£11k S-Max + £3k cash and want 7 seater and horse box tower
Discussion
Am I best splitting my £14k budget into two cars or buying one car that does both jobs?
So, the wife does 10,000 miles a year and an Smax works very well for us. We occasionally need more than 5 seats - like once a month. But now a pony is arriving and I need to tow an Ifor awilliams Hb510. Do I:
A) Keep the Smax and spend £3k on a weekend pony club off-roader?
B) Sell the £11k Smax, replace it with a (say) £7k Mondeo hatchback but now have £7k to spend on a seven seat off-roader and run two cars.
C) Trade in the Smax for a £14k Hyundai Santa Fe 7 seater that does everything.
D) Trade in the Smax for a £14k Mk3 Discovery that does everything but guzzles fuel and garage bills.
I have unlimited garaging but don't want anything that's going to piss oil, not start or require me to use spanners on it and as the wife and kids wil be out in it there must be no dodgy brakes, knackered suspension, crap headlights etc etc.
I just don't know what to do. So many pros and cons. I'm hoping the wisdom of crowds might point out some options or issues I gave so far overlooked. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated - what would YOU do?
So, the wife does 10,000 miles a year and an Smax works very well for us. We occasionally need more than 5 seats - like once a month. But now a pony is arriving and I need to tow an Ifor awilliams Hb510. Do I:
A) Keep the Smax and spend £3k on a weekend pony club off-roader?
B) Sell the £11k Smax, replace it with a (say) £7k Mondeo hatchback but now have £7k to spend on a seven seat off-roader and run two cars.
C) Trade in the Smax for a £14k Hyundai Santa Fe 7 seater that does everything.
D) Trade in the Smax for a £14k Mk3 Discovery that does everything but guzzles fuel and garage bills.
I have unlimited garaging but don't want anything that's going to piss oil, not start or require me to use spanners on it and as the wife and kids wil be out in it there must be no dodgy brakes, knackered suspension, crap headlights etc etc.
I just don't know what to do. So many pros and cons. I'm hoping the wisdom of crowds might point out some options or issues I gave so far overlooked. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated - what would YOU do?
Maybe a big estate ??I would avoid anything with rover in the name !! You need to work out how much capacity you need ??two big horses in a trailer is about 2.5 tons a kids pony about 1.5 ton so something like a Volvo V70 or Subaru outback would do but if its the two then maybe a double cab?? ML KIA Sorrento,shogun etc..
Well there is approx £14k on the table.
I am not convince by four wheel drive estates as they don't have the ground clearance to get out of some muddy rutted gateway at the end of the pony club trial and the rest of the week you've got a heavy estate car on stilts that's no better on fuel than a proper offroader because it's got a powerful engine to give normal car 0-60 times.
What worries me about a £2k Jeep is that it will be driving around my family with a £1800kg tow on 13 year old brake lines, discs, suspension, steering rack etc etc. If something broke and they got hurt I couldn't live with myself penny pinching. Other than that consideration I like the idea as long as it doesn't require constant maintenance and visits to the garage.
I am not convince by four wheel drive estates as they don't have the ground clearance to get out of some muddy rutted gateway at the end of the pony club trial and the rest of the week you've got a heavy estate car on stilts that's no better on fuel than a proper offroader because it's got a powerful engine to give normal car 0-60 times.
What worries me about a £2k Jeep is that it will be driving around my family with a £1800kg tow on 13 year old brake lines, discs, suspension, steering rack etc etc. If something broke and they got hurt I couldn't live with myself penny pinching. Other than that consideration I like the idea as long as it doesn't require constant maintenance and visits to the garage.
converted lurker said:
A 2011 190hp seven seat Santa Fe with a year of warranty left does seem to tick all the boxes this morning.
Just can't get too excited about dropping £14k on a bland look Hyundai. There's got to be a better Pistonhead solution.
Yes do the lottery !! Rolls for the daily driver and the oakley scania lorry for the pony club!!Just can't get too excited about dropping £14k on a bland look Hyundai. There's got to be a better Pistonhead solution.
converted lurker said:
What worries me about a £2k Jeep is that it will be driving around my family with a £1800kg tow on 13 year old brake lines, discs, suspension, steering rack etc etc. If something broke and they got hurt I couldn't live with myself penny pinching. Other than that consideration I like the idea as long as it doesn't require constant maintenance and visits to the garage.
Modern car break too. My Grand has 250k miles on the clock, most of which were hard work, and runs & stops fine. Bushes go on ones that tow, but that about it. Chuck £2000 at a good one then spend a few hundred replacing the brakes & a service & inspection & its just servicing from there on. I would rather tow a couple of tonnes in my 15yo, 250k mile Jeep than a 3yo HyundaiAs the two car wouldn't do more than about 25 miles a week I could probably consider a big capacity petrol engine model - are they notably cheape than diesels? Is there anything to watch for? Catalytic converters or something of that nature? I've been unlucky with dpf' son modern diesels so I'm quite cautious in that regard.
4litres I6 are reliable but not quick, v8s can be prone to head issues. If an occasional car get the 4litre, its slowness (for engine size) won't be an issue. Heater blend doors go, but cost £80 off ebay for the replacement doors. Rear bushes & top ball joint can go, not an expensive fix, bushes around £12 each, ball joint £40ish. Service mine with semi synth every 6k miles (so maybe once a year for you) and it runs fine with 250k on it. They are easy to service/work on, so if taking to a garage labour costs won't be high.
Info here www.wjjeeps.com
Buy on condition, try and get one without a tow bar & have it fitted, likely to have had an easier life then.
Info here www.wjjeeps.com
Buy on condition, try and get one without a tow bar & have it fitted, likely to have had an easier life then.
Have to second the Jeep Grand Cherokee with Steve here. I now his one as well.
Anyway, we now have a newer Jeep WK, but prior to that we have a 2002 Grand Cherokee 4.7V8.
It was the Mrs daily driver as well as used to tow a large caravan and weekly towing a Ifor HB510 with 2 large horses. Effortless towing ability as said and well recommended from an owner of various jeeps.
Or get her a newer Jeep WK 2005 onwards, our 3.0V6 CRD has bags of power and is very good on fuel. Averages 25mpg around town and 34ish on a motorway run, by the way the Mrs is no slouch in it either.
Anyway, we now have a newer Jeep WK, but prior to that we have a 2002 Grand Cherokee 4.7V8.
It was the Mrs daily driver as well as used to tow a large caravan and weekly towing a Ifor HB510 with 2 large horses. Effortless towing ability as said and well recommended from an owner of various jeeps.
Or get her a newer Jeep WK 2005 onwards, our 3.0V6 CRD has bags of power and is very good on fuel. Averages 25mpg around town and 34ish on a motorway run, by the way the Mrs is no slouch in it either.
Wow. 2 new options I had not considered.
On Autorader ;for £6500 there is a Matt black Jeep Commander that looks like a frikking TANK that certainly would tow a pony. And it's stable block. And seat seven on a school run in Basra. And handle a day at the beach.
V interesting. Are they any good?
Would leave me another £6,500 to buy a family saloon runaround and £1000 in the bank for two MoT and tax discs for a couple of years.
Hmmm. Tempting.
On Autorader ;for £6500 there is a Matt black Jeep Commander that looks like a frikking TANK that certainly would tow a pony. And it's stable block. And seat seven on a school run in Basra. And handle a day at the beach.
V interesting. Are they any good?
Would leave me another £6,500 to buy a family saloon runaround and £1000 in the bank for two MoT and tax discs for a couple of years.
Hmmm. Tempting.
Its basically Grand Cherokee of the same year, got 4x4 of the year by some mag in '07ish Was tempted to get one but they are huge and very marmite, look good in dark colours, crap in light ones. 3litre v6 diesel will see you to about 27mpg. Weren't that popular & got dropped after around 4 years. No boot space with the 3rd row seats in, but IIRC they just lift out.
You can also pretend to be a DEA agent in one
You can also pretend to be a DEA agent in one
Edited by scrwright on Tuesday 20th January 15:30
I would be stuck with it for a long time as it's basically unsaleable to 99.999% of people. Might try a low ball offer - it's got to be worth £800 in scrap as a bottom line!
Having done the sums again I reckon a second car has got to cost me £650 a year in fixed costs. That's quite a bit of diesel. A one car solution that does 32mpg instead of 40mpg is the equivalent of keeping two cars in the garage over 10,000 miles a year.
I can't face the trauma of trying to run a Discovery 3 and its varies faults and repairs. I don't think I can stretch to a Disco 4.
A LWB shogun of Landcruiser is overkill for one pony so it looks like I may go down the 2010/11 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 7 seat diesel with a manual gearbox. Dr Spock would choose that. Sigh.
Having done the sums again I reckon a second car has got to cost me £650 a year in fixed costs. That's quite a bit of diesel. A one car solution that does 32mpg instead of 40mpg is the equivalent of keeping two cars in the garage over 10,000 miles a year.
I can't face the trauma of trying to run a Discovery 3 and its varies faults and repairs. I don't think I can stretch to a Disco 4.
A LWB shogun of Landcruiser is overkill for one pony so it looks like I may go down the 2010/11 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 7 seat diesel with a manual gearbox. Dr Spock would choose that. Sigh.
You have my financial sympathies as I'm in an identical position. Mrs D has a 3.0 Outback for equine related duties and a Golf tdi for daily use. Doing c14k mikes pa I don't think there's much in it over getting a single vehicle, but why have one when you can add to the fleet. (It also allows me to have an impractical daily drive knowing there's an alternative if I need it 
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