the car; rather, it is calculated on what is called the OMSP, or the open market selling price, as set by the Revenue. But as long as people buy their cars with an eye on the environment, they can still get decent value out of their cross-border transactions.

This is because of the changes to VRT laws which came in last year. Unlike the previous regime, which was based on engine size, VRT is now based on emissions. And unlike the previous regime, where the lowest tax band started at 22.5%, there are now three bands of 20% or lower, starting at just 14% for cars emitting less than 120 grammes of CO2 per kilometre travelled, or 120 CO2g/km.

While there are not too many cars that will have that sort of performance, there are many which will do better than the 155g/km up to and including 170g/km level, which equates to 24% VRT. And that means that any car performing to this modest level is still taxed cheaper than any car with an engine size above 1,400 cc under the previous system.